Apps to track the workout
Are our gadgets making us fat? There’s an app for that
Want to get fitter and healthier? There’s an app for that. Lots of apps, actually.
Technology is often blamed for why most people aren’t active enough and are overweight or obese, but on the flip side, the explosion in health and fitness apps, or software applications, the last few years shows computers and personal mobile devices such as smartphones can also help you get in shape and better health.
There are apps that track your fitness program, manage your weight, help you weight train, keep your brain sharp, or keep tabs on your blood glucose if you’re diabetic.
They’ve been called everything from the modern way of keeping a log or journal to track your progress to a personal trainer that you wear on your wrist or carry in your pocket.
Personal fitness trainer Kevin Mejia of KMotion Fitness, a mobile personal fitness training service, suggests some apps to his clients. But they can’t do what a personal trainer does, which is identify your body’s muscle imbalances, deficiencies and problem areas and design a workout plan that addresses those specific needs.
“Apps can get you started and help you stay on track, but as far as making a specific plan to help you reach your goals, apps are very general,” he says.
He also has some words of caution.
“Smartphones and apps are being used more in a gym setting, to the point now where there are extensions that connect through Bluetooth. At the same time, I find for myself and others, having your phone in the gym can also be a distraction.
“Sometimes people sit there and they’re on their phones and they’re taking really long rest periods and wasting quite a bit of time just because they have a smartphone in their pocket.”
That said, here are some of the apps Mejia uses himself and recommends to clients: ❚ My Fitness Pal, a calorie-counting, diet tracking app which is an easy way to keep tabs on their meals so they can actually see right on their smartphone how many calories they’re taking in each day. It also has a fitness section which tells you how many calories you’ve potentially burnt. And an online community where you can talk to other people and ask for suggestions. ❚ Evernote, a note-taking app which keeps track of workouts so you don’t keep working out at the same level or intensity and hit a fitness plateau, Mejia explains.
You can preplan your workout from your smartphone, iPod, or even your computer before you step into the gym or step on a running trail.
“They can quickly flip back and look at their workouts to make sure they’re using more resistance or doing more repetitions, taking less rests, depending on their fitness goals.” ❚ Songza. Many people already go to the gym with their music, Mejia says, so music apps like Songza help you pair the right music for whatever activity you’re doing, whether it’s going for a walk, exercising at a high intensity, or boosting your energy level. And it’s free. ❚ HINT (High Intensity Interval Trainer) is basically a timer that you can use to set up a little circuit where you do an exercise for 30 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and then do another exercise for 30 seconds. “It’s a good way to get a quick circuit in, especially people that are crunched for time and want to burn as many calories as they can in a short amount of time.” ❚ Zombies, Run! If you hate running and training, this is the most creative workout game out there, Mejia says. You can run on a treadmill and wear a pedometer or go outside and use a GPS and you can listen to your music in the background which will cut off as it starts to tell you a story about being chased by zombies to motivate you to run faster. “If they get too close you can actually hear them,” he says laughing.
“Apps can get you started and help you stay on track.” personal trainer Kevin Mejia
❚ Muscle Trigger Points is an anatomy reference app showing common trigger points or knots and pains for more than 70 muscles in the body and where to apply pressure to release them to help discover the source of pain. “Sometimes if you get a headache it’s not necessarily in your head, it can start in your upper trap (ezius) muscles of the back,” Mejia explains. He recommends having the pain checked out first by a medical professional. ❚ Apps that interact with Bluetooth or connect to the phone. The Nike Fuel Band is a wrist band which acts as a watch, a pedometer, and it gives you “fuel points” as you move throughout the day. You can set yourself a goal of 5,000 fuel points a day, for example, so you know how much you should be moving, Mejia says. The band keeps track of steps and calculates arm movements. ❚ Jawbone UP is essentially the same idea as the Nike Fuel Band, a wrist band that also tracks the amount of sleep you’re getting — which is important when it comes to gaining muscle mass or losing body fat — and has a built in food log.
“It’s all right on your wrist so it’s a good visual motivator,” Mejia says. “You can also set it to vibrate every 15 minutes or so for people who sit at desks all day, reminding them to get up and move, even if it’s just a walk around the office. edmontonjournal. com
Do you have a question about fitness? Want to know how to improve your workout? Send queries to livingwell@edmontonjournal. com with “fittip” in the subject line.
To hear personal trainer Kevin Mejia’s top picks for health and fitness apps go to edmontonjournal.com/ fitness