The summer is officially here, and many of us are using the warm weather to finally get off the couch and get the winter weight off. If you’re looking to get fit, and especially if you’d rather not go to the gym, your phone can help — if you use these five apps.
MyFitnessPal
The calorie-counting website has apps for iOS and Android, and it’s useful to have on you, especially since summer food is mostly grilled fat and alcohol. Punch in your weight, height, and fitness goals and you get a total calorie amount to stick to. You can also enter your exercise, so you know how many calories you can eat instead of just winging it. While any calorie tracking is going to be a ballpark estimate, knowing roughly what’s going in and what you’re sweating off will help you make smarter choices. Yes, that usually means the vegetable kebab.
C25K
Going from watching Netflix in an air-conditioned room to running a 5K can feel intimidating, but it’s all about getting over the hump. Couch to 5K is designed to make that a gentle bump, not an impossible cliff. The app tracks your calories, keeps you on pace, offers music and audio coaching, and generally gets you in the headspace to run a full 5K in just two months. Or, you know, simply burn off that burger from July 4th.
Daily Yoga
If running doesn’t thrill you, or kills your joints, you can finally put your yoga mat to use with Daily Yoga. It features workouts designed for various goals (like getting toned) and systems to teach you the basics so you can clap back at people telling you not to wear yoga pants. If there’s not a good yoga class near you, or maybe you’re not quite ready to be in front of a crowd, you can get started and get flexible right in your living room.
FIT Radio
If you’re sick of Spotify playlists that consist entirely of jock jams from 1995, or your instant mix dumps a slow ballad on you right when you need to push harder, FIT Radio is an interesting niche app in which the playlists are designed to keep a consistent beat. It can track your running pace and sync the playlist to your speed, and you can choose between a free ad-supported setup or a $4 a month premium option.
Zombies, Run!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTPKcL2Bva_/?tagged=zombierun
Some of us can motivate ourselves to exercise with the thought of better health and a more mindful life, others may need a bit more motivation. That’s where Zombies, Run! comes in. You pop in some headphones and start running. While you jog, this app feeds you an audio adventure which transforms you into a post-apocalyptic hero sprinting around a decimated city, hunting for supplies. Save humanity or get your brain eaten by the ravenous hordes.. Up to you!
Any apps we missed? Let us know in the comments!