There’s one more element missing from your newly minted fitness journey — app support. No, not like that. You can try and hold strong to the idea in your head (“I will run for five kilometres without stopping”) but with a proper plan, it may take longer than you expected. Any delay could mean a lack of motivation at a critical moment and then boom — your fitness goals are over before they really begin.
So, add a new app to your exercise arsenal alongside some headphones that won’t melt when you sweat on them and a fitness tracker that will shame you (kindly, of course) into continuing to build a better you. Here are some great training-focused applications, no matter which approach you’re taking to a longer life.
Find What Feels Good Yoga
You don’t need to pay for access to YouTube’s Adriene Mishler — the channel is called Yoga with Adriene — but if you’d like premium content from her that you can carry in your pocket, the Find What Feels Good app is what you want to download. The offering is an expansion of what’s available for free, with additional instructors helming classes in Pilates and others. There’s stuff specifically for kids, in case you need to keep the sprogs moving and flexible, and anybody who is uncertain of the commitment will find that a week’s trial is enough to put their minds at rest. You’ll need to enter payment info to attempt that test period, though.
from R230/m (Android) | from R230/m (iOS)
Nike Training Club
Nike is possibly one of the best brands to pay attention to when choosing workout support. It put out an absolutely incredible fitness title for the Xbox 360’s Kinect, a feat that was sadly marred by the ambivalence of gamers. But the Nike Training Club app is a decent second price. World-class trainers live inside your smartphone of choice and coach you through whatever goals you’ve chosen for yourself. As with all these apps, it’s up to you to make them work but if you’re following Nike’s tips and training, you’ll be surprised at the physical chances you’ll experience just a few weeks into the experiment.
from Free (Android) | from Free (iOS)
Centr
The most American-sounding, Australian-looking Thor in all of fiction, Chris Hemsworth, has his own fitness app. Because of course he does. You don’t look the way Hemsworth does simply by living at the beach and surfing a bunch (though you’d be surprised how far that gets you). Centr is best known for its intense workouts that should put even fitness pros on their sides gasping for respite as they try to keep up with the fittest of Hollywood’s Chris Quartet (Pine, Hemsworth, Evans, Pratt). As with most workout programs, it’s up to you to motivate yourself but Hemsworth and friends (actual fitness experts, not Scarlett Johanssen) will do their level best to push you through the customised workout programs and toward your fitness goals.
from Free (R280/m – Android) | from Free (R330/m – iOS)
Sweat: Fitness App for Women
Sweat is the brainchild of fitness expert and trainer Kayla Itsines and, as the name suggests, this app is tailored specifically for women. There’s a free trial followed by a monthly or annual subscription, with a somewhat murky Android pricing structure that should work out to about R250/m, but it should prove worth it. Workouts run the gamut from HIIT (high-intensity interval training) to circuit, bodyweight, barre, and pregnancy-friendly workouts. A selection of trainers including Kelsey Wells, Britany Williams, and Cass Olholm present courses in the app. It’s a welcome occurrence for women to follow workouts that don’t assume the end user is a prospective rugby prop looking to bulk up ahead of tryouts.
from Free (IAPs – Android) | from R380/ (iOS)
Strava
Strava is perhaps the most recognisable name here and there’s a reason for that. This movement-dedicated app is best known for its cycling support though runners will also find plenty on offer as well. With a wholly free version as well as a premium subscription version (which can cost up to six hundred bucks a year), it’s perhaps the easiest to check out. There aren’t just the two exercise types, either. Strava tracks a full 30 sports, interacts with most of the major fitness trackers for a fuller overview of what you’re putting your body through, and offers loads of insights into your fitness flailing. Paid users, obviously, get a better picture of whatever physical punishment they’ve volunteered for.
from Free (Android) | from Free (iOS)
