Apptastic! Making your smartphone work for you.

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It has been 18 days since I arrived with the times and purchased my first smartphone, which meant giving up this bad boy, also known as my Fischer-Price phone.

Yes, that is a rubber band keeping it together.

Now I am the proud owner of an  iPhone 4S. How did I ever live without it?  In just two short weeks it has become a major tool in my fitness journey arsenal. Not only did I quickly become addicted to the phone itself, but my latest addiction hobby is discovering the vast wide world of fitness apps.  There are some I have come to love, and some that have been downloaded to my phone and are still awaiting a tryout.  Most of my apps came to my attention by either word of mouth, or by my other latest addiction:  Researching fitness apps 0nline courtesy of my friend Google.

Here’s a sampling of what I have been tooling around with lately. Some of these will be old hat to you techies. But some might convince others to give up their own relics flip phones. I can honestly say, my new spiffy phone and these apps have reignited my motivation and my workouts and I am hoping the novelty never wears off. By the way, all of these below are free.  Most can be upgraded to a “pro” version for a small fee, but so far, free has worked fine for me!

  • RunKeeper – A GPS-based device that keeps track of your pace/mileage/distance and more, all in an easy-to-read format. I love the audio cues that tell you your pace and distance. And there is a pause feature that lets you temporarily stop your workout when that neighbor of yours pulls over to say hello.
  • Running Log Free – gives you a calendar format to keep track of all your runs and what type they are, i.e., long runs, fartleks,  track workout etc.
  • GymBoss Interval Timer – I have one of these actual gadgets which I may end up donating to charity now that I am using the app. Easy to set up. You pick your intervals, how many and how long and hit start and off you go. Great for interval runs, sprints  or  Tabata-style workouts.
  • My Trainer Bob – Workouts bought to you by the one and only Bob Harper.
  • RipDeck– A workout generator modeled on a deck of cards. This is a fun way to get in a workout when you have a limited amount of time. You go through a ‘deck’ of cards with that tap of the screen. Two of clubs? That’s two squats. Four of hearts= 4 jumping jacks. Each suit is a different exercise and the number of repetitions is based on rank. With the cards always “shuffling” you never know what is coming next. All while a timer is going.Your goal is to finish the entire deck in the shortest time possible.You can also choose your level of difficulty.
  • FitRabbit– I have not tried this one yet, but it’s an app where logging your food intake and workouts is turned into a social game.  Looks like fun and the reviews I have read are mighty favorable.
  • Other favorites: My Fitness Pal, Lose It, Fooducate (awesome! gives you a rating of how healthy your foods are and shows you healthy alternatives) and Waterlogged, which tracks your water intake for the day.

How about you? Do you have some favorite fitness/healthy lifestyle apps? Share in the comments!

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