The Best Fitness and Running Apps You Can Get

Getting into a workout routine is pretty much the worst. In an era where a lot of folks work sedentary jobs, and are often overworked, it’s tough to have time to workout, much less budget that time for it. While apps have had a negative influence on a lot of aspects of life, particularly social cues, they can also help you figure out life lessons with personalized takes —almost like tiny little personal gurus.
While calendar apps and schedulers are great at getting you focused, they won’t necessarily explain the types of workouts you should be doing, and how often. That’s where all of these apps come in.
Best Running App: Runkeeper
Runner Up: Map My Fitness
Going out for a casual jog with a friend or spouse is one of the most fun activities I can think of in the realm of exercising, and apps help make that process a little smoother. By tracking subtle movements, pacing, and distance, you can help improve yourself without having too much pressure like you’re running a live race or competing against everyone else for “points.”
Runkeeper publicly or privately, tracks your workouts by way of GPS, and lets you set your own goals in terms of speed or weight, while providing a plan to follow on top of that. I’ve mostly used it casually in tandem with my Fitbit (which is one of the best motivators), but it gets the job done.
Best Daily Routine: DailyBurn
Runner Up: Nike+ Training Club
One of the best things you can do is exercise a little bit every day. It’s part of the process of breaking habits that I mentioned above, and can fit into just about any lifestyle, even if you’re rushing to work every morning and spending most of your day there. As a busy writer I tried DailyBurn for a few months, and was mostly satisfied with the results.
In short, it’s a VOD service for exercise videos, but it also has a small element of curation to it. You’re paying for the library of routines, no doubt, but the fact that they have new broadcasts at 9AM ET that are available for 24 hours helps keep things fresh, rather than watching the same stuff over and over until you get bored and never work out again.
Best Instructional app: Fitness Buddy
Runner Up: Sworkit