Go ahead and take that second helping of bacon-broasted mashed potatoes and high-fat gravy this Thursday, friends, because even if your tummy gets big and round like a steamed black bean bun, there’s an app for that.
Fitness apps for all!
iPhone fitness apps have come a long way since Nike+iPod. The addition of GPS opened entirely new vistas for running and biking enthusiasts and the iPhone’s video and audio capabilities made it fun to use the iPhone in the gym. Here are a few of my favorites.
PumpOne FitnessBuilder
FitnessBuilder offers [$9.99] 500 little workouts for you and allows you to stick to them by forcing you to record and possibly report them to friends when you’re done. You open the app, select a work out – there are a number of sets for various workouts including shorter sets for busy folks – and then you can record your reps and weight for posterity.
If you’re ripped like me you don’t need all 5,000 of the pictures and videos then you can just use the app to figure out what to do between hits of Muscle Milk. However, if you need some help in the gym this is definitely the way to go. One of my favorites and well worth the investment.
iFitness
iFitness [$1.99] is one of the first workout programs for the
iPhone and includes a method for creating your own workouts as well as a list of ready-made workouts for the lazy.
The app is less visually attractive than FitBuilder but it is considerably cheaper than the PumpOne offering.
Trimble AllSport GPS
Do you like to do all sorts of things? Running? Dancing? Hiking? Hang-gliding? Space walking? The Trimble AllSport GPS [$4.99] has you covered. The app allows you to select multiple activities including hiking, biking, skiing, and even driving. When you start a run it will map your exercise as you go and even allows for basic music control inside the app.
RunKeeper Pro
RunKeeper Pro is one of the first apps to use the iPhone’s GPS capabilities to track your runs. To use it, you start it up and press start. Then you run or bike. That’s it. You can then view your workouts online and share your runs with friends.
The app comes in two versions, Free and Pro [$9.99] and the Pro version includes voice prompts as well as photo and status updates from the road. The Pro version also allows you to set a special iPod playlist for your workout.
My Therapy Exercise [$19.99] might not be for everyone but it is an interesting addition to the fitness canon. The app includes 170 exercises for folks who may need to take things a bit slower due to injuries or illness. The system allows you to work on your therapy exercises at home and then email a trainer or doctor tour results.
It’s a bit pricey but it’s a very specific tool for a very specific purpose.
It would have been nice to include a comparison to MotionX or EveryTrail in your GPS tracking reviews. They seem to be the leaders in the field, and both provide free apps.
haven’t tried them yet. these are some I worked with.
Hi John!
Our runtastic iPhone App launched yesterday for free in the App Store. Since runtastic iPhone App is so fresh we would highly apriciate any quality feedback.
Greetings from Austria (Europe)!
Alfred
Prefectly managed article with great information. I must say speciality of TechCrunch.
Thanks for sharing such nice Apps. These surely help us if we use them properly. without use everything is useless….
That’s true, do any of them harass or check up on you if you haven’t used them recently?
If they were set to start tweeting or updating your facebook status with the fact that you are being a fat lazy lump if you don’t use them in set amount of time that might be a nice motivating factor.
Flat bench tears rotator cuffs – use dumbbells instead. And dumbbell press makes your stabilization muscles/triceps stronger. Just thought I’d throw that in there because the little collage up top follows the I-don’t-know-shit-about-working-out misstep of displaying flat bench in 2 separate pics.
Hilarious Pic!
I’ll definitely give one of these apps a shot.
PLEASE DO AN ARTICLE ON THE HACKED/LEAKED EMAILS ON GLOBAL WARMING THATS IN THE NEWS!
http://www.prisonplanet.com/global-warming-meltdown-climategate.html
The “Strands” app is significantly better than runkeeper and it is totally free.
Trailguru is by far the best in this field for outdoor exercise.
Don’t forget the ontri.com app – new version awaiting approval now but comes with marathon and triathlon training plans for those who are ready to race
The Sintake application seemed promising, hopefully the developer will update it.
I think you missed out on “Virtual Trainer Pro”, this app has a voice feature which allows you to listen to the routine of your choice as well as make your own routines.. Found it incredibly useful whilst in the gym.
Time Trials is a new iPhone app with unique features for competitions.
Nice list. I used iFitness back in my gym going days but actually found GymGoal more useful. Since getting a bowflex, I would have to say iFlex is worth a look for others with bowflex’s.
great.. about time
All you guys are shamelessly plugging your own products. RunningMap Trackometer is brand new and a companion for the long lived and excellent RunningMap.com.
Biggs, RKPro’s online interactive maps of your activities rule. Why didn’t you mention?
In high school when I was crushing the scale I decided to go out and run. Now I run about 10 miles a day. These applications are worthless and make you look like a fool compared to anyone who is serious about a running or lifting career.
Good interactive list, I like it
Will suggest to my friends!
Good application … but motivation is necessary to used it :D
I have enjoyed using RunKeeper Pro. It is also one of the finalists for the Best Location Based Mobile App category of Mashable’s 2009 Open Web Awards.
http://mashable.com/owa/categories
Definitely check out EveryTrail – very cool and useful GPS app (also apps for Android, BB, and WinMo)
My Therapy Exercise iPhone app looks like it might be exactly what I need as I’m hoping to start physical therapy next week after a back surgery five weeks ago. Thanks much for this timely tip.
EveryTrail is a cool, i use that pretty often when riding.
How about Runmeter 2.0? Just out this week, it actually speaks your tweets when you run, includes maps, graphs and Google maps: http://www.runmeter.com
I´ve tried runtastic and for me it´s the best app, also the voice feedback sounds really good.
And the best – this app is for free and also online http://www.runtastic.com
hey great post! These apps are pretty interesting but the best app of the year so far has been the CIBCswitch
MTHIRTY has just shared a widget with you on behalf of CIBC