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Tons of people, myself included, talk about wanting to get healthy. Often that means taking up running. Of course the reality of the situation is that we almost never make good on those promises. That’s where this particular list comes in. For your consideration we have four apps that should, in theory, get you out and jogging. For real this time.
 RockMyRun
Music can be a big motivator for a lot of people. It can get the blood pumping and really gets us in the mood for doing stuff. RockMyRun is a collection of specially mixed tunes for runners from a variety of DJs from all over the world. Sure there’s always the option of listening to your own music, but why not try some tunes that have been specifically created to keep you running?
FREE!  iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-10-23 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness  RunKeeper
RunKeeper is great for tracking progress for running, hiking, biking, etc. It features a number of detailed stats to monitor, lets users take photos to chronicle their activities, and will notify them when personal milestones have been reached. It’s full of useful features but what’s really bound to get me using it is the feature that lets me compare and compete with my friends.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-01-13 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness  Walkathon + Fitness Games
This particular app features a lot of games that can be unlocked via in-app purchase, ranging from fantasy kingdom construction to racing with friends. However, as motivating as gamifying running and walking can be, what’s really impressive is the way it automatically links with sponsors to make donations based on your activity. I mean, it is Walkathon after all.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-10-15 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness  Zombies, Run!
Personally, I think Zombies, Run! is the app that will finally get me running. It doesn’t just turn jogging into a game, it turns it into an awesome and robust game. Constructing strongholds, completing quests, finding supplies, and running like mad from hordes of shambling corpses. It sounds awesome all by itself, but it’s powered by physical activity!
$3.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-02-27 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness
Is it really nearly 2013? How did that happen? And why did 2012 go so fast? I have no answer, but I can answer what I enjoyed so much about 2012. It wasn’t the greatest of years for me in many respects, but it was a fantastic year for the technology fan part of me.
Fairway Solitaire
Tell me at the start of the year that my main gaming addiction this year would be a card game and I’d have laughed. A lot. I’ve always quite enjoyed solitaire games but usually when I have nothing better to do. Fairway Solitaire has established its place in my daily routine ever since I reviewed it at the start of the year. No mean feat given the wealth of games I’ve played across the year. Its constant trickle of new content each day is all too tempting and I’ve found it to be very relaxing. Shame that some elements of the game require quite a lot of in-app purchases.
iPhone 5
I’ve never owned an iPhone since launch before, having always picked them up much later down the line. Thanks to things working out well, I picked up an iPhone 5 two days after its initial launch. I’m so glad I did. Out of all the technology in my house, it’s the most used and not just for work reasons. It might not be the most revolutionary of hardware updates, but the extra screen space and processor power is very handy. Owning the 32gb variety (for the first time) is a particular revelation. Finally, I don’t have to swap out apps and games all the time.
Summer of Sport
As a soccer and athletics fan, this summer was a memorable one. Euro 2012 kept me happy, if predictably disappointed, as an England supporter. The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, made me proud of my country and ecstatic to watch so much fantastic sport. It also marked the first Olympics when iOS devices played an important part in coverage, which was shown through the plethora of apps available.
The Walking Dead
The most emotional game I’ve played in recent years. Bar none. It’s perhaps a little weak on gaming elements and there are a few plotholes by the end, but it doesn’t stop The Walking Dead being a tour de force of emotion. I have no children but I can only imagine the powerful story of a girl desperate to find her parents amongst a zombie invasion, being all the more potent for those who do.
Zombies, Run!
More zombies! Not quite in the same way, though. Zombies, Run! is my exercise companion. I jog, rather than run. A distinct lack of stamina and a continuing foot problem means things are a little slower for me. The key thing is, though, Zombies, Run! motivates me to keep trying. Telling a story linked into exercise is an inspired move and one that genuinely encouraged me to regularly jog. No matter how slow the progress might have been.
iA Writer
Yes, I know iA Writer isn’t an app that came out in 2012. It has had regular updates but that isn’t why it’s in my list, either. It’s here because 2012 marked the year that I bought my first Mac. A MacBook Pro, to be exact. Since then, there have been many apps that have made my life much easier but none more so than the Mac version of iA Writer. I’m using it right now to write this. Even better, if I have to go away from my laptop for whatever reason, I can carry on where I left this on my iPhone or iPad. That flexibility has made a massive difference to my year.
 It’s a plight suffered by many. I want to be fitter. I want to be able to run a 5k without feeling like I’m going to die. Heck, I want to be able to run any distance without feeling like I’m going to collapse into a wheezy heap. I’m not overweight, I don’t smoke, drink or anything else particularly negative. I am lazy, though. Given the choice between hitting the gym or playing a video game, I’ll take the latter every time. I suspect I’m not alone there. However, this is starting to change, courtesy of my iPhone and the wealth of apps I can pick up to encourage me to achieve my goals.
Last year, I discovered the Fitocracy website. It turned exercise into experience points, it offered me awards and challenges to work towards. It immediately boosted my motivation levels. Relatively soon afterwards, the iOS app for Fitocracy was released.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-03-29 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness It’s great. I can enter all my activities while I’m in the gym. Reps take a second to enter and I can watch the points flow in. It’s not perfect, though. Given my weak cardio exercises, the points aren’t massive. Longer runs or cycles are needed, and that takes time and effort. I needed an extra carrot to tempt me along.
I dabbled with MiCoach, a great gadget that connects to your trainers tracking my every move.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-01 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness It’s a useful app and gadget. Tracking how I was performing was great and I could also use my stats to progress in MiCoach Soccer. I needed more newbie focused guidance, though.
Two of my all round favorites are Two Hundred Situps and Get Running, the apps that I recommend to anyone vaguely interested in pursuing such things. They do a great job of keeping me exercising while not exhausting me, reminding me not to push myself too far.
As a zombie loving gamer though, I have a huge soft spot for Zombies, Run! 5k Training. It’s quite new compared to the competition, but it’s great. It offers a similar set plan to Get Running but with a zombie themed storyline to follow. It’s the little things like that which make me keen to ‘play’ the next section and actually look forward to the next treadmill session.
$1.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-10-12 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness The best part? I have a direct route planned for once I, hopefully, complete the 5k, in the form of Zombies, Run!
$3.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-02-27 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness For those days where I’m not on the treadmill but I want to keep track of my progress, I stick to Striiv. Offering me a steady trickle of trophies and rewards for walking a lot, it gives me a nice sense of satisfaction, even if I’m just walking around the grocery store. Even better, it’s free and helps me resist the temptation to pick up a more expensive solution such as a Nike+ FuelBand.
While I might still need the motivation to get out of bed on a cold, wintery morning in the name of getting fit, such apps encourage me to do it. Sure, I should have the willpower alone but no one’s perfect! Fitocracy, in particular, has changed my outlook immensely. Turning potentially tedious work into a game is guaranteed to help matters.
Tempted? Go sign up and feel free to follow me on there to see my progress. I’m slightly behind at the moment, as no app can yet keep you 100% healthy at all times!
We’ve looked at some pretty intriguing games from Mojo Bones and Simogo, but this time round, it’s the turn of a more exercise-focused app developer in the form of Six To Start.
 What is Six To Start?: Six To Start describes itself as next-gen storytellers. Made up of a variety of different staff from backgrounds as diverse as the theatre and neuroscience, the company works on online games, as well as apps for iOS, each with the focus on storytelling as well as providing memorable experiences. One glance at the team page on the company site ably demonstrates just how varied skillsets the team offer.
What is Six To Start most famous for?
Zombies, Run! One of the most successful Kickstarter projects in recent times, Zombies, Run! manages to make running (or walking) fun by adding a zombie twist to proceedings. Stick your headphones in as you run and an immersive audio adventure kicks in, distracting you from the aches and pains as well as telling a fantastic story, courtesy of award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman.
What’s next on the horizon?
There’s been a steady stream of new content for Zombies, Run! since it launched earlier this year but CEO Adrian Hon has promised us that a new app, Zombies, Run! 5k Training, will be out in the near future, aimed directly at beginner runners. New updates for Zombies, Run! will continue, also.
 Anything else I should know about Six To Start?
Yup! We asked Adrian Hon how Zombies, Run! came about.
148apps: What was the inspiration behind creating Zombies, Run?
Adrian: It came from a couple of places – I’ve been a runner for a long time now, but it didn’t come naturally! I only really got into it with the help of gadgets like the Garmin Forerunner GPS watch, which at least helped you see how much you were improving. The problem was that they didn’t make running any more interesting or fun, and even when GPS tracking apps became commonplace, no-one seemed to be making running games for smartphones, so it was something that I’ve wanted to do for some time.
The other half of the inspiration came from our co-creator and writer Naomi Alderman, who fairly recently joined a running club. When they asked people why they’d joined, some people said ‘to get fit’, others ‘to lose weight’, but one person said, ‘to survive the zombie apocalypse’! We put two and two together, and that’s where Zombies, Run! came from!
148apps: What’s your favourite thing about iOS development?
Adrian: There’s a lot to like – the solid development environment, the consistency across devices (although the iPhone 5 does make our life a little more difficult!), the comparative smoothness of publishing on iTunes Connect, and the absolutely massive potential audience. It’s not perfect, but it’s very good.
 Where can I find out more about Six To Start?
Quite a few places. The Six To Start website is a good starting place, there’s also the Twitter page. For more zombie based updates, check out the official Zombies, Run! website and its Twitter account. And, of course, we’ll keep you informed on any updates and the progress of Zombies, Run! 5k Training
$3.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-02-27 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness
May is Zombie Awareness Month. While pop culture seems intent on making us aware of zombies on a regular basis, this is the special month for zombies. May is almost over, but that doesn’t mean there’s not just enough time left to celebrate with some zombie-themed apps.
 Zombies, Run!: Rule #1 of zombie survival? Cardio. What better way to get that than with a fitness app/game that has players trying to outrun virtual hordes of zombies? Missions can be done and survival accessories completed by jogging. There’s even a “Zombie Chases” mode that turns interval training into having to occasionally go faster when the zombie horde nears. Custom playlists can be used, with in-game audio occasionally cutting in to advance the story.
$3.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-02-27 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness  Zombieville USA 2: The best way to survive a zombie infestation is by sticking together. Thankfully, Zombieville USA 2 comes with multiplayer options, including online over Game Center for 2 people. Ever see a man in a trucker hat with a shotgun ward off zombies together with a goth girl using a katana? Zombieville USA 2 players have.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-10-27 :: Category: Games  The Walking Dead: The best way to understand the enemy is to read about them. Also, to learn from the mistakes of those who tried to survive before. This app lets users buy issues of the groundbreaking comic written by Robert Kirkman, and read them on iPhone and iPad. The app features all the latest issues, as well as collections of past issues.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-10-22 :: Category: Books  Zombie Gunship: After trying to survive the zombies, why not eliminate them? This shooter has added new environments to kill since its original launch, but the goal remains the same: take out hordes of zombies from a hovering gunship, while keeping them away from the humans’ stronghold. After years of zombie media where frantic and panicked survival on limited resources was the focus, being able to blow zombies away with deadly weaponry is just satisfying. Also satisfying? The game’s AirPlay Mirroring support, for watching zombie guys going everywhere on the big screen.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-07-21 :: Category: Games
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