Tag: Fitness »

Bloodnote isn't the most exciting sounding of apps but it is extremely useful for those people who need to keep an eye on their blood pressure.

The app provides an easy way of entering blood pressure measurements as and when the user wants them to. It's all laid out in a clear and concise manner so that the systolic, diastolic and pulse can all be consulted at a quick glance. All the user has to do is drag their finger to the relevant reading through a sliding scale. It takes seconds to enter figures.

Bloodnote keeps track of the readings according to the date so it's easy for the user to see how things have changed over the passage of time.

Besides being useful purely for personal reference, it's ideal for those who have been asked by their doctor to keep an eye on how things are progressing.

Bloodnote is out now and priced at $1.99.

Last week, as part of our Health & Fitness themed month, Lisa looked at how apps can help people keep track of the calories they consume. That's great but weight loss and general improved fitness levels won't be achieved without some exercise thrown into the equation. While iOS apps can't force anyone to exercise but they can go a long way to encouraging someone to work harder to achieve their goals. We round up four of the best apps when it comes to tracking progress.

RunKeeper

RunKeeper should be the first port of call for anyone planning on partaking in some outside exercise such as running, walking or cycling to get fit. Other exercises are catered for like swimming, skiing and rowing too with the app's strength stemming from its GPS functionality although indoors use is also possible. RunKeeper tracks more than just how far the user has travelled with speed, pace and calories calculated. Via the GPS functionality, the app even tracks the route taken. All that information is then synced to the RunKeeper website for additional stats and profiling. Interval workouts and target pacing can also be set for the competitive user.

Fleetly

Fleetly is an incredibly simple idea that taps into one key thing that all humans react well to: a feeling of achievement. Within Fleetly, users enter the workout that they've previously performed with the app then allocating points according to how tough the exercise was. Those points then go towards a levelling up system and a global leaderboard with numerous challenges to join and medals to gain. There's a workout generator and coaching side to the app too but the real beauty is in the way it makes its users compete with themselves as much as with others.

All-in-Fitness

All-in Fitness sets out to encompass everything possible fitness wise with 100 ready-made workouts, 1000 fitness & yoga exercises and a calorie counter. The focus here however is on its tracking. The app allows its users to enter numerous different kinds of exercise in order to track calorie consumption and general performance levels. It's a very in-depth app that seems determined to miss nothing (it even includes sex in exercise type) so it might take a little time to fully figure out, but it's ideal for those who need both guidance and a way of tracking all in one app.

Gym Hero

In comparison to the previous app, Gym Hero is incredibly simple. That's where it's ideal for experienced gym rats. For those who don't need to be told what exercises will work for them or how to achieve better results, Gym Hero enables a simple and quick way of entering workout progress without the need to repeatedly enter words like sets and reps. It's even possible to set up different workouts making it incredibly quick to use for those juggling different routines depending on the day.

Whether your New Year's resolution is to lose weight, have more energy, or just take better care of yourself, the iOS App Store has lots of fitness and health apps to help. We've taken a closer look at the best from Apple's own New Year, New You list to help you pick the ones right for you.

P90X - By Beachbody, LLC
The P90X can be a punishing workout. Use this app to keep on track and keep the muscles burning with a schedule, track and sync progression with the P90X website, and purchase P90X workout bundles with video and audio guides.

Gorilla Workout : Athletic Fitness Training on a Budget - By Heckr LLC
Working out is great, but unless a substantial in-home gym is available, it usually requires a trip to the gym. However, this app will instruct users on tons of different workouts at 4 different levels that require no equipment at all. A great way to get fit on a budget.

Pocket Yoga - By Rainfrog, LLC
Yoga is a great way to workout out at home, but unless a trained yoga instructor is handy it can be hard to do it right. This app will guide users through various yoga workouts with voice instructions and illustrated instructions. Airplay can also be used to play on a larger screen.

There are even more fitness apps, after the break.

If there is one thing that stinks about exercising, it is that it's nearly impossible to work out and game at the same time.  Hoping to make the arduous task of physical fitness slightly more tolerable, developer BitGym has released an awesome new game to make the minutes fly by.  Racing fans will be glad to know that Fit Freeway will now allow them to get their daily dose of pedaling in while indulging their inner competitor, all at the same time.

Finding an outstanding use for the front facing camera, the on-screen car can actually be controlled using head tracking.  As for the accelerator, the iOS device will use the inner sensors to monitor the vibrations of the workout equipment.  So the harder you pedal the faster the car moves.  This is an amazing idea that we can't believe that someone didn't think about sooner.

Be sure to give the game a download and put the pedal to the metal in your next workout!  Let us know what you think of it in the comments.

[gallery]

The award-winning Scosche MyTrek Pulse Monitor is an arm band that communicates wirelessly with the free myTREK health and fitness app. The app displays real-time pulse, target training zone, calories burned, distance and speed of run, total workout time and provides voice prompts during the workout. At $129.99, the pulse monitor works exlusively with the above mentioned app and seems to greatly reduce the bulkiness of the many chest and watch combinations.

With accurate pulse monitoring, the user can easily assess the intensity of their workout and adjust which training zone they're in by using the five color coded options to quickly identify the desired intensity level. Based on personal health information, each workout zone is represented in a different color, including Resting Zone (White), Weight Loss Zone (Green), Fitness Zone (Yellow), Performance Zone (Orange) and Red Line Zone (Red). Each training session can be customized by adjusting the type of activity, target training zone and type of workout all within the app. It also includes motivational voice prompts to get the user to the finish line as well as makes it easy to control music via the integrated buttons on the Scosche myTREK Wireless Pulse Monitor.

This week at 148Apps, we took your New Year's resolutions seriously and started our "Health and Fitness" month. Editor Rob LeFebvre writes, "We’ve already taken a look at some apps that help us all acheive our goals, and we plan to continue that trend for the entire month, with personal stories from our crack writing team, continued reviews, and focused features like our Favorite Four."

See our first group of Health & Fitness reviews at 148Apps.

Our apps-for-kids site, GiggleApps, offered a review of Odd Spotting. Reviewer Amy Solomon says, "Odd Spotting, developed by Micromicon Media Limit, is an “odd one out” game with 144 levels, the goal of each being to spot the object that is different from all the others in the group. As I began to explore how Odd Spotting works, I couldn’t help but to remember the lyrics from a classic Sesame Street song, “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.”

Learn more and read the full review on GiggleApps.

Finally, on 148Apps.biz, writer Jeff Hughes commented on Apple's recent (and quiet) changes to app categorization on the App Store, saying "Just like Google, when iTunes makes the slightest change to their App Store search algorithm, it has an impact on how many people see your app. The recent changes to the category ordering have also impacted sales for many app vendors for better or worse. Some developers have been helped because their app is now in a category that is displayed higher on the mobile screen...Other developers may be adversely impacted due to the decrease in exposure for their app because their category now appears further down the list."

Read more on 148Apps.biz.

And that, my friends, completes our rundown of happenings across the 148Apps network for the week of January 9-13. Keep track of all the latest news, reviews and contests by following us on Twitter or Liking us on Facebook. See you in a week!

New Year, resolutions, and the like. Everyone, from local papers to Apple to us here at 148Apps are getting the word out about ways to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We've already taken a look at some apps that help us all acheive our goals, and we plan to continue that trend for the entire month, with personal stories from our crack writing team, continued reviews, and focused features like our Favorite Four.

Here's what we have for you from the past couple of weeks. Stay tuned right here for even more Health and Fitness goodness for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Abs Workout For iPad Review
"Abs Workout for iPad is definitely a good place for the user to start on their quest for a better body, although Levels 2 and 3 will need to be purchased after a while, as abs gets stronger, and exercises become easier."

All-in-Pedometer Review
"For the walker, All-in Pedometer is ideal, focusing on one key aspect and doing a fine job of keeping the user informed throughout."

Gym Genie Review
"Despite the ugly interface, Gym Genie is a solid workout tool. It’s not a comprehensive resource or anything like that, but for what it is – and its 99-cent price tag – it’s not bad at all. For beginners, at least, this could be very helpful."

Favorite Four iPhone Apps for Sticking to a New Year’s Diet
"As we mentioned in our favorite four apps for keeping New Year resolutions, weight loss (as well as getting into and staying in good healthy shape) tops most people’s list of desired self-improvements. Few other goals are harder to achieve, however. We don’t have the secret formula, but we do have four iPhone apps that make getting into the right shape a lot easier."

As we mentioned in our favourite four apps for keeping New Year resolutions, weight loss (as well as getting into and staying in good healthy shape) tops most people's list of desired self-improvements. Few other goals are harder to achieve, however. We don't have the secret formula, but we do have four iPhone apps that make getting into the right shape a lot easier. Hit the break for our favorite four apps to do just that.

4iiii Innovation has introduced a new set of glasses for athletes, called the Sportiiiis. The Sportiiiis' strength, especially for iPhone users, will come when the glasses are paired with ANT+ devices. ANT+ is a hardware specification for wireless sensor devices, such as heart rate monitors, that can interact with devices like the Sportiiiis. The app can be used to configure the way ANT+ devices interact with the lights on the Sportiiiis; for example, certain lights can come on at certain heart rates on a heart rate monitor. Or, an ANT+-based pedometer could be used to track distance using the LED lights. Up to 8 sensors can be paired with the Sportiiiis, with the ability to switch between them with a double tap of the unit. These functions can all be programmed in from 4iiii's upcoming app. The Sportiiis will be available soon from 4iiii's website, and are on sale at their CES 2012 booth in the North Hall's ANT+ Pavilion.

OK, so it's already five days into 2012, and if you are like some of us, it's very likely you are already off track, or about to get there. But, of course, there are a slew of iPhone apps that can help. Whether you are looking to make a proactive change for the better or eliminate an old habit, now or any time of year, here are our favourite four apps to help.

Commit

Commit is a new app, and we love it. The simple iPhone offering is all about keeping the most important commitments: the ones we make to ourselves. There is little to this great app - upon launch users are greeted by a simple fill-in-the-blank. "I will ___ every day." Just pick something, jogging, writing, mediation, whatever, and set a reminder time. A push notice will prompt the action, and the app will log streaks. The unobtrusive GUI makes it fun to try again too.

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal

If there is one resolution that is repeated annually - almost ritually for every big occasion in fact - by most everyone it is losing weight and to getting into or staying in good, healthy shape. No app makes all that possible, and does it as well, as this one by MyFitnessPal. It's easy to use, has a vast database of calorie counts and other important nutritional information on food choices, and has 350 exercises for strength and cardio fitness goals. The app is social, feature packed, as has so much important information anyone serious about health should check it out.

LIVESTRONG MyQuit Coach - Dare to Quit Smoking

Ok, so in 2012, are people even allowed to admit they smoke anymore? It may not be on TV and in movies much today, at least not here in North America, since there are laws in place making it costly to show people doing it, but statistics suggest the reality may be better than 20 years ago, but millions worldwide are still hooked on coffin nails. No one really needs to tell a smoker why quitting is a good idea, but cancer avoidance tops most lists. So what better branding, and in this case, a system and an app worthy of it, to help make the very difficult process easier than LIVESTRONG. MyQuit Coach helps identify triggers, set a realistic quitting schedule, has social network support and even game-like achievements to reward progress.

Ideal Me

Ideal Me is ideally suited to anyone who anyone wanting to stop or start a common or wholly unique habit or goal. The app has some suggestions for a broad range of users from students to travelers, to those facing serious addictions, but encourages us to create our own aspirations as well. After a goal is set, the app allows users to create a step-by-step plan including a time frame, for, say the stages of writing a novel, or adhering to a work out regimen, and positively reinforces reaching benchmarks - their apt term for not just starting a New Year's resolve, but getting it done too. A free "lite" version is available too.

Want a one stop solution for transforming an iOS device into an all-in-one fitness training partner? Then why not consider Wahoo Fitness's Wahoo Run/Gym Pack?

For $119.99, it offers everything an exercise fan could want. Using ANT+ technology, the pack combines GPS, heart rate, music playing and phone facilities all into one package. Connect an iOS device up to heart rate monitors, foot pods and other fitness sensors all through this piece of kit.

As CEO of Wahoo Fitness, Chip Hawkins, puts it: "You no longer have to purchase a designated fitness watch. You’re already carrying your iPhone or iPod Touch with you for music and safety; might as well have it track your workout too.”

The Wahoo Run/Gym Pack includes a Wahoo Soft Heart Rate Strap and Wahoo Key which links the iOS device to the most popular heart rate monitors and other ANT+ sensors. It's all compatible with over 100 of the most popular fitness apps like RunKeeper, MapMyRun+ and more, with the kit coming bundled with Wahoo Fitness' own app.

The Wahoo Run/Gym Pack is available now for $129.99 at Best Buy stores across the country as well as on the Wahoo website.