posted
05/9/12
In these complex digital times, more and more guys are downloading smartphone apps to help them get fit. And I think that’s terrific—whatever gets you off the couch, Body By Jake. But if you’re going to rely on the inventions of tech-y geniuses like Steve Jobs to power your workouts, you might as well use the best fitness apps on the market. Here are a few of my favorites.
British Military Fitness: My Fitness Instructor
Complete with real-time voice instruction, more than 5 million workouts, a fully loaded fitness test and optional video demonstrations for all exercises, this app gives you a personal trainer you can take anywhere. Plus, this trainer has a British accent, so he sounds even more intelligent and authoritative. £2.99 (about $5)
Fooducate
Add a pocket nutritionist to your pocket trainer with this app. Take it to the grocery store and scan the barcodes of food items you’re considering. It’ll tell you what’s inside and suggest healthier options, if necessary. It’s great for warning you about the terrible stuff in products, like excessive sugar or tricky trans fats. It’s also great for comparing two foods (even if it means finally coming to terms with the fact that Kashi is healthier than Cocoa Puffs). Free
Walkmeter
Think you walk a lot? Find out just how much with this app, which continually records your time, location, distance, elevation and speed. You can program it to give you audio announcements when you hit a certain distance, you can see Google maps and graphs of your walks, and you can share these maps on Facebook and Twitter. It also works for cycling, running and skiing. Probably even skipping. $2.99
