Fit Friendzy
Developed by GE and recommended by the Surgeon General, this app is the fitness equivalent of This Book Will Change Your Life. It dares you and your buddies to get in fantastic shape with more than 100 challenges, ranging from easy (walk 30 minutes per day) to difficult (run a marathon, perform 50 one-arm push-ups, try yoga). Hey, if a guy can lose 75 pounds with Twitter, this social accountability thing must be legit. Free
PostureScreen Mobile
Nothing makes you look worse than bad posture, and it can lead to a lot of pain later in life. This app is designed for physical therapists, massage therapists and chiropractors, but it’s so intuitive that even non-medical professionals can use it to analyze and improve their posture. Simply take a few pictures of yourself. Within seconds, it’ll show you where alignment is off. $9.99
Instant Heart Rate
This is probably the most accurate heart rate monitor app out there. Place your finger gently over your camera lens, hold it steady for 10 seconds and it’ll give you your current heart rate. This’ll help you determine when you’ve reached your maximum beats per minute and should take a break (220 minus your age = max heart rate, in general). It’ll also help you determine how quickly you recover from a workout, or even a short burst of cardio. $0.99 (there’s also a free version)
Sleep Time
Because quality sleep is vital to your health, this app detects your movements during the night and figures out the best time to wake you, ensuring you never roll out of bed groggy. It also graphs and analyzes your sleep cycles, letting you know, for example, how much high-grade deep sleep you get. One caveat: it’s not as effective if you’re sleeping with someone else. So you’ll have to save it for those times when Candice Swanepoel isn’t staying over. $0.99
Jay Cardiello is Made Man’s fitness and nutrition expert. As a top certified strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer and sports nutritionist, Cardiello has worked with Hollywood A-Listers, Fortune 500 CEOs and NFL stars. His accelerated body transformation program is available here, and his new book, Cardio Core 4×4, is available here.
