Fitness apps are a convenient, affordable, portable and effective way to stay healthy. Here are a few of my favorites:
Nike Training Club. I literally switched from droid to iPhone because of this app! I was on a trip with my super-fit friends and we worked out together using the training programs on the free app. At the time this app was only available for iPhones and iPads so I headed home and got myself an iPhone. (#NeverLooked Back #MacFan😉). Great combo of toning and cardio. Super effective and you can choose your workout based on the time you have, the moves, etc. You can preview the moves ahead of time so you know what your doing during the workout and they offer great form tips. They have celebrity trainer workouts too. Very cool. http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/nike-plus/training-app
FitStar Yoga. Great for newbies. This app offers a variety of free yoga programs. You get a new one every week, but you also have access to a bank of others. I found it a bit tricky to navigate at first and thought I had to pay for sessions after my free weekly, but then I found them- there’s a bank of free sessions available in there. Of course, you can upgrade to get yourself more variety. I like that I can hit pause and rewind if I need more guidance on a move. I feel like the speed is perfect- they allow you to hold a pose long enough that you can really figure it out before moving on to the next. They also offer tips for better form. I feel like it’s a nice mix of easy and more challenging poses. At the end of each session you can rate various poses as too easy, just right or too hard so that they can better customize your sessions. http://fitstar.com/yoga/
Tabata Timers. There are a bunch of these out there- I chose “HIITTimer”. These timers offer a tone to tell you when to start and stop exercises of your choosing. You can choose from a variety of time patterns- for example, you can choose 20 seconds work then 10 seconds rest for a total of 4 minutes. Then, for that example you would just pick things to do during your 8 work times (i.e. Squats, lunges, jumping jacks, planks, burpies, push ups, crunches, high knees). This type of workout (called “High Intensity Interval Training”) has been shown to be even more effective at getting us in shape than longer cardio sessions. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ihunda.android.hiit&hl=en or https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tabata-stopwatch-pro-tabata-timer-and-hiit-timer/id664563975?mt=8
YouTube. Many of you probably already have the YouTube app. Well, it’s very handy to use to get in shape. There are tons of free exercise videos on there. Search your favorite type of workout and you will find it. Pilates, barre, HIIT, Ashtanga yoga… it’s all there. You can get a YouTube account for free, and then when you sign in you can save your favorite workout videos and workout video channels. My favorite, by far, as I mention quite often is the “Tone It Up” https://www.youtube.com/user/ToneItUpcom/playlists workout channel. They have videos by category, like Arms, Abs, or Booty and they are all great! Typically all you need is a set of dumbbells- I use 6lbs, but I might be a bit of a weenie. ; ) http://www.youtube.com