An App A Day

An App A Day
Naveen Athrappully
9/23/2013
Updated:
9/23/2013

Our current lifestyle requires us to spend a majority of the work day slouched in front of the computer. And to relax, we spend the rest in front of the TV. After all this inactivity, it’s very difficult to remain healthy. But luckily, there’s an app for that.

Fitness apps have considerably increased in their popularity among health-conscious consumers who are able to perform food searches, analyze body functions, and even work up a sweat all through the tiny screen in their pockets. Below are the top 30 apps available on your iPhone and Android and that’s worth knowing about for the tech savvy calorie checker.

Workout Apps

Workout Trainer 

This app combines different routines for yoga, weight loss, or weight lifting. There’s audio help at each step and the “Shakerciser” option for those undecided about the routine. There is a fitness community that will help keep you on track with this free app.

Ab Workouts

A complete abs-focused workout that will get you a six pack in the least possible time. With animations and audio support, this free app also includes customized workouts. There is a food list matching your workout with info on foods that add on abdominal fat.

Nike Training Club

 

This is Nike’s specialty personal trainer app. Select your workouts from 130 different sessions combining weight training and stamina building. With audio support and detailed instructions, track your progress toward a lean and toned body with this free app.

StrongLifts 5x5

Stronglifts is one of the most popular weight training programs. Five sets of five repeats, this simple workout is old school and hardcore. Utilizing free weights and increasing intensity with each workout, this is a perfect way to get the strength of weight lifters. Record each session, measure progress, and track body weight with this free app.

GAIN Fitness Cross Trainer

GAIN fitness has a roster of professional athletes and trainers. Their free app gets you the personal trainer you’ve always dreamed about. It will customize a workout plan and track your progress with calories burned; if in doubt about any particular move, the free app has videos of trainers performing the routines.

iMapMyRun / iMapMyRide / iMapMyWalk

These apps are for charting new routes, logging the distances covered, or finding a partner to run with. Coupled with suggestions on food intake before and after the exercises, this free app notes the calories and energy spent. iMap apps are a must-have for all outdoor exercise enthusiasts.

Analytic Apps

MyFitnessPal

 

With a database of at least 2 million food items, this free app platform makes it easy to track calories, fat content, and other specifications for every diet ranging from low-carb to high protein. 

Moves

Tracking each bodily movement, this app is a smart pedometer that keeps a record of every step walked in a day or the distance cycled. The free app has built-in maps and creates a storyline to analyze each movement of the day.

Calorie Tracker

An app from Iivestrong.com, it tracks your food intake and measures your exercise routines, helping reach your fitness goals faster. Tracks fat and calories with communities to keep you motivated; the free app also gives an option to access MyPlate for calculating nutrition.

Instant Heart Rate

This is a simple heart health checking app that records and displays heart rate on your screen. You just need to place the tip of your index finger on the phone’s camera and the free app will take care of the rest. Remember, the health of the body is dependent on the normal functioning of the heart.

UHear

Are others getting quieter or are you getting deafer? Take a test with the UHear app and check whether your hearing sensitivity is still in the regular zone. There are three tests in this free app: Speech in Noise, Hearing Sensitivity, and Questionnaire.

EyeXam

With constant strain on your eyes, it is wise to take regular eye check-ups. In the EyeXam app, there are tests to check eyesight, doctor location, chat, and special coupons for treatment. Ensure your sight’s perfect through this free app.

Period Tracker Lite

For women looking to start a family or go on a vacation, this free app helps tracks monthly menstrual cycles. By keeping a database of past periods, the app predicts future dates for ovulation and planning.

Food Apps

Eat Local

This free and simple app locates all places where fresh and seasonal produce is available, like the local farmer’s market. The specialty of the app lies with matching the available produce with recipes. Perfect for the healthy food lover, especially in unfamiliar places.

Thryve

This is for foodies who hate counting calories but are interested in knowing the different reactions of each food with the body. Thryve breaks food down into individual ingredients and categorizes them based into groups like grains, fruits, and dairy. The free app will then suggest what is lacking or excessive in the diet.

Foodily

It’s one of the most popular food social networks out there, helping you share recipes and track what your friends are having. Foodily is a free app that records recipes you love and those you find inspiring. Then, it shares them with friends, family, and even chefs who are part of the community.

Allergy Free Entertaining

Throwing a party, but don’t know if your guests are allergic to or intolerant of certain foods? This free app identifies alternatives for allergy-inducing ingredients like nuts, soy, or dairy and comes up with various cooking recipes with the matching spirits to make sure your guests are well-fed and the party goes grandly.

Epicurious

This free food app has a collection of almost 30,000 recipes collected from leading food publications like Bon Appétit, Gourmet magazine, and others. Search for quick and healthy meals with unique recipes. A must have for every kitchen.

Symptom Checker Apps

HealthTap

 

Have questions about your health or some stubborn symptoms? Get answers regarding symptoms and medications from multiple professionals for free using HealthTap. Send over reports with scans for doctors to analyze and schedule appointments with this app. 

Web MD

This free app provides a comprehensive coverage of health topics; it can even be accessed without an Internet connection. The key features of the app include Symptom Checker, Drugs and Treatments, Conditions, First Aid Essentials, Pill Identifications, and Local Health Listings.

Pill Identifier

Check pills without labels by searching drug name, imprint, pill color, and shape from 10,000 Rx/OTC medications. Know more about your medication through the $0.99 Pill Identifier.

Stress Check

How much can you take? Measure your stress through this app that has been developed by clinical psychologists. The app calculates stress levels through asking different questions. Along with helpful tips on how to reduce stress and anxiety, using this free app claims to increase productivity.

Rest & Relaxation Apps

Equanimity

Almost everyone knows the benefits of meditation. Equanimity helps accommodate this essential practice into your daily lives by providing users with timings, journals, and different schedules with graphs. The $4.99 app reminds you when you’re falling out of routine and has chimes, instead of music or graphics, that go off at the end of each serene session.

Meditation

Another mediation app, this one contains a list of 74 sounds to help you calm down and focus on the well being of your inner self. Priced at $0.99, Meditation has specialized tunes that help in decreasing stress and sleeping well.

iHome+Sleep

For the stats addicted, this free app gently wakes you up each morning with your sleep stats and the weather report of the day. Combine this with Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock to record and study your sleep phases by placing the iPhone below the bottom sheet when going to bed.

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

It’s said that the body is your best alarm clock since conventional ones don’t understand sleep patterns or phases. This app analyses all of your regular sleeping phases and wakes you up when you’re out of the deep sleep phase. The $0.99 app draws detailed sleep graphs and makes notes of sleep quality.

Mind Game Apps

Lumosity Brain Trainer

The brain is a muscle. Stay smart by exercising it often. Developed by a team of neuroscientists, Lumosity is one of the most popular brain exercise routines available. It claims to increase memory, creativity, and attention. Input your age and gender and get specialized training games that increase different cognitive functions. With the Brain Performance Index, you can even match your brain functioning with that of Einstein’s. This free app also lets users see how their moods and sleep affect their brain.

Expereal 

This cool app tracks your mood swings. Users rate how they’re feeling at regular intervals and the app records this to create graphs to track how happy, sad, or crazy you are feeling over time. Take a look back at the records and identify reasons for different mental fluctuations. And figure out a way to keep the negativity out. You can also add images and text to every rating of the free mood tracker.

Custom Hypnosis

This app literally plays with your mind. Giving up your mind to the smartphone carries a whole different meaning with the Custom Hypnosis app. Use this to cure addictions, improve mental health, cure insomnia, and find motivations through personal hypnotherapy. Choose from an enchanting list of music and merge with your phone with this hypnotizing $1.99 app.

Naveen Athrappully is a business consultant and freelance writer focusing on content development for technology companies. Contact him at [email protected]