New year resolutions may seem a distant memory, but this tech could put you back on track. There is an app out there for almost every element of your well-being! Health and fitness apps have a strong emphasis on ensuring a personal experience for users, enabling them to share achievements with friends and set personal goals. We have selected some of the best lifestyle apps out there, so there are no excuses for losing your new year motivation.
With a host of great reviews, Endomondo is a comprehensive fitness tracker and personal training app. The app takes a personal approach to fitness. Endomondo has the ability to sync with your wearable devices allowing you to record your heartrate. It also features its own motivational audio coach and allows your friends to record personal pep talks to keep you going. At the end of your run or cycle you can share your achievements with friends on social media, giving you some well deserved praise for your hard work. Covering a wide range of sports and exercises, Endomondo is an all rounder for those looking to track their fitness regime.
Strava, goes one step further than Endomondo and increases the competition by letting you to compare your stats with friends and pros. Using GPS the app tracks and records your distance, speed, pace, whether you are cycling or running. Strava, promotes itself as an athlete community and the app is built to allow users to connect, share and compete. For runners or cyclists who thrive off healthy competition, the app allows you to, not only rank yourself against friends, but participate in monthly challenges with the wider community. Creating a profile on Strava allows you to boast about your success, with the opportunity to rank up a selection of badges. All in all, Strava can become an addiction. The perfect motivational app for cyclists and runners who are driven by competition.
Pocket Yoga is your own personal yoga tutor; the app makes it easy to practice anywhere and does not require internet connectivity. There is the option to take a full length class or simply browse a dictionary of poses. This mobile yoga studio even allows you to select your own virtual environment! Link up to your Apple TV, create your own studio at home and work through the various levels of difficulty. You can even replace the default music with your own. With this app you can find inner peace from the comfort of your living room.
Along with a host of fitness apps, well-being and mindfulness focused apps are continuing to gain popularity. Sleep Cycle, has been hailed by many users as life-changing. The app is built to improve your sleep patterns with an intelligent alarm clock. Simply placing your phone on the bedside table or under your pillow, the app analyses your sleep cycle and wakes you up during your lightest cycle. It works by using your phone’s inbuilt microphone to record the sound of your sleep patterns. The overall result leaves the user feeling fully rested and ready for the day ahead. A favourite with users that struggle with getting a good night’s sleep and those who are looking to improve their start to the day. Even if you’ve had little sleep, the alarm’s ability to wake you up at an optimum time can improve even a bad night’s sleep. The power of a good night’s sleep is extraordinary.
Aside from ingenious ways to improve your sleep pattern, there are also apps designed to improve your state of mind. Mindfulness books have dominated the shelves of bookshops, especially during the New Year lull. But Headspace creates a more interactive way to learn the art of meditation, promoting itself as a ‘gym membership for your mind’. The initial free download works on the basis of a Take Ten programme, the app guides you through ten minutes of meditation over a ten-day period. During the Take Ten sessions, the idea is to train your brain to alleviate stress, anxiety and create peace of mind. After the initial course, there is the opportunity to renew your subscription and unlock added features. This extra content focuses on a range of issues from relationships to addiction.