We all know there are a million fitness apps out there but are they any good? The Lazy Girls have done the hard work for you and worked their way through lots of these fitness apps. We have found a number of apps to help us achieve our fitness goals and today we thought we'd give you a rundown on some of our favourites at the moment.
Tabata Timer
Have you heard of Tabata? It's basically an intense workout (also known as High Intensity Interval Training - HIIT) where you go hard for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 and you repeat this for 8 rounds. Sounds easy right? Go on...try it I dare you. This workout technique has brought both Lazy Girl A and Lazy Girl F to their knees in exhaustion. You feel so amazing afterwards though, so totally worth it :-)
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| Tabata Timer App |
Lorna Jane Active Living App
This app tracks your walk/run with in built GPS. If you are feeling unmotivated you can have Lorna Jane herself give you audio encouragement as you go. Both Lazy Girl A and Lazy Girl F use this app (but we have both turned off the voice prompts). You can link your results to Facebook if you want to brag to your friends and you can also unlock different trophies and rewards. For example on Active Living Day last September everyone who used the app was given an award to get a discount at Lorna Jane for the next week (I think it was a free motivational singlet with purchase). Who doesn't love shopping rewards as an incentive to exercise? You can get the Lorna Jane app here.
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| Lorna Jane App |
I'm going to hand over to Lazy Girl A for this review as this is one of her favourite apps...
I really do love this app! I like being able to track my running and see how I improve over time, it really helps to keep me motivated. It's a great free app that has all of the standard running app features such as: GPS for mapping out your run, including stats on elevation, average pace, distance and time (you can also link it to a heart rate monitor, however I don't have one). It keeps details of all of your personal records and sends you alerts an emails when you have achieved a new PB or if you have achieved your goal.
There is also a social element by creating a 'Street Team' of friends who use Run Keeper which allows you to see a news feed of what your fellow Lazy Girlfriends have been up to. It can rank your team by the amount of activities they have logged (for those who find motivation through competition) including prompts to shout out to those who have been a little too lazy! You can share your achievements on Facebook, however I'm not really into that. I use the sound prompts a lot which you can customise quite easily. I'm normally trying to fit in a run around my busy lifestyle, so I like to get an alert every 5 minutes so that I know when I should be heading back home or to the office. One of my favourite parts is that it kind of acts like a fitness journal. You can log all kinds of activities, (some of them need to be recorded manually) along with photos and notes about your workout.
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| Run Keeper App |
Lazy Girl A xx
Nike Training Club
Who hates going to the gym? Me! Me, pick me!! This is my favourite app at the moment because it gives me a great workout without having to go to the gym. The Nike training club app provides you with a full workout program with pictures and videos on how to do each exercise. You can choose different programs such as 'Get Toned' or 'Lose weight' and the app schedules your workouts for the next few weeks. As a Nike Fuelband wearer it also calculates how much fuel I will be burning for the workout which is great. You need very little equipment to complete these workouts usually just a mat or some free weights. It also allows you to listen to your own playlist and gives you voice instructions as you workout.
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| Nike Training Club App |
If you have an adidas Heart Rate Monitor which you can connect to your iPhone and you want to train in your optimal heart rate zones then the Adidas Micoach app is for you. Not only does it have GPS capabilities if you are out for run but it also provides you with voice coaching and sets target heart rates for you to meet if you are trying to lose weight or get fitter. You can choose the voice you wish to have coaching you, I have a British male voice as I like to think it is Daniel Craig or Benedict Cumberbatch motivating me to work harder - but that's just me! :-)
Like the Nike app you can choose fitness programs to follow and it provides you with images and plans to follow to meet your goals. It also provides you with feedback on how well you have stuck to your heart rate zones throughout your workout which really helps you to improve your over all fitness. The only drawback with this app is you need the heart rate monitor to gain maximum benefit from this app.
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| Adidas MiCoach App |
Round Timer
The round timer app is similar to the Tabata timer except you get to choose how long each round is and how many rounds you wish to complete. Lazy Girl A and Lazy Girl F use this apexercises to work our core, arms and legs. If time allows we then do another 8 exercises for 1 minute each withp a lot when sneaking in a lunchtime workout. Our general routine is to do 8 rounds (i.e 8 different exercises) for 1 minute each with a 15 second rest in between. This allows us to choose enough a 15 second rest in between. What a great way to get some quick movement into your life with little equipment and without having to drive to the gym!
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| Round Timer App |
It's no secret that the Lazy Girls love a 30 day fitness challenge (if you want to read more about how to succeed at a 30 day challenge go here) and lots of you have joined us in one of our recent challenges. The 30 day fitness challenge app has a whole lot of challenges for you to choose from and provides you with clear instructions on how to do each exercise. There is also a checklist so you can tick off each day as you complete it. This app costs $2.99 though so you need to be committed to doing these challenges to consider buying this one.
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| 30 Day Fitness Challenge App |
Lazy Girl F xx
PS
As the Lazy Girls both have iPhones, all reviews are based on the Apple version of the apps.
