IF YOU WANT to get fit these days, a smartphone is almost as useful as a trip to the gym.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at some of the fitness and nutrition apps used by members of TheScore.ie team this month and picked five of our favourites.
C25k
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James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
What: By now you’ve probably heard of C25k or any of its ilk. C25k is an acronym for ‘couch to 5k’ and does exactly what it says on the tin over nine weeks. Why: Even if you’ve never run for the bus, this could be the app that turns you into the next Sonia O’Sullivan. Okay, maybe not but its incremental structure means you don’t even realise that you’re running further and for longer every week until you hit the 5km mark. How much: Depending on the version you get, it can be free.
Zombies, Run!
Marco Ugarte / AP/Press Association Images
Marco Ugarte / AP/Press Association Images / AP/Press Association Images
What: Another running app, Zombies, Run! gets you moving by making you feel like you’re being chased by the undead. Why: Running, especially on your own, can get very boring. This spices it up by making you feel like you’re in your very own zombie apocalypse. How much: Up to €3.59
What: For a much more complete work-out, over 750 of them to be precise, Fitness Builder is a gym and personal trainer all wrapped into one. Why: It’s full of videos and images to help you along if you’re not sure and with so many variations you’ll rarely get bored. How much: It’s free for the first month but gets pricey after that (up to €250.00 for physical therapy professionals). However, for most users it should still be cheaper than the gym.
Nutrition Tips
Chris Young / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Chris Young / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images
What: Nearly all of us consume food on a daily basis, but what are the best cuts of meat or which fruits are best when you’re training for a marathon? Nutrition Tips gives you the answers. Why: We are probably all guilty of concentrating on exercise while paying scant regard to the fuel for our endeavours. Having this app on your phone could change that. How much: It’s free.
SleepBot
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
What: The only thing we ignore more than food when it comes to fitness is sleep, SleepBot aims to change that. Why: It tracks your sleep, helping you understand when you sleep and what type you’re experiencing giving you a better chance to plan your day/exercise. How much: Like a good night’s sleep, this is also free.
Having a Smartphone almost as good as going to the Gym only apply’s to people who know what their doing !
There are some great fitness apps out there yes but to a novice they can be more harmful then anything . An app will not check your form during an exercise,so there is a risk of injury , it will not teach how to control your breathing during a workout,it will not tell you if your overtraining which can also lead to injury or ill health .
I think those apps listed would fit into the category that 95% of apps fit into i.e. useless garbage. If you need an app to help keep fit, you are failing life.
Well you are definitely a loser if you use that zombie app. Though I do love zombie media, pretending to run away from them is a whole other level of dumbassery
few heads on here today talking sense. you see, you’ve got these teams right, you’ve got your uber confident project manager/leader who pitches s**** and believes it, your morketing researcher who plans the business on a one page lean canvas with 4 boxes – lazy, your designer who battles with the nerdy developer that comes in today and says “hey guys why don’t we have zombies chase the user of this running app?, it will be great, my friends will ‘chuckle” and we all get to go home earning €3 for every download – checks how many users like ‘zombies’ hmmm maybe kids, hmmm it might help obese kids, heyyy this is a great concept.
these 4 clouds need to sit down and really think a little bit more about what they’re doing. If i see one more f***** zombie themed app, i swear its worse than hollywood now at this stage.
I think 80% of these apps are entertainment, have short attention span and a short life, repetitive, unnecessary, one can live without, they’re not innovative, they’re just well… like songs now. every minute, every hour, a new song is born, and theres many that sound the same, many that are crap and many will never ever make it cos they’re just that. CRAP! As for augmented reality, really now? Wanna look like a sap? Join that party.
and i seriously think 28 age group downwards are buying into, i’d love to say 18 years but there are some dumb people who pay for it and havent grown up yet to cop on you don’t need it.
These kind of apps are usually just a distraction. If you want to get fit you’re first step should be exercise, not playing with apps pretending you’re eventually going to start doing what it tells you. As Matthew Keane says you want to make sure that your form is correct otherwise you could be doing more damage than. My local gym is €79 for three months for a student, think it’s €99 for an adult. That’s not too much and it motivates you to make the most of your membership when you’ve already paid in advance. On top of that it’s good to have trainers all around so you can ask anything you want or get set up with a program tailor-made to whatever your goals are. If cardio is your only goal then it’s as simple as going for a run or cycle three or four times a week. I’d only worry about apps once you’ve proven you can stick with the exercise alone for a few weeks. The nutrition and sleep ones look interesting but I certainly wouldn’t part with €3 for a zombie themed exercise app
The nutrition one actually looks garbage now that I’ve looked at it. Protein good, sugar bad. Yeah thanks I didn’t know that. Try some fruit for dessert and have a look at this advertisement.
“See if a restaurant looks clean before you sit down”, some of these are priceless. “Cut back on meats high in fat such as burgers and greasy fried foods such as french fries” and here we all were thinking the chipper was the healthy option
I wouldn’t even go to a gym, spend €5-10 on a good skipping rope, build yourself up to being able to do ‘double unders’ (skipping the rope twice before your feet touch the ground). Pick up an abs mat €5-10 and do some ab mat sit-ups. Combine that with a 3-5K run would be a decent workout.
When I were a lad, we didn’t even have skipping ropes. We had to go out to the woods past the mill, find a grizzly bear, wrestle him to the ground wit bare ‘ands, pull out ‘is guts and dry them over a fire we made by burning our own underpants.
For running, I use Runtastic of which I swear by. It’s worth paying for the full version, the statistics they provide are great and the battery consumption is pretty good (on an iPhone5 during a 2 hour run it uses about 35% battery with music playing). You can also view your stats/mapped route on their site which is nicely laid out. My only complaint about Runtastic is, they made a significant UI change on their latest update which took a bit of getting used to. Overall, one of the best fitness apps out there I think
I used to use Garmin Fit (which I paid for i remember correctly..), it was a load of s*** and buggy
Zombie apps are pretty cool, but it’s not like being chased by a real zombie ;-) (http://zombieevacuation.com/), I took part in one of these events in the UK, I would imagine an Irish version would go down a treat!
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Everyone should buy James Reillys
New Pilates DVD..
The Pontius Pilates one …
And in other news, scientists have discovered that it is actually possible to do things without having to have an app. ..
Having a Smartphone almost as good as going to the Gym only apply’s to people who know what their doing !
There are some great fitness apps out there yes but to a novice they can be more harmful then anything . An app will not check your form during an exercise,so there is a risk of injury , it will not teach how to control your breathing during a workout,it will not tell you if your overtraining which can also lead to injury or ill health .
Conflict of interest matt-you’re a personal trainer.
Apps don’t make great spotters either
Neither does Bren
How about we just eat better quality food and move more
I think those apps listed would fit into the category that 95% of apps fit into i.e. useless garbage. If you need an app to help keep fit, you are failing life.
“I think it useless, so you’re all losers for using it.”
OK there Buzz Killington.
Well you are definitely a loser if you use that zombie app. Though I do love zombie media, pretending to run away from them is a whole other level of dumbassery
few heads on here today talking sense. you see, you’ve got these teams right, you’ve got your uber confident project manager/leader who pitches s**** and believes it, your morketing researcher who plans the business on a one page lean canvas with 4 boxes – lazy, your designer who battles with the nerdy developer that comes in today and says “hey guys why don’t we have zombies chase the user of this running app?, it will be great, my friends will ‘chuckle” and we all get to go home earning €3 for every download – checks how many users like ‘zombies’ hmmm maybe kids, hmmm it might help obese kids, heyyy this is a great concept.
these 4 clouds need to sit down and really think a little bit more about what they’re doing. If i see one more f***** zombie themed app, i swear its worse than hollywood now at this stage.
I think 80% of these apps are entertainment, have short attention span and a short life, repetitive, unnecessary, one can live without, they’re not innovative, they’re just well… like songs now. every minute, every hour, a new song is born, and theres many that sound the same, many that are crap and many will never ever make it cos they’re just that. CRAP! As for augmented reality, really now? Wanna look like a sap? Join that party.
and i seriously think 28 age group downwards are buying into, i’d love to say 18 years but there are some dumb people who pay for it and havent grown up yet to cop on you don’t need it.
These kind of apps are usually just a distraction. If you want to get fit you’re first step should be exercise, not playing with apps pretending you’re eventually going to start doing what it tells you. As Matthew Keane says you want to make sure that your form is correct otherwise you could be doing more damage than. My local gym is €79 for three months for a student, think it’s €99 for an adult. That’s not too much and it motivates you to make the most of your membership when you’ve already paid in advance. On top of that it’s good to have trainers all around so you can ask anything you want or get set up with a program tailor-made to whatever your goals are. If cardio is your only goal then it’s as simple as going for a run or cycle three or four times a week. I’d only worry about apps once you’ve proven you can stick with the exercise alone for a few weeks. The nutrition and sleep ones look interesting but I certainly wouldn’t part with €3 for a zombie themed exercise app
The nutrition one actually looks garbage now that I’ve looked at it. Protein good, sugar bad. Yeah thanks I didn’t know that. Try some fruit for dessert and have a look at this advertisement.
“See if a restaurant looks clean before you sit down”, some of these are priceless. “Cut back on meats high in fat such as burgers and greasy fried foods such as french fries” and here we all were thinking the chipper was the healthy option
I wouldn’t even go to a gym, spend €5-10 on a good skipping rope, build yourself up to being able to do ‘double unders’ (skipping the rope twice before your feet touch the ground). Pick up an abs mat €5-10 and do some ab mat sit-ups. Combine that with a 3-5K run would be a decent workout.
Very True Leopold and it also with pointing out that with these apps it’s not a case of ‘ one size fits all ‘ either .
You were lucky!
When I were a lad, we didn’t even have skipping ropes. We had to go out to the woods past the mill, find a grizzly bear, wrestle him to the ground wit bare ‘ands, pull out ‘is guts and dry them over a fire we made by burning our own underpants.
Now that were a workout.
No just a concerned soul jimmy
For running, I use Runtastic of which I swear by. It’s worth paying for the full version, the statistics they provide are great and the battery consumption is pretty good (on an iPhone5 during a 2 hour run it uses about 35% battery with music playing). You can also view your stats/mapped route on their site which is nicely laid out. My only complaint about Runtastic is, they made a significant UI change on their latest update which took a bit of getting used to. Overall, one of the best fitness apps out there I think
I used to use Garmin Fit (which I paid for i remember correctly..), it was a load of s*** and buggy
Zombie apps are pretty cool, but it’s not like being chased by a real zombie ;-) (http://zombieevacuation.com/), I took part in one of these events in the UK, I would imagine an Irish version would go down a treat!