You probably already heard so many, too many talks about fitness and the benefits of staying fit, and we might just be sounding like a broken record now saying this right now, but we’re going to say it again, and best believe, you want to read this.
According to a study by The Lancet, “physical inactivity increases the risk of many adverse health conditions, including major non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancers, and shortens life expectancy.” The study reveals that being sedentary and inactive causes more deaths around the world than cigarette smoking or diabetes.
Another study by the University of Cambridge researchers reveals that about 676,000 deaths each year were a result of inactivity, compared with 337,000 from obesity. They concluded that at least 20 minutes of brisk walking a day would be highly beneficial.
And NO, being thin is not directly proportionate to being fit. In fact, according to BBC, “thin people have a higher risk of health problems if they are inactive. And obese people who exercise are in better health than those that do not.” Now all these are not to scare you, not at all. If anything, it is to inspire you to get up and move, move your body. It can however be quite difficult to plan out and follow a routine or even hit a gym, especially if you’re just starting out; we understand this, and it’s why we put up a list of six Fitness apps on Android (in no particular order), that you can use, even without having to pay. Let’s go:
- Nike Run Club: If you’re looking for an easy-to-use and rather intuitive fitness app to use, here’s one. Nike Run Club (NRC) helps you automatically record your runs in your activity history. 1 million reviews, 4.5* rating, over 10 million downloads, this app offers full support for android Wear OS devices, track and store runs, audio-guided runs with Nike coaches and athletes, personalised coaching plans, in-run cheers from friends, run-share, global and custom challenges, compete on leaderboards and celebrate your achievements with trophies and badges.
- Nike Training Club: Currently at a 4.0* rating with over 10 million downloads, 185+ free expertly designed workouts, you gain access to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), bodyweight, yoga flows for everyday, rejuvenate with yoga, big workouts for small spaces, mood boosters, athlete workouts (low, moderate, high intensity workouts, body-part-focused workouts targeting your, abs, arms, glutes), and personalised recommendations with this app. You also get nutrition and wellness guidance from experts, Studio style classes, and all programmes are led by world-class trainers.
- Adidas Training App: Quite very similar to the Nike Training Club (NTC) app, the Adidas Training App features tailored trainings, health and fitness information, over 180 workout routines, personalised workout plans, yoga, targeted workouts and routines for fat burn, bodyweight training, six packs and core stability, strength training, balance and posture improvement. The app also allows you to join a global community helping to keep you inspired to continue working out. The app rating is currently at 4.6* with over 10 million downloads.
- FitOn: With 4.8* rating, 36k reviews, over a million downloads, FitOn is yet another really cool fitness app. FitOn brings on celebrity trainers like Jeanette Jenkins, Cassey Ho (of Blogilates), Katie Dunlop, JVN, Christine Bullock, Kenta Seki, Julian Hough, Danielle Pascente, and others. Now imagine working out to the instructions of your celebrity crush. Haha. We get the feeling. The plans cover HIIT, yoga, barre, cardio, pilates, and more. You can track your weight, take progress pictures to measure progress, you also have access to exercise videos and guided meditations.
- Fitify: Fitify has a 4.3* rating on the Google Playstore, with over 5 million downloads and 70,000+ reviews. Fitify is a full body workout app which offers workout routines and training plans to help you lead a fit and healthy life; lose weight, build muscle and strength, and burn fat.
With Fitify you get;
- Plans with fit tools such as dumbbell, Swiss ball, bosu, foam roller, medicine ball, pull-up bar, TRX, resistance band, kettlebell, barbell.
- Personalised fitness plan based on your experience and personal fitness level. You also get HD video demonstrations and voice coach, full body workouts, HIIT, cardio, special workouts, recovery sessions.
You get some basic features when you sign up and have access to extra features when you subscribe to the Pro version. The app’s interface is also really friendly and beautiful, and also lets you sync the app to your Spotify so you can listen to songs while working out.
- Google Fit: Even though the Google Fit app seems to have lost it’s standard during one of its updates, it is still one of the fitness apps with some good and helpful features. Google Fit teamed up with the World Health Organisation, and American Heart Association to give out heart points for each minute of moderate activity. With over 50 million downloads, Google Fit helps you;
- Count all your movements.
- Connect with your favourite apps and devices.
- Track all your workouts from your phone or watch.
- Check your activity history across Fit and integrated devices.
- Monitor your fitness goals, you can check your progress with the steps goal and heart points. It allows you to easily adjust your goals thereby challenging yourself. The heart point is a great feature because… who doesn’t like rewards? The heart points offer a great reward system.
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