In case you needed a reminder, the first three months of 2019 are almost done. This reminder comes now because we know that you made some promises to yourselves to live a healthier lifestyle before the year even started–as the new year’s resolution routine usually goes. Right now, we just wanted to check back with you guys if you were successful in sticking to these promises up to now.
If you were, then congratulations on doing a great job. We’re really hoping that you keep up with it. If not, then we always just say that it’s never too late. It’s never too late, but of course, it’s always best to start as early as you can.
The lapses in sticking to a fitness routine is a common one made by any fitness novice and is more or less differentiated by how early or later on they start to falter with the workout and diet regimens.
We’ve all been there, and yes, we can admit without shame that we did need a little help in sticking to these routines so that we can do right by ourselves and keep our promises. So don’t beat yourself up about it. What matters is that you know how to acknowledge the fact that you need help, and are willing to seek it.
When it comes to fitness and diet routines, in order to get help in this area in the olden days, the natural course of action to take would be to personally consult with a coach who, if you’re lucky, is certified to coach in both exercise and nutrition.
This method, of course, has pros that come exclusively with it; such as an actual plan that’s customized to how your body responds to the prescribed regimens, and you have a real human being keeping you motivated aside from yourself. However, this option often comes at a steep cost that frankly is not affordable for many individuals.
Thankfully, we’re in the Digital Age. And with the entry of the Digital Age came as well more flexible and affordable alternatives to personal coaching that can work just as well with helping you stick to your fitness targets.
Given the right amount of grit and focus to stick to your own goals, these apps will help you track and achieve the progress that you work for and want. So if you’ve been needing a little help with staying on track with your fitness goals, you might want to check this short list out:
1. Fitbit Charge 3
Type of tech: wearable fitness tracker
As one of the pioneers of wearable tech, Fitbit has come far from simply tracking your steps in a day. With the scientific premise that getting in 10,000 steps a day would be enough to keep you healthy, Fitbit entered the market with the offer to help users track their progress in this area.
Related article: 10,00 Steps to Fitness
Since then, Fitbit has introduced many other innovations into its wearable tech. It incorporated more intuitive trackers for sleep, breathing, as well as near-accurate heart monitors that help monitor the most basic fitness and health markers that users need to keep track of. They even have a menstrual cycle tracker for the ladies!
The latest introduction to their line of fitness trackers was launched last year in the form of the third version of their most popular model; the Fitbit Charge 3 which sported pretty much all the other features of its predecessor, the Charge 2, but with a much lighter and tougher shell. On top of being more durable, the Fitbit Charge 3 also has longer battery life. Definitely two new features that will outlast you on a workout.
Related article: Fitbit Charge 3: the Smartest Fitness Tracker
2. Lifesum
Type of tech: mobile app
Can you diet without calorie-counting? Some will say yes, and some will say no. But we’ve definitely tried our hand at it and while theoretically, you can diet without being strict about calorie-counting, it does help to make it more efficient. For those who want to try and count their calories to help achieve their fitness goals much faster, a big help we’ve gotten in this area came from Lifesum (available in both iOS and Android).
As a calorie-counting app, Lifesum made sure to not just limit its capabilities to provide a list of food items with corresponding calorie counts, but also offers a wide array of goal-specific meal plans that you can follow. It also guides you into choosing a meal plan based on your current weight, body type, as well as a level of fitness. The daily push notifications that remind you that you went over or under your calorie allowance, and when you need to hydrate were also a nice added touch.
Related article: Running for Weight Loss: What Are You Doing Wrong?
3. Zero
Type of tech: mobile app
Gaining popularity for the ease of doing it and its effectivity, Intermittent Fasting is a diet practice that many people still live by today. The concept is easy: restrict your food calorie-intake for a prolonged period of time, and only eat during a shortened amount of time.
Related article: What is Intermittent Fasting and how do You Survive it?
Figuring out which time of the day you would eat and you would fast was the easy part of this diet. Where people struggled most here, was actually remembering to start and end the fasting cycle. Zero is an app that helps you keep track and stay consistent with a feeding and fasting window that you’ve set for yourself. With the app, you are sent push notifications an hour before the end of your feeding and fasting windows, so you can anticipate when to control your gut with.
Related article: Running on IF: how do you do it?
4. Pinoy Fitness ‘Atleta’ app
Type of tech: mobile app
Filipino runners love participating in races. This statement made evident by the rapid growth rate that event organizers have seen in race organizing. New events pop up left and right, sometimes year after year. And I guess you can attribute it to the fact of a reward system in reinforcing good behavior. I mean, if you can bother to put yourself through running every single day for training, you’d want to see how far you’ve really come. Much better if you can receive a medal for it. And what better avenue would you have to do this but a race, am I right?
Sometimes, it even goes the other way around; people tend to sign up for races so that they’re “forced” to train and exercise more. But however way you choose to go about it, the common denominator is this: people use races as a motivation to run. Good to know, then. But there’s a catch: races are not always accessible to everyone. There will always be barriers like the location, the date and time of the event, and of course the monetary costs they entail among others.
Again, gladly we’re in the Digital Age. And virtual races are a thing in our time that we should all take advantage of. If you’re the type who uses races as their motivation to commit to running every day but find all the barriers of a physical-presence-required race too tedious to deal with, then maybe you should try out a virtual one with the Pinoy Fitness Atleta app.
Related article: 5 Reasons why You should Give Virtual Running a try
The good thing about the app is that it not only gives you a calendar of real-life races, but it also offers a lot of free races (rewarded with virtual medals) which you can join for limited times. There are also paid races, but definitely, don’t come as expensive as a regular personal-appearance-required race. Same perks, unique avenue, at lesser the cost. What more could you want, right?
Related article: I Tried Virtual Running and here’s what I Realized
But of course, we must always remind ourselves that these digital methods are still limited. A big part of staying consistent with your fitness activities is still of course in your conviction to stay true to your promises. So yes, these apps will make remembering to stick to these goals easier, but they are not here to make you dependent on them. Habit-forming is a conscious decision that needs diligent follow-through in order to achieve.
The apps listed here are those that we’ve personally tried. So if you have other apps that you use and they work for you, go ahead and share them with the community! We’ll be thankful for it!
