How Technology Can Help On Your Fitness Journey

There comes a time in most people’s lives when they’re either trying to lose weight, or simply get fitter, or more toned. Perhaps it’s for a wedding, or a beach holiday, or even just because! I don’t know about you but i’ve definitely been at that point on my fitness journey where i’ll try anything to lose those last few pounds.

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There are so many different tips and tricks that people are trying these days, from tablets and drinks, to ultimate workouts, and even turning to technology to help. Yet the only true way to lose weight successfully is by eating well and exercising often. Making sure you’re consuming less calories than you’re burning is the key. However, can technology really help you lose weight, or get fitter any quicker?

Can Technology Help On Your Fitness Journey?

The thing about technology is it’s not some ‘magic pill’ that’s promising to melt away all of your fat overnight. It’s still down to you and how much time and effort you put into it. Eating 4,000 calories of junk food and putting on your smart watch to do a half-arsed 5 minute walk is NOT going to help you!

However, there are so many new and exciting things when it comes to technology for you to try to see if it gives you that extra push of motivation.

Here are some of the ones we have found most interesting and helpful when it comes to having a successful fitness journey.

Wearable Technology

With wearable technology so widely available these days, getting your hands on an affordable fitness tracker isn’t that difficult. Whether it’s a smart watch, a health tracking ring, or even a heart monitoring belt, there’s something for everyone.

Fitness trackers such as smart watches aren’t just for adults, they can be worn by pretty much anyone of any age and fitness level. Whether you want to simply track your steps, or go a little deeper and track your heart rate, or workout, they are great for any age. You can even get kids fitness watches which might just motivate them to exercise more, making it more of a game than something they should be doing. For example, the Xplora Xmove fitness watch for kids is just £49.99 and comes in a range of 4 colours. Plus, it pretty much does everything the more expensive versions below do – for less than half the price!

• My Zone Belt – A belt that monitors your heart rate and intensity during workouts
• Apple Watch, FitBit, Garmin…etc – Expensive fitness trackers that can monitor heart rate, step count, sleep…etc
• Oura Ring – One example of a great (but expensive) health tracking ring. More for health than fitness tracking

Tracking Your Journey Online

A great way of being able to see your progress and keep your motivation levels high is by tracking your progress through pictures and jotting down your weight loss successes – on and off the scales.

Twinbody is a great way of achieving this as you can connect with likeminded people and encourage each other to keep going. All you will need to have at home is an internet connection so that you can keep in touch with your new found weight loss buddies! If you don’t have an internet connection at home, take a look at these broadband packages. Not only will it help you stay in contact with people who could encourage you, but you will also be able to access tasty and healthy recipes at the click of a button!

Exercise Apps

Another way in which technology can help you lose weight is by using exercise apps. If you’re someone who doesn’t have the time to head to the gym each night, or can’t afford the extortionate gym prices, there are handy apps that will give you exercise regimes according to your fitness level.

They will often also be in a ready to go workout format, so all you have to do is press start and follow along. Depending on the app, you’ll also likely be able to pick which body parts you might want to exercise, or full body perhaps.

If you already know a lot about fitness and the different types of exercise, it could just be a simple way to get a quick workout in without having to think much about it. You may also find exercises you hadn’t thought to do before, so widening your fitness knowledge at the same time.

However, if you’re new to exercise, your world will be open to a plethora of great exercises to try out. These apps can also give you a good inside on how to structure a workout, along with the intensity and duration for each exercise. The perfect starting point incase you want to go off and o it on your own when you’re feeling more confident.

Some great FREE exercise apps include…

• Couch to 5K – Running app for beginners
• 30 Day Fitness Challenge – 30 day training plans with coaching tips
• Fit On – A variety of workout plans for all abilities
• MapMyRun – Running app that trackers your speed, distance and location
• Home Workout – No Equipment – A great exercise app for those wanting to workout at home with no equipment

Workout Tracking Apps

There are so many slightly different gym log apps that all pretty much do the same thing. So it’s really the one that you find the best to use and navigate. Personally, we have used Hevy since it launched a few years ago and love both the free and paid versions – although you don’t need the paid option at all.

Here are a few of the ones we have tried and tested over the years that work great for logging your gym workouts…

• Hevy
• Rep Count
• Alpha Progression
• Work It
• Fit Notes
• Strong Workout Tracker

Nutrition Apps

A nutrition app is slightly different from a workout app as it focuses more on the nutrition than the fitness side of things. Within the app you will be able to track your food and calories per day, including a break down of the macros as well. What’s great about these nutrition apps is they give you a good indication of whether or not your eating the right foods, and if you’re getting enough protein, fats and carbs in your diet. By using this kind of app, you’ll be able to teach yourself more about food, and what is a good protein, fat and carb source. Over time, you might not even have to use one as you’ll have a good idea of what goes in to each food.

Although there are so many different nutrition focused apps, there’s really only one that everyone uses – My Fitness Pal. It’s the one we have used for many years (The FREE option) and haven’t ever had any issues with it.

However, of course there are others if you wanted to try something different here are a few others…

• My Fitness Pal
• Calorie Counter+
• Life Sum

Try these great bits of tech to help you with your fitness journey and see how much of an impact they really can have on your life! You’ll wonder where you were before once you start using them!