How Apps Made Fitness Goals Easier to Reach

Going on a diet? Want to work out and get those six-pack abs you saw online? Everything's within your reach if you work hard for it. Having a healthy lifestyle and participating in physical activities can show you the way to get there. But the journey from where you are now and where you want to be isn't going to be easy. 

Setting up some fitness goals is the key to achieving long-term success in making healthy changes to your life. Through them, you can help yourself stay motivated and focused on your journey toward a better you. Even so, we still need all the help we can get to help us stay focused and motivated to work on ourselves. 

Fortunately, technology's got your back! We've reached the point where even the fitness industry is seeing changes by making our goals easier and even more within our reach. So, instead of manually counting the calories you eat on a daily basis, here's where fitness apps can come in to make things much easier. Equipped with key features that aim to help you accomplish your health, fitness, and wellness objectives, exercise apps can make a lot of things, like progress tracking, easier, providing you with more time for more meaningful tasks. 

What Common Features Do Fitness Apps Have? 

With convenience in mind, the fitness industry made a lot of apps that all aim to make our journeys a bit easier. Much like how we enjoy the benefits of cashless transactions, we also want to get the most out of every minute and every second of our day while working towards something productive. Most of us have no room for mundane or boring tasks that come with getting a physically fit body which is precisely why fitness apps are a thing. 

Choosing among the many fitness apps out there can be difficult unless, of course, you have specific goals in mind. Depending on your needs and preference, you might want workout apps that are compatible with wearable devices, or you might want those with a wide range of exercise plans to choose from. What I want in an exercise app may not necessarily be the same thing you’re looking for. Some people may want to gain weight, while others seek to lose body fat and retain muscle mass. Nevertheless, here are some of the basic features you can expect to see from an exercise app: 

Setting Goals: Not all fitness journeys are the same. They will vary depending on what the user wants to achieve. For example, an athlete may not have the same objectives as, say, an office worker or a student. Depending on your lifestyle, you might have one or two or even more milestones you aim to achieve. 

Fortunately, most, if not all of these apps take this factor into consideration, allowing you to set your goals, such as weight loss, muscle gain, body fat loss, athletic performance, and more. By inputting key body metrics like your current height and weight, you can tailor the app towards your own needs. Essentially, this feature helps you stay focused and motivated by personalizing the app towards the data you provided. 

Tracking Progress: After setting your goals, fitness apps also allow you and other users to track your daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly progress. For example, it can count the number of steps you’ve taken, calorie count, heart rate, water intake, and more. Data gathered from these methods can be displayed in a variety of ways such as graphs, charts, numeric data, comparative stats, and more. This feature allows you to take note whether you’re making positive or negative progress and adjust your fitness plan accordingly. 

Providing Workout Ideas: Aside from allowing you to set your goals and track your progress, fitness apps may also have free workout plans or exercise programs that you can follow to give yourself some sense of variety and avoid boredom. 

Providing Motivation: Over time, it is easy to lose confidence or even motivation to continue pursuing your fitness goals. Thoughts like “I’ll do it next time” or “Maybe one more sweet treat won’t hurt” can derail you from reaching your physical milestones, which can eventually cause you to give up and lose your entire progress. 

But worry not as fitness apps are equipped with various features that help you keep your motivation high. Some examples include virtual challenges, push notifications, and online communities which you can use to keep your spirits up and continue to work towards achieving your fitness goals. 

Providing Social Support: Aside from online communities, fitness apps may also allow you to invite friends and family members to use them, allowing you to connect with each other and keep track of your individual progress. By sharing your progress with others, you can focus and stay motivated as the connection can also be a form of accountability as you watch each other’s progression. 

Food Tracking: The food you eat plays an equally important role in your fitness journey as your workout plan and routine. Without a healthy diet, you can find it even more difficult to reach your goals no matter what app you use. 

Therefore, fitness apps may also allow you to track your food intake by counting your calories, calculate the nutritional value of your meals, form meal plans, and more. This feature allows you to be conscious of what you eat, which then helps you make healthier choices and stay on track with your fitness goals. 

How to Maximize These Fitness Apps? 

So, they're nice and great. That much we've already established. Still, it is up to you to work towards achieving your fitness goals. After all, these apps are meant to only help make your journey a bit easier. How you integrate and use them in your routine is crucial in determining how helpful they will be to you. 

Personalize the app: The first step towards maximizing your chosen fitness app is personalization. Usually, this step involves inputting key information about your body. The RENPHO Health App will ask for your birthday, weight, height, health goals, and your activity level. Other possible questions are your physical health condition, dietary preference, camera access for barcode scanning, and in-app purchases for premium services. These questions allow it to tailor your user experience, accordingly, allowing you to get the most out of it. 

Choose the right features: Since your fitness app is meant to cater to a wide variety of users, there will be additional features you might find unnecessary or unneeded for your journey going forward. Therefore, it is essential that you use only those that align with your goals and preferences. 

Check your progress regularly: Consistency is key when it comes to maximizing fitness apps. Remember that your journey will involve frequent changes to your lifestyle. Frequent updates mean you are always on the right track. No matter what changes your body undergoes, regularly checking your progress allows you to analyze if your exercise routine is still effective or if it needs adjustments. 

Join a community: Your fitness journey isn’t something you take on alone. Being part of like-minded individuals allows you to stay motivated and provides you with a source of inspiration when the going gets tough. Moreover, they can give you tips and tricks to help you overcome challenges and obstacles you’ll face along the way. 

Are Fitness Apps Worth It? 

Now that you know what they are, what features you can expect, and how to maximize them, you might be wondering if these apps are worth your consideration. Just like how you decide on which app to use, knowing if they are worth your time will depend on your needs and preferences. 

Take me for example. I usually start strong when it comes to starting a workout plan. Unfortunately, I also quickly lose motivation to continue pursuing my fitness goals. However, integrating a fitness app into my daily routine helps keep my motivation high as I can utilize features such as push notifications and virtual challenges. 

Essentially speaking, the value of a fitness app will entirely depend on your needs. Their convenience, advanced features, workout resources and more can really aid you in reaching your goals. Just remember, it’s not required for you to achieve your ideal body, though they can certainly help make the journey easier. 

Final Stretch 

Fitness apps are meant to assist you in your journey towards a better you. From customizable user experience to providing you with workout ideas and motivation, these programs are a godsend to individuals who are struggling or who are in need of an assistant. However, their usefulness lies in your ability to use them. Understanding their core features and uses is key to maximizing them. So, if you plan on using a fitness app like the RENPHO Health App, study how it works first before integrating it into your workout. Who knows? You might just kickstart a wonderful fitness journey toward a healthier lifestyle!