When it comes to fitness goals and overall wellness, it helps to have a support network; to surround yourself with people who are also striving for a healthy, balanced lifestyle (even with the occasional chocolate chip cookie); and to set reasonable, achievable goals. But even if you have all these things in place, it can be tough to keep track of how many steps, how many tortilla chips at the clubhouse after the round of golf, and how many revolutions of the bicycle wheel on Trilogy community trails. Fortunately, in this age of apps and smart phones, you can have the tools of a dietician, coach, and trainer at your fingertips. With the right wellness apps, you have a built-in accountability partner with you at all times. Here are a few of the ones we like the best.
For basic calorie and exercise tracking: A little insight goes a long way when you’re tracking the food you eat and the calories you burn. Today’s calorie trackers make it easy to see exactly how much is going in, and what you are expending. The very act of tracking often helps create awareness, which is the first step in improving habits. After all, if you know that the piece of chocolate cake is 300 calories, and it will take you about an hour on your bike to burn that off, you might plan for an afternoon ride or decide to split the cake with a friend.
- MyFitnessPal and LoseIt: Both offer free versions and allow you to choose from recent/frequent meals, search foods in their database, add recipes, enter foods a la carte, or scan barcodes for an exact breakdown of nutrition and calories. Each app also allows you to enter your physical activity for the day. LoseIt even lets you enter activities like “gardening” and “housework.” With LoseIt, you enter your fitness and weight goals, and then the app gives you a target calorie number, so each day and week you can check how you did against your goals. Although both apps can be connected to fitness trackers like a FitBit to make holistic health even easier, MyFitnessPal offers more device options than Loseit.
For exercise tracking: Trilogy community members have access to an abundance of wellness choices. While a rainy day may call for indoor pilates, yoga, or a high intensity Technogym training session, sunny days mean laps in the pool, breezy bike rides on Trilogy trails, or time out on the golf course or the pickleball courts. Rather than guessing how much you’re moving, the best apps calculate it for you. Again, awareness is key. If you know an after-dinner stroll burns 150 extra calories, you might be motivated to mobilize the group before they settle in after dessert.
- Technogym®: Many Trilogy community fitness centers are outfitted with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment—so, naturally the Technogym app, which synchs with the equipment, is one easy way to track your movements. This app features a daily movement goal and offers wellness tips, exercise programs, and a video gallery of moves and routines. GPS tracking ensures that outdoor activities are also captured and accounted for, and Apple Watch connectivity makes it easy to pull together all of the data at a glance.
- MapMyFitness: From the same app developers as MyFitnessPal, MapMyFitness is ideal for people who cover a lot of ground when they exercise. Whether you’re hiking trails, road biking, jogging, or golfing, this app tracks your route (and finds new routes), allows you to share on social media (#humblebrag), and also provides stats on speed, distance, and elevation. Maybe the coolest feature is that each journey generates a visual representation of where you went – and motivates you to go a little further the next time.
For guided coaching and programs: Sometimes the most intimidating thing about developing a routine is figuring out where to start. That’s where coaching apps come in. These apps let you choose exercise programs based on length of time, experience level, equipment, and exercise style. Some even offer an entire 6-week agenda, so you know exactly what you should be doing each day, with video and voice instruction to coach you through each move.
- Fitbit® Coach – For those who already sport the FitBit, this app layers in personalized recommendations based on activity and offers guided video and audio workouts that can be done anywhere—including in the comfort of your own living room. This intuitive, easy-to-integrate app can help you take your tracking to the next level.
- Nike® Training Club – This app features workout programs that are goal-oriented, so you can choose to tone and tighten, improve endurance, focus on legs, or zero in on core strength. You can sort programs based on the kind of equipment you have, and also get plenty of encouragement in the way of in-app notifications.
Low-impact programs: Wellness isn’t always synonymous with “high impact exercise,” and in fact, activities like yoga, stretching, and meditation are essential to enhancing longevity and psychological well-being. And for individuals recovering from an injury or coming from a relatively sedentary lifestyle, these apps offer a gradual return to fitness.
- ROMWOD – Especially as we age, keeping muscles loose and flexible is crucial. A great way to stay limber and/or recover from a strenuous workout, this app offers daily guided routines dedicated to improving range of motion. Plus, it presents creative stretches that target those tight muscles just perfectly.
- Insight Timer– If you haven’t heard about the transformative effects of meditation, you probably will soon. Lauded as a source of clarity for the likes of Clint Eastwood, Jerry Seinfeld, and Arianna Huffington, meditation has been credited with providing great focus for successful people. This app is ideal for beginners or advanced meditators, as it offers timed meditation sessions, and a range of programs to keep you balanced.
Trilogy community amenities offer motivation enough to get out and live a healthy lifestyle. With these apps, you can take your fitness to the next level, or at least get an accurate perspective of how you’re doing. Who knows – you may connect with some like-minded neighbors as you explore your options. And now… go forth and track!