Are you running to lose weight? Running to get outside of your own head? Do you run because it’s your favorite form of cardio? Or do you just love being outdoors and running is your escape?
Whatever your reasons and motivations, we’ve put together 4 great fitness apps created especially for runners. We’ve got apps that will help you find new routes, track your progress, and even one for beginners who are now retired couch potatoes.
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- Nike + Run Club and Nike+ Training Club
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Nike+ Run Club is an innovative running partner. Besides its features like indoor or outdoor tracking and distance coverage, it has a coaching program based on your goals.
Apart from tracking your progress, it has a shoe tracker so you can tag the shoes you used for each workout. You’ll know how much mileage your shoes can take before you wear them out!
Download the Nike+ Training Club app and get more than 100 workouts that come with instructional audio and video clips.
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- Fitbit
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Even if you do not have the actual wearable tracker, you can download the Fitbit app and turn on MobileTrack. This feature lets you count all the steps that you have made, the distance you have covered as well as calories burned.
And the New Adventures feature is just one more thing to really get you motivated. It uses my steps progress to show you how far you could have traveled on famous trails, giving you an idea on how you would fair running along iconic landmarks!
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- C25K
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This is a great app for beginners.
And speaking of couch potatoes, the C25K app used to be called just that – Couch Potato. The name was fitting because it was designed for people who don’t run. Alternating between running and walking, the app will help you build strength. Through its 8-week plan which calls for 30-minute workouts per week, you’ll be a runner before you know it. The goal is to take you from your couch to finishing 5k. C25K = Couch to 5k. Get it?
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- MapMyRun
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Like Fitbit and Nike+Run app, MapMyRun also has track features like speed and distance. Best of all, this app is not exclusive to runners; you can use MapMyRun to search for biking paths or even places to walk your dog.
What we love about this app is that it has a unique feature called “Find a route” where the app suggests a new running course for you based on your location. A change of scenery is always inspiring.
All these apps are available on Android and IOS. With so many competing brands making health and fitness fun and interactive through technology, it’s intriguing to find out what they’ll come up with next.
Are you a runner who has a favorite running app? We’d love to hear about it.
