Want to Get Fit? There's an App for That

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There seems to be an app for just about everything nowadays, and fitness tracking is all the rage. Finding time to incorporate a consistent workout routine into a busy schedule can be challenging for many college students. Fitness apps serve as a perfect motivational tool in keeping you up and active! Take it from three University of Maryland students who swear by three different fitness apps to track their daily movement and workouts: The OrangeTheory Fitness App, Iphone Health App and Nike Training Club.

OrangeTheory Fitness App​

Orangetheory Fitness is a high-intensity hour-long workout session led by a personal trainer. An Orangetheory fitness studio opened in College Park last year and is already the leading fitness gym in town. An interesting perk about taking Orangetheory classes is that while the app is used to track progress during a paid session, you can use it outside of the studio too.

Rachael Lansing, an Orangetheory coach in College Park and a senior psychology major, said, “Let’s say you were going for an outdoor run or lifting weights, you could hook yourself up to the app and track that kind of [workout] too.”

Lansing explained that the app is unique because it tracks your heart rate percentage in real time throughout the entire workout.

“It’s really nice to be able to track your progress in real time because I know when I should be pushing it and when I should be pulling back during a workout,” Lansing added.

The Orangetheory Fitness app is available on iOS devices.

Health App on iPhone

Let’s face it: Whether it’s a workout class led by a trainer or a pricey app, tracking your exercise can be expensive. Believe it or not, the iPhone’s Health app offers exercise tracking features, free of charge or download.

Senior finance major Brendan Tennant exercises at Ritchie Coliseum four times weekly. During his workout sessions, he uses the Health app on his Apple Watch to track his heart rate and the time elapsed.

“I didn’t think it would be useful to me at all, but then I explored it a little more and tried it out,” Tennant said. “Now I make sure to use it consistently to track my progress over long periods of time.”

There is a summary tab feature in the Health app that illustrates health changes over time. Staying healthy is a long-term pursuit, and the Health app reviews and compares progress over days, weeks and months at a time.

Nike Training Club ​

The Nike Training Club is a free app that offers nearly 200 versatile workout routines, from weightlifting to yoga. The Nike Training Club app caters to every fitness level and creates personalized workout plans for individuals based on their health goals and habits.

Junior finance major Maddy Scholz uses the Nike Training Club app when she runs on the treadmill at the gym.

“I feel motivated to work out when using the app because it basically creates a work schedule for you based on a goal you choose,” Scholz said. “It definitely makes me feel a lot more inclined to stay on top of working out. And it’s free, so that’s a plus.”

Nike Training Club is available on iOS and Android devices.

Take advantage of what the app store has to offer for a more active and healthier lifestyle!