Training apps

Want to ace your New Year fitness goals? Turbocharge your training with our pick of the best apps

Words: Louise Pyne

As we shift into a new year and reflect on the one just gone by, most of us would agree that 2020 was a rather strange year. As Covid-19 took over our lives, we saw marathons and other races across the world being cancelled or postponed, gyms and fitness centres closing their doors to the public and, at the peak of the pandemic, our daily one-hour of exercise become the lifeline that kept many of us sane as lockdown swept the nation. Let’s face it – 2020 was a rather rubbish year all round, but as we bid farewell to December and bounce into January, it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate our fitness hopes and dreams.

The start of 2021 gives us the opportunity to recharge our batteries and re-think our lifestyles to be happier and healthier. Accessorising our training with smartphone apps is a great way to get more out of fitness, especially in the current climate.

“Apps can be an amazing resource to help you stick to your resolutions. They can be a constant source of information and inspiration,” says personal trainer Chloe Bowler, a firm advocate of using tech in your training.

Getting tech-savvy

During lockdown, downloads of health and fitness apps grew by 46 per cent worldwide. Interestingly, a study by scientists at Flinders University found that apps alone don’t motivate people to exercise, but that interacting with an online exercise community provides the motivational boost to stay engaged with exercise programs. This has been particularly relevant at a time when levels of isolation within communities has been on the rise due to Coronavirus.

People respond to apps because they help with accountability; it’s like joining a club where you feel part of something

So apps could be the missing part of the jigsaw puzzle that helps to keep our fitness and our mental health on track. The huge rise in popularity of health and fitness apps during lockdown has been in part due to people spending more time at home, and not being able to go to a gym.