There are tons of apps out there that will track your workouts, and I am sure there are any number of them that are effective. After trying to download quite a few of them with no luck I was able to download the Greattrainer app, and I am totally pleased.
The app itself is pretty straightforward and simple. You simply put in what type of exercise you will be doing such as running or cycling, then you click on the type of terrain you will be on, and finally you can input a certain pace if you want to.
As you exercise you get audible notices of how far you have traveled, which was actually the one problem I had with this app. I was simultaneously using Pandora and every time the app told me how far I had gone it would pause Pandora and I would have to go back to my phone and turn it back on. Not a huge tragedy, but it was kind of annoying.
When you finish your exercise you simply click stop and you can look at the results. The details screen after you exercise includes distance, duration, average speed, average altitude, calories burned, and average pace. That was quite a bit more information than I expected, but there is even more available on their website.
Like most quality apps, there is also an online community that further enhances the apps capabilities. You can send your results to the Take to the Streets website where you can add them to your training diary.
The training diary can be used to simply track what you are doing, or it can be used to help you prepare for a specific race or event. Along those lines, they even have training schedules that will help you prepare for those events. The combination of schedules and tracking makes training that much more effective.
The website also provides numerous training tips and videos to help improve your training.
There is also an online community where you can share your training results and discuss whatever you want with other members. Accountability is a huge part of being successful with exercise, and these types of communities can be great for that. Whether you connect with your friends or strangers it really doesn’t matter as it is the support that makes the difference.
No matter what app you use, or if you use no app at all, what really matters is that we all get out and exercise.
