Living in a city can be a lot of fun with all the excitement of a fast-paced life. However, such a lifestyle can bring a number of distractions that may get in the way of your fitness training. Luckily there are a number of gadgets and fitness apps designed to help you get the most out of your workouts in the city.
Fitness trackers
Fitness apps and trackers like Fitbit and Garmin have taken the world by storm and are a great addition to your workouts. At the most basic level, fitness trackers record the number of steps you take throughout the day; but many offer additional metrics such as flights of stairs climbed, distance traveled, calories burned, and quality of sleep. Even if you think you’re fit already, keeping track of your daily efforts and progress with a fitness tracker can motivate you to push your training to the next level.
Heart rate monitors
While many fitness trackers incorporate heart rate monitors, they’re not always the most accurate. If you’re serious about fitness, a traditional chest strap monitor — like those made by ProForm and Under Armour — is the way to go. There are a variety of options available, and many of them can sync with your fitness tracker or health apps to give you a better picture of just how hard you’re pushing yourself when you work out. Exercising at different heart rate levels can help you focus your efforts on losing fat, building endurance, or improving general cardiovascular health.
GPS fitness apps
The Endomondo fitness app is a great way to track your outdoor runs, hikes or bike rides by utilizing the GPS in your smartphone. You can view your pace, elevation change, and split times per mile within the app, and can participate in challenges to win prizes from sponsors like Under Armour and other fitness clothing and accessory companies. If you follow the same route frequently, you can compare your performance each time so that you can constantly strive for a new personal record. Connect with your friends to add additional competition.
City exercise safety
All the workout technology in the world won’t help you if you’re not safe while you exercise. Luckily, there are a variety of fitness apps available for smartphones that aim to keep you safer while working out in the city. Air quality trackers alert you to areas of your city that are high in pollution, so you know to avoid them. It’s important that the air is clean, especially when you’re breathing hard. Other apps use your phone’s GPS to lower the volume on your earbuds when you approach major intersections so that you can be more aware of oncoming traffic.
Fitness friend finders
Working out is always more fun with friends, and research has shown that it can help motivate you to work out harder and longer than you would on your own. However, it’s not always easy to find fitness-minded friends in your area, especially if you have a busy work schedule. A quick search in your smartphone’s app store delivers a host of fitness apps designed to make the process easier. A bit like a dating app but for fitness, simply enter in your location and the app will show you others in your area looking for a workout buddy.
