Tag Archives: iphone

Crowd-source Your Workout Music: DROP is the Free App That Lets Your Friends Pick the Songs

We’re not pitching you on a new music service to sign up for. For this one, you’ll use the music you already have.

DROP is a new app, free from Jawbone, the makers of the wildly popular fitness trackers we love. It relies on the music you already have on Spotify, iTunes, or Rdio, but lets you enjoy it all in a new way. At the most basic level, it shuffles your songs (and playlists) and lets you listen to them in a new order. On a more exciting note, it lets your friends choose specific songs to “drop” on you at any given time.

Well, while you’re using the app, of course. It won’t barge in like a wrecking ball and start blaring Miley Cyrus while you’re in a meeting with your boss.

DROP will run on its own, but the real fun comes when you connect it to Twitter — and when your friends do, too. They can queue up a song for you by tweeting something like this:

@mbchp drop Talk Dirty (more…)

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Mike Beauchamp

The Only Fitness Tracker Review Guide You Need

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These are the top wearable fitness trackers you should consider using to monitor your fitness goals. Last year’s 2024 Fitness Tracker Review Guide was a huge hit, so we’re doing it again with the new 2024 models. Several bands have gotten bumps in battery life, there are new and improved features across the board, and some new players to consider.

BUDGET CONSCIOUS

The two notable entries are aimed squarely at the budget-minded among us, with price points both under $60. They don’t pack all the high-tech bells and whistles of their more expensive siblings, but for many, they get the job done and serve as a reminder to be more active.

For a modest $50, you’ll find the Jawbone UP Move, which clips onto your shirt, pants, blouse, or purse. It’s a pedometer, first and foremost, and via the free iPhone or Android apps, also helps you keep track of calories consumed and calories burned.

The $60 Fitbit Zip competes head-on here, but is also waterproof up to 30 feet. (more…)

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Mike Beauchamp

Rise Offers Affordable Personalized Nutrition Coaching Through your iPhone

Rise-app-review

Would you like to have a nutrition coach cheering you on toward your chosen goals with you all the time? As a busy professional and mom to an active kid, fitting in one more appointment — even social activities — isn’t very easy. I welcomed the opportunity to review the app 1:1 Nutrition Coaching by Rise.

It is a food diary app that allows you to log your meals and snacks with photos and/or descriptions, but the big difference that Rise offers is a personal nutrition coach who reviews what you are eating, asks questions, and makes suggestions to help you meet your goals. You can request a supportive coach or a tough coach, but even my tough coach was kind. No one is going to be yelling at you or even messaging you in all caps.

I chose my own goal — decrease sugar — and she offered suggestions and general tips both as feedback to my meals and in separate messages. As someone who lives with food allergies and centers my diet on vegetables and protein, I wondered what kind of advice I would be given since my diet doesn’t meet the general guidelines. When you sign up for 1:1 Nutrition Coaching by Rise, you can enter in dietary restrictions, and she must have paid attention to them because it never came up. She seemed excited by the amount of vegetables my family eats regularly and unconcerned by eggs for breakfast and steak for dinner. (more…)

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

Nike+ Running is the App that Loves You Back: Why the Cheers from the Sidelines, and Facebook, Actually Matter

Talk to anyone who’s ever run a marathon, a 5K, or any of the other Ks and they will tell you the best motivation is the crowd on the sidelines. The applause, and shouts of “come on, you can do it” are sometimes all the push they need to hoof it another mile.

Now, thanks to apps like Nike+ Running that sync with Facebook, runners can experience the same race-day rush during their daily trek through the neighborhood or park.

Angela VanBuskirk is an avid runner who participates in several races per year. She competes because they make her feel strong, alive, and also, she admits to being a medal hoarder – the bigger the better. The best thing by far, she says, are the cheering crowds.

“It’s a thing where your body is working so, so hard,” VanBuskirk explained. “You push harder than you ever knew you could and then seeing that finish line, hearing people who have never met screaming ‘YOU GOT THIS! GO! FINISH STRONG!’ It’s better than anything.”

“Out of nowhere you will hear the roar of a crowd, then another, it’s friggin awesome.”

She was introduced to the Nike+ Running app by her buddies in the Ozark Mountain Ridge Running Club. It offers the option to sync with your Facebook account and each time you run, the following message is delivered to your followers: Angela is out on a run with Nike -Send me cheers along the way by liking or commenting on this post.

Angela says it was a surreal but wonderful experience to hear the applause and cheering noises through her ear buds as each like and comment came in.

(more…)

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Dani Stone

No Weight Loss with FitBit? 5 Reasons it’s Probably User Error

Did anyone happen to see the Today Show story on FitBit users who claim the device made them gain weight? I missed it when it originally aired, but it was topic of discussion during an IDEA World Fitness session called Best Practices for Integrating Devices and Apps with Your Clients.

More and more people are using technology to assist them on their fitness journey. In fact, session facilitator Patrick Jak shared that 10% of U.S. adults wear some kind of activity tracker, and that estimates say by 2024, 500 million people will be using fitness apps on their smartphones. An activity tracker or food log app like MyFitnessPal can be a great help in getting more active or facilitating fat loss. The problem is, as with any fitness tool, they are only effective with consistent and correct usage.

If you’re one of the 10% with a FitBit, Fuelband, VivoFit, or a dedicated MyFitnessPal user, but you aren’t seeing results, take a look at these common operator errors: (more…)

Posted on September 26, 2024 by Pamela

What the Apple Watch Means for Your Fitness

Earlier this week, at a special media event in California, alongside two brand new, bigger and better iPhones, Apple unveiled a new device called Apple Watch. It’s a smartwatch of sorts, which we have mixed feelings about, but the implications it has for health and fitness, and the way it integrates with your iPhone, therein lies the magic.

Whether you pick up one of Apple’s latest and greatest iPhones is irrelevant; the Apple Watch works with current iPhones, as well. With the introduction of iOS 8 later this month, you’ll find a new app on your home screen: Health. The Apple Watch integrates directly with Health to keep track of workouts, daily activity, steps, calories absorbed and burned, and more. If you’re out for a jog and leave your iPhone at home, Watch will keep track of everything and sync back up when you return. (more…)

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Mike Beauchamp

Get Nudge and Finally Track All Your Health and Fitness Data in One App

If you’ve gotten the impression that fitness tracking wearable gadgets and mobile apps are coming out of the woodwork these days, you aren’t alone. From brand new startups to age-old sports brands, everyone wants to be the one you use to log, track, record, and analyze what you do every day with your body. Maybe you use one app to keep track of your food intake, another to log your route when you’re out for a run, and yet another to sync your fitness band.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one place to keep all of that cumulative data, strip out all the fluff, and give you a quick and easy way to find out if you’re on track or falling behind?

Say hello to Nudge. Nudge is a free smartphone app that brings all of your healthy living together in one place, with one score. Connect Nudge with your favorite health tracking apps and wearables like RunKeeper, Moves, Fitbit, and more to see how your Nudge Factor stacks up against your friends.

Currently, Nudge syncs with the following apps you may already be using:

MapMyFitness (and its product suite)
RunKeeper
Moves
Strava
Fitbit
Jawbone UP
Sleep as Android (more…)

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Mike Beauchamp

Apple’s Health App Confirmed; to Sync with Nike+, Mayo Clinic, and More

Remember a few months ago when we speculated about the release of a new Apple product for tracking all things health? This month, Apple Insider confirms its upcoming release.

HealthKit and its related app, simply named “Health,” will collect and store a variety of personal health data. Apple’s Senior Vice President Craig Federighi “took the wraps” off Apple’s response to the growing trend of tech-based health tracking devices. “Health” is an app that can track and store steps taken, blood pressure, blood sugar (key for diabetics!), quantity of sleep, and many other metrics.

One of Apple’s first partners on the project is Nike and their digital interface Nike+, who previously quantified activity through their own NikeFuel and the FuelBand–their response to the FitBit.

The Only Fitness Tracker Review Guide You Need (more…)

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Katie McGrath

Apple’s Upcoming Health App Predicted to Break Boundaries

With the growing popularity of virtualized health tracking apps, Apple is sure to have something coming down the pipeline soon not only to compete, but to surpass.

9-to-5 Mac released details on Monday regarding their new project, and is projected to be “a tipping point for mobile healthcare”. They’re calling it Apple Healthbook and it’s designed to track blood sugar (huge factor for those with diabetes!), heart rate, breathing rate, weight, hydration, sleep, nutrition, physical movements, and health test results, among other stats.

How will this app stand out from the rest? One company, for example, offers over 40 health and fitness iPhone apps alone. It is said that virtual health tracker and resource apps can significantly reduce healthcare costs and are predicted to one day be subsidized by healthcare providers to promote their usage. (more…)

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Katie McGrath

The Only Fitness Tracker Review Guide You Need for 2024

2024 Fitness Tracker Review Guide Available Now!

Within the last few years, the market for wearable computers has exploded. Today, we’re looking at five such devices that help you monitor your physical activity, stay in shape, keep track of your sleeping patterns, and go everywhere you go. You see, the best innovations are those that are exceedingly simple to use and assume a natural place in your life.

I looked at the latest and greatest fitness gadgets for this post: the Fitbit Force, the BodyBugg LINK, the Jawbone UP, the Nike FuelBand SE, and the Ssmart Dynamo. By and large, they do many of the same things, so how do you decide which one is right for you? Here are ten key features about each to help you decide which fits your lifestyle.

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A few key takeaways from the data I gathered.

The Nike FuelBand SE has the longest battery life. If you’re on the go more than you’re at home, this is something to consider. With the FuelBand, you can expect 12 days between charges.

If you already use a smartphone app to track your fitness or food intake, you’ll want one that plays nicely with your favorite app. The Fitbit Force, BodyBugg LINK, and Jawbone UP are the three models to look at for this.

All models have a pedometer function to track your steps throughout the day. And all models, except the FuelBand, include sleep monitoring and calorie tracking. (more…)

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Mike

First Mobile App for Eating Disorder Treatment Now Available from Recovery Record

Researchers at Recovery Record have announced the creation of the first mobile app designed to facilitate the management of eating disorders in real time. Patients and doctors connect through a secure app to co-manage care, monitor goals, track progression, and even communicate.

This comprehensive platform, out today and available for iPhone and iPad, is not intended to take the place of in-person therapy sessions, but doctors hope the new technology will appeal to their core patients, the gadget-centric group aged 12-25.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology, 10 in 100 young women will be diagnosed with an eating disorder this year. Many more will go undiagnosed because of the perceived stigma attached to sufferers and because some are simply too scared to ask for help. Those who battle anorexia nervosa or bulimia have the highest mortality rate of any mental health condition, yet only one in 10 sufferers receive treatment.

These are the shocking statistics that led researchers to create a better way to help patients feel more in control of their recovery, and also to convince those who have been suffering in silence to seek help.

(more…)

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Dani Stone

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