I spend quite a lot of time talking about getting away from our phones, getting outside, moving our bodies and calming our minds, so it might seem slightly contradictory to write a blog recommending apps. But I actually think technology can be incredibly helpful for our health when we use it consciously.
The important thing for me is that the technology should support the habit rather than become the habit.
I don’t want to spend an hour looking at graphs telling me about my health when I could have spent that hour walking, doing yoga or sleeping. But I do love anything that encourages me to move, reminds me to meditate, helps me understand my activity or gives me a little bit of motivation.
These are some of the fitness and wellbeing apps I use or recommend.
Insight Timer – The App I Use Every Day
If I had to choose one wellbeing app, it would probably be Insight Timer.
I use Insight Timer every day.
I’ve been interested in meditation for many years, and what I love about Insight Timer is the enormous choice. There are guided meditations, music, sleep practices, breathwork, yoga, talks and, of course, the meditation timer itself.
Some days I might want a longer meditation. Another day I might only have ten minutes. Sometimes I want guidance, sometimes music, and sometimes I simply want a bell at the beginning and end of my own meditation.
That’s what I think makes an app useful: it meets you where you are.
Insight Timer currently has hundreds of thousands of guided practices and a substantial amount of its content is available free. You can also track your meditation practice and build consistency.
And consistency matters far more to me than perfection.
Ten minutes of meditation that you actually do is more valuable than the hour-long meditation you keep promising yourself you’ll start next Monday.
Insight Timer:
https://insighttimer.com/
Calm – Particularly Lovely for Relaxation and Sleep
Another app I recommend is Calm.
Calm is beautifully designed and particularly good if you’re new to meditation or simply want something easy to put on when you’re stressed, tired or trying to sleep.
It includes guided meditations, breathing practices, music, daily mindfulness sessions and its very popular Sleep Stories.
I think sleep is one of the most underrated parts of fitness.
We spend enormous amounts of time discussing workouts, calories, protein and steps, but if we’re permanently exhausted, everything becomes harder. Motivation is harder. Exercise feels harder. Food choices can become harder. Concentration is harder. Recovery is harder.
So I consider sleep and relaxation apps to be fitness apps too.
Fitness isn’t just what happens while you’re exercising. Recovery is part of training.
Fitness Trackers – Useful Information, Not a Daily Report Card
I also like fitness trackers and smartwatches.
Depending on the device you’re using, you can monitor things such as steps, workouts, walking distance, heart rate, sleep and general activity.
I think this information can be incredibly motivating.
If you’ve spent most of the day sitting down and notice you’ve barely moved, your watch can give you that little nudge to go for a walk. If you’ve started cycling or walking regularly, it’s lovely to see your distance gradually increase.
Heart-rate information can also help you understand the intensity of your cardiovascular exercise.
But there’s an important word here:
Information.
Your fitness tracker is giving you information. It isn’t giving you a mark out of ten for how good a human being you’ve been today.
If you did 6,000 steps instead of 10,000, you haven’t failed.
If your watch tells you that you slept badly but you actually feel fantastic, pay attention to how you feel too.
Technology can estimate what’s happening inside our bodies, but you still need to learn to listen to your body.
Use the data as a guide, not a dictator.
Strava – Brilliant for Walking, Cycling and Running
If you enjoy walking, cycling or running, Strava can be wonderfully motivating.
You can record activities, look at your routes and distances, follow your progress and connect with other people. For somebody who enjoys seeing improvement over time, that can be incredibly satisfying.
Perhaps the first time you cycle a particular route it feels exhausting. A few months later you do the same route and suddenly realise you’re faster or it simply feels easier.
That’s progress.
And I think we sometimes need evidence of progress because we don’t always notice it while it’s happening.
You don’t have to compete with everybody else on Strava either.
I much prefer the idea of competing with your previous self.
Can I walk a little further?
Can I cycle that hill more comfortably?
Can I move more consistently this month than I did last month?
That’s enough.
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/
Nike Training Club – A Great Free Fitness Resource
For workouts, I think Nike Training Club is an excellent resource.
It offers strength and conditioning sessions, home and gym workouts, yoga, Pilates, recovery and programmes for different levels.
This is particularly useful if you’re thinking, I know I should exercise, but I don’t know what to do.
You can choose something appropriate to your level and follow along.
Of course, an app can’t completely replace a good personal trainer. It can’t watch your movement in exactly the same way, understand your history or adapt the session because you’ve arrived exhausted after three hours’ sleep.
But if you’re confident exercising independently, a good workout app can give you ideas, structure and variety.
Nike Training Club:
https://www.nike.com/gb/ntc-app
Your Phone Already Contains Useful Fitness Tools
Before downloading another ten apps, have a look at what you’ve already got.
Most modern phones and smartwatches can track a surprising amount of health and activity information.
You may already be able to see your daily steps, walking distance, workouts, heart-rate information and other trends without downloading anything else.
Start there.
Because the aim isn’t to collect apps.
The aim is to use something that helps you take action.
Don’t Let Tracking Become Obsession
I think this is particularly important.
Some people find tracking incredibly motivating.
Other people become anxious about it.
They become frightened of missing their step target. They worry because their sleep score isn’t perfect. They feel guilty if they haven’t closed every activity ring.
At that point the technology has stopped supporting your wellbeing and has started interfering with it.
Your body isn’t a spreadsheet.
Some days you need to move more.
Some days you need to rest.
Some days you need the gym.
Some days you need yoga.
Some days you need an early night.
Learning to recognise the difference is part of becoming healthier.
Use Apps to Build Habits
Where I think apps become really powerful is habit formation.
Set a reminder for your meditation.
Schedule your workouts.
Track your walks.
Create a playlist that makes you want to move.
Watch your strength improve.
Celebrate consistency.
Listen to a sleep meditation rather than scrolling through social media in bed.
Technology can either steal our attention or help us direct it.
I want to use it for the second.
My Simple Digital Wellbeing Toolkit
If you’re just starting, I wouldn’t download everything at once.
Choose what you actually need.
If you want to develop a meditation habit, try Insight Timer.
If sleep and relaxation are your priority, explore Calm.
If you love walking, cycling or running and enjoy seeing your progress, try Strava.
If you want guided workouts you can do at home or in the gym, explore Nike Training Club.
And if you already own a fitness watch or tracker, spend some time learning what it can do before buying anything else.
Then put the phone down.
Because ultimately an app can’t do your workout for you.
It can’t take the walk.
It can’t lift the weight.
It can’t practise the yoga.
And it can’t meditate.
You still have to do that bit.
The best health technology isn’t the app with the most features. It’s the one that quietly helps you create a habit that eventually becomes part of your life.
Use the technology. Don’t let the technology use you.
Then go outside, move your body, breathe some fresh air and live.
Selena
Personal Trainer, Yoga Teacher & Wellbeing Coach
In Flow Wellbeing Studio, Cheltenham
