Apple Watch is quite popular and most sold wearable across the world. The Apple Watch is more of a comprehensive platform for Athletes, but Apple has definitely taken the popularity of these fitness trackers into account, equipping the Watch with a built-in heart rate monitor, GPS tracker to measure distance and speed during workouts, an accelerometer to track body movement, and proprietary apps that show calories burned and overall fitness levels.
If you are a health and fitness addict, then Apple Watch is very useful. It can keep tabs on how much you exercise, how many calories you burn, plus how much you move the rest of the day. In its review, the top fitness site Total Shape praises the Apple Watch’s slim design and presentation of key information.
There are many health and fitness apps available on App Store to help you stay fit. However, not all apps add much more to the Watch experience than they do to your phone, there are a few that make that subtle leap. To help you get started, we have listed the 10 best health and fitness apps for Apple Watch. Give them a try.
1. Strava
Strava was one of the first running apps that adapted to the Apple Watch in an organic way, allowing you to start, complete, and log a fitness session directly from your wrist. While recording, the app shows the distance you have traveled, how long you have run for, your average pace (in kilometers or miles per hour), and your current heart rate. In other words, it provides pretty much everything you need! When you are finished, you can also save your session. Not running today? Strava also allows you to switch to a different sport if you want to record other activities.
2. RunKeeper
Runkeeper got a big update for the Series 2 that allows it to internally generate its own map using the watch GPS, which helps with tracking your location and progress and, after a period of “teaching”, does not even require you to run with your iPhone. The app also comes with some nice customization features; the run screen shows the elapsed time at the top, but you can alter the middle and lower portions to show distance, current pace, average pace, average heart rate, and a slew of other metrics in whichever order you prefer. The ability to customize the Run Screen is a great feature we wish more fitness apps provided, one that is ideal for runners who know just what they want to focus on.
3. Gymnatic
Gymnatic offers a fun twist on traditional fitness apps. The inventive app automatically identifies the exercise at hand and starts tracking it so you know exactly how many reps you have done without ever needing to count in your head (you can also search for specific exercises or sports and put them together into customized workouts). The app also offers the ability to track your heart rate, rest and workout times, velocity, temperature, consistency, and more. Think of it as a milder alternative to Gymaholic, one well-suited for those who are not as obsessed with the details but still want a good, easy-to-use tracker.
4. Gymaholic
Gymaholic focuses on complex strength training that uses both 3D modeling techniques and augmented reality. While the images on the Apple Watch are tiny, the screen focuses on reps and sets over the modeling features, ensuring its use no matter what sort of activities you are engaging in. You can also edit your sets, track your heart rate, and add or remove exercises directly from the Watch. However, you do need to have a pretty good handle on what moves are called, how you want to do them, and how you want to improve over time. This app is ideal for weightlifters and strength trainers who are interested in their gains more than anything else.
5. Nike+ Run Club
Apple kicked both Jawbone Up and Nike+ Fuel Band out of the Apple store in anticipation of the Watch. But it looks like Apple throw Nike some love by adding the Nike+ Watch app into the featured set of fitness apps on Apple’s website.
It includes GPS tracking details of your run, audio guided running workouts, customized coaching plans that fit your goals and adapt to your progress, and nonstop motivation from your friends.
The Nike+ Run Club app will allow owners of the Watch to connect with its global running community as well as log the distance and run duration right on their wrist.
6. Hello Heart
This is a blood pressure monitor and heart health companion app. This is a good one for the Watch as it can record and upload vital signs right from your wrist. More than 100 million Americans have some type of a heart condition. This app could make it easy for them to monitor those conditions in real-time, rather than having to go into a doctor’s office or pharmacy to get that information.
7. Fitstar Yoga
Instead of having to look up at the screen or instructor to make sure you have the pose right, this app helps the user see what the proper pose looks like right on their wrist. It also allows them to check on the time remaining for the chosen yoga session or manage the session by using the play, pause or use the back and forth controls.
8. Runtastic
The Apple Watch will have three apps from the popular run tracking platform: The original Runtastic to track runs using GPS, Runtastic Six Pack, and Runtastic Butt Trainer. The apps include a Glances feature to display an avatar that will demonstrate the right way to do each exercise. This helps the person working out follow along instead of having to look up or hold a phone while going through the movements.
9. Map My Run
At this point, you may be wondering why another running app, besides the native app in the Apple Watch and the Nike+ Running app is worth a try. Map My Run not only has a significant and dedicated community to encourage that running life. The new Watch app will also let enthusiasts log more than 600 different types of workouts, record GPS activities, sync and share activity on Apple Health and MyFitnessPal and socially share workouts with friends.
10. WaterMinder
This is a pretty straightforward app that helps folks stay hydrated by reminding them to drink up. You can also visualize your daily water levels to figure out if you are drinking enough.
A few last words
The arrival of smartwatches and Apple Watch is certainly a boon for Health and Fitness enthusiasts and the developers are surely not disappointing anyone. With everything right on your wrist, the ease of use is tremendous and we are pretty sure the future of health and fitness services is rosy.
While there are many fitness and health apps for Apple Watch on App Store, we believe the above 10 are the best apps for beginners. Before you try other apps, we hope you will try the above fitness apps. If we missed any of the best health and fitness apps for Apple Watch, then please tell us about them in the comments and do not forget to subscribe for more updates.
See Also
- 12 Best Travel Apps For Apple Watch
- 10 Best Health And Fitness Apps For Your Android Wear Smartwatch
- 12 Best Fitness Tracking And Workout Apps For Android
