With such a wide range of apps available to help track, monitor, motivate and make the best of your fitness regime or diet plan, I thought I would pull together a review of some of the best available from my personal experience.

Nike + Running – Free

One of my first running apps and probably one of my favorites, tracks your runs whether on the treadmill or streets. The records and PB elements are fantastic, showing off your Nike + colour level and progression. I love the motivational words from top athletes when you finish your work out, however some people may find this a bit cheesy. My favorite feature of the app is the one button power song, set these up with your play list on your phone and when you are hitting a “wall” press the “power button” to get the boost you need.

Strava Running and Cycling – GPS Run and Ride Tracker - Free

Track your runs and rides and get key stats for example, distance, pace, speed, elevation and calories burned. There is also a premium subscriber service which offers features that help you to train more effectively and set mileage or time based goals.

Calorie/KJ Counter PRO by MyNetDiary - with Food Diary  for Diet and Weight Loss - £2.99

Calorie counter and weight loss programme tool, brilliantly recognises over 200 brands including restaurants and main stream supermarkets. A wealth of stats and information that is beautifully presented for those number and graph addicts, like myself without being overwhelming. Fantastic community support as well.

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by My Fitness Pal – Free

Touted as the fastest and easiest to use calorie counter for iOS, this app tracks all major nutrients. It has an extensive food database, with the ability to scan barcodes and you can even import recipes! There is also a built in step tracker. One of my favourite elements is that it links with your fitness devices like your Garmin, Fitbit, Jawbone.

Buddhify – Mindfulness & Meditation for Modern Life - £3.99

OK so strictly speaking not an exercise app, but it is great for the health and wellbeing of your mind. Mindfulness is a concept that is becoming ever popular with evidence that in can reduce stress and improves wellbeing and this beautifully designed app is the top of the class. The different mediation sessions work for all parts of daily life from taking a short break at work to going to sleep. If you think meditation is too hippy for you, give this app a try! 

Going back to my earlier post on motivation, one of the key elements for me in ensuring I stay focussed during my solo training are my playlists. Music is a great motivator and gives you a boost when those legs start to ache and your breathing gets harder.

I have many different ones and I categorise them due to time length to correspond with the distances I train for 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon training. This makes them easy to upload and crack on.

Playlists change and morph and can depend on your sporting activity or a particular time in your life, some tracks will always remain a “power song” and help pull you through that I can’t go on anymore (as my mum always told me, there is no such word as cant!) I have had some songs that have been in my iPod for years.

Old Favourites

New Additions

Power Songs

The notion of a power song is an interesting one, for me, it’s that track that gives you goosebumps and can act as an energy injection when you need it the most, a bit like a mental carbo gel!  

What’s your favourite tracks to keep you going and make you push harder to complete your training?