The Right Tool For The Right Job. Top-10 Staff Picks For Best Lifestyle Apps

March 27, 2018 3 min read

Athletic female enjoying a walk in the woods.

There's an app for that too: Sometimes success is all about having the right tool for the right job.  When it comes to your personal health, wellness & fitness; do you have the right tool for the job?  Here is a list of our staff picks of the Top-10 apps for 2018.

  1. RunKeeper: RunKeeper tracks walks, runs, and any other physical activity. From the casual stroller to the 5K runner and those building up to a marathon, this GPS app boasts a community of 50 million users and is suitable for everyone. You can build, save, and discover new routes with GPS to keep your workout stimulating.
  2. CouchTo 5k: Couch to 5K helps you go from couch potato to running 5K in just 9 weeks by following their easy and fun training plan. The app is designed for complete beginners to spend around 20 to 30 minutes working out, three times per week, to get 5K-ready.
  3. Strava: Strava aspires to connect the world's athletes by providing an inspiring experience minus the junk posts you might find on other social networks. They say that you might join Strava for the app's tracking ability, but you will stay for their motivating and competitive community. Strava is our top pick for social training.
  4. MyFitnessPal: MyFitnessPal is a smartphone app and website that tracks diet and exercise to determine optimal caloric intake and nutrients for the users' goals and uses gamification elements to motivate users.
  5. SleepCycle: Sleep Cycle uses sound analysis to identify sleep states by tracking movements in bed. Sleep Cycle uses a wake up phase (30 minutes by default) that ends at your desired alarm time. During this phase Sleep Cycle will monitor signals from your body to wake you softly, when you are in the lightest possible sleep state.
  6. FitRadio: Spend time sweating, not making playlists with the App Store's No. 1 workout music app, Fit Radio, featuring new professional DJ mixes every day.
  7. MapMyRun: Get audio feedback on every GPS-tracked run, with customizable voice feedback for stats like pace, route, distance, calories, and elevation. ... - Let your shoes do the tracking with UA Record Equipped connected shoes that automatically track your runs and sync your data with your MapMyRun app.
  8. PocketYoga: A flexible yoga app. Choose between different practices, different durations and different difficulty levels. Whatever your skill level and time availability there's something for you. Pocket Yoga adjusts to your needs.
  9. BineuralBeats: Binaural beats music is used by people all over the world as a form of 'brainwave entrainment' – a process used to entrain the brain into different states that contribute positively to well-being and personal-development. What most people don't realize is that although the creation of binaural beats music has only been possible through technological advancement in the last 100 or so years, the use of this natural science dates back thousands of years.
  10. Argus: Argus: Calorie Counter & Steps. by Azumio Inc. FREE in the App Store. Argus is a powerful all-in-one health app that features an advanced sleep tracker, and it is capable of counting calories and tracking your daily activities. With Argus, you're on the way towards a healthier life, one night, step, and meal at a time.

Though this is far from a comprehensive list of available apps, these are those preferred by our staff.  The use of fitness and nutrition apps have shown association with healthier eating behaviors and BMI making lifestyle related apps a great choice for those with weight management goals.

Struggling to get going? Most of these apps can be customized with personal reminders to help with keeping consistent. Additionally, most lifestyle apps include functionality to assist in connecting with other like minded people also using the app. Connecting with others in an app cretes the ability to have accountability partners or join a community of others with similar goals and interests.  Utilizing either or both of these features is recommended to ensure full success with the applications intent.

Mobile apps work more efficiently in managing lifestyle then desktop apps or websites. A well-designed mobile app can perform actions much quicker than a mobile or desktop website. If there is an app you love and we missed it on our list, send us a message so we can include it in our next update. 

1 :JMIR Publications via National Library of Medicine.

* App costs, subscription information and availability vary.  Please consult the app store on your device for up-to-date information on each app.


*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.