Q. I have a degree in exercise science and am going to school for physical therapy now and really want to track my fitness now that I have an iPhone and I know the importance of health. However, after researching apps I'm not sure the best app or app combination to use. I want to get a heart rate monitor (wahoo or polar?) and many of the apps will sync with it. I want to track calories, GPS run mapping capabilities, nutritious intake, and I want to track my strength training regimen (sets, reps, etc). The my fitness pal app seems to do some of these things and you can also tie in other apps or sync them with it. However there are so many other ones and I want to know the best way to do this if anyone can help. So far I have downloaded: my fitness pal, endomondo, fitocracy, sportstracker, runkeeper, real intelligence fitness app, and digifit icardio. If someone can help me out it would be much appreciated. I would try them out but don't want to give my info and make an account for all of these apps if they aren't what I want.
A. I track some of the same stuff you do, but not everything and I've tried some of the products you have, but not all. However, here's my take:
1. I use Runkeeper as my basic app. I'm primarily a runner and so are most of my friends. It links easily to facebook if you are interested in that. For me, this is how I communicate with my running community. It has some other basic cardio functions in it as well (elliptical, etc)
2. Runkeeper has a GPS function to be used with the iphone, it's generally accurate within 0.1-0.3 mile. However, when I want to be really accurate, I still default to my garmin which I can still link to my Runkeeper account. (ie, when I'm racing or want to track elevation)
3. Realize also that when you use GPS function on your phone, it will wear down the battery very quickly. I'll use the Runkeeper GPS function if I'm running or cycling an hour or less, but it's not ideal for long distances.
4. Runkeeper and probably most fitness apps will link to a heart rate monitor. However, I'd first ask why you intend to use one? As a PT, myself, I've come to the realization that unless you have a medical condition that warrants it, tracking heart rate is overly burdensome for little pay off. Just used your rate of Rate of Perceived Exertion. Whether you are doing intervals or tempo workouts, it's your exertional effort that's the real issue. Most of the established "guidelines" for heart rate during exercise were established for patients recovering from cardiac events, not necessarily for healthy adult fitness. So, unless you want to get into research about cardiac effort, I'd say don't bother. I suppose you can use it if you want to get a MORE accurate idea of your caloric burn, but I have better options for that (more later). I DIDN"T use one for years, mostly because I take a beta blocker which throws the whole target heart rate out the window anyway. I'm using one now (more on that in a minute) only because I'm pregnant and NEED to make sure my heart rate doesn't go over a certain amount (and I have arguements about that anyway). I use the iphone app with it, but haven't linked it to my RK. It does record it on the wahoo site, but I never go back and look at it. The wahoo site also does GPS and if you get the hardware, you can link it with your bike or a foot pod.
5. If you do want to use a HR monitor, I use the wahoo. My husband and I both have Garmin 910XT's and even though he got the heart rate monitor for it, he's happier with the wahoo. Again, he's not even using it anymore and I am. However, I don't even bother logging my heart rate...I use it only as a warning system. I do think I can link it with RK, but haven't bothered. Once I have the baby, I'll stop using it. Not sure why hubby doesn't like the garmin monitor...I just took his word for it.
6. Now, onto strength. RK doesn't really have a place to log this. I used MapMyRun for awhile which at least gave me an idea of how long I was weight lifting and an approximation of calories. In my opinion, if you are looking for an app that does everything, I'd say be prepared for a really complicated app. I found that the more features it has, the less user friendly it becomes. This is how I felt about MMR. For strength training, I'd consider a separate app. Same thing goes for nutrition. There are probably apps out there designed just for that which are much more user friendly.
7. Back to calorie counting. All the apps give you a basic ESTIMATION of your calories burned based on your weight and work out parameters. Even if you are using a heart rate monitor, again, this is only an ESTIMATE. Unless you are in a lab, all these tools provide estimates only. However, if you really want to know what your body is using and burning, I'd recommend the Body Media System. It's about as accurate as you can get with calorie count without having to be in a lab. The web app also has a nutritional log.
So here's my take in a nutshell:
1. Use a basic app for your cardio. Runkeeper is my personal favorite. Only use the GPS for shorter workouts
2. Use a separate GPS (I've only used garmins) if you want to be really accurate with your distance or if you are doing a long work out and simply sync it to your cardio app (like RK) from the garmin site.
3. Don't bother with a HR monitor unless you have a medical reason to do so
4. Use a separate app for your weight lifting and nutrition.
5. Consider a body media system if you REALLY want an accurate calorie count. It's expensive new, but I got a Core basic system used on ebay for $32. (myself, I'm content using the basic estimates from my cardio app).
Maybe there's an app that does everything, but I find that it gets too complicated....I don't want to spend 30 minutes logging my info.
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