iPhone Apps to keep you fit this Friday

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Go ahead and take that second helping of bacon-broasted mashed potatoes and high-fat gravy this Thursday, friends, because even if your tummy gets big and round like a steamed black bean bun, there’s an app for that.

Fitness apps for all!
iPhone fitness apps have come a long way since Nike+iPod. The addition of GPS opened entirely new vistas for running and biking enthusiasts and the iPhone’s video and audio capabilities made it fun to use the iPhone in the gym. Here are a few of my favorites.

PumpOne FitnessBuilder
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FitnessBuilder offers [$9.99] 500 little workouts for you and allows you to stick to them by forcing you to record and possibly report them to friends when you’re done. You open the app, select a work out – there are a number of sets for various workouts including shorter sets for busy folks – and then you can record your reps and weight for posterity.

If you’re ripped like me you don’t need all 5,000 of the pictures and videos then you can just use the app to figure out what to do between hits of Muscle Milk. However, if you need some help in the gym this is definitely the way to go. One of my favorites and well worth the investment.

iFitness
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iFitness [$1.99] is one of the first workout programs for the
iPhone and includes a method for creating your own workouts as well as a list of ready-made workouts for the lazy.

The app is less visually attractive than FitBuilder but it is considerably cheaper than the PumpOne offering.

Trimble AllSport GPS
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Do you like to do all sorts of things? Running? Dancing? Hiking? Hang-gliding? Space walking? The Trimble AllSport GPS [$4.99] has you covered. The app allows you to select multiple activities including hiking, biking, skiing, and even driving. When you start a run it will map your exercise as you go and even allows for basic music control inside the app.

RunKeeper Pro
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RunKeeper Pro is one of the first apps to use the iPhone’s GPS capabilities to track your runs. To use it, you start it up and press start. Then you run or bike. That’s it. You can then view your workouts online and share your runs with friends.

The app comes in two versions, Free and Pro [$9.99] and the Pro version includes voice prompts as well as photo and status updates from the road. The Pro version also allows you to set a special iPod playlist for your workout.

My Therapy Exercise


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My Therapy Exercise [$19.99] might not be for everyone but it is an interesting addition to the fitness canon. The app includes 170 exercises for folks who may need to take things a bit slower due to injuries or illness. The system allows you to work on your therapy exercises at home and then email a trainer or doctor tour results.

It’s a bit pricey but it’s a very specific tool for a very specific purpose.