Top 5 Fitness Apps for iPhone

With the arrival of nicer weather (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), it’s time to get outside and work off those extra winter pounds. With these apps, you don’t have to leave your iPhone at home! The fitness category of apps has a lot of choices, but we’re here to help with a roundup of the top five fitness tracking apps available for iPhone. Most of these apps have a similar feature set, but each have some unique features that set them apart.

The basic idea is that using the GPS functionality of your iPhone, these apps keep track of your distance, time, pace, route and total speed whether you’re running, biking or walking. Most of these apps then show your route on a map and allow you to share the details with friends. In fact, they’ll keep track of your performance no matter what activity you’re doing. This versatility is part of what makes this category of apps so fantastic!

Let’s jump in and take a look at some of the options.

1. RunKeeper

RunKeeper was one of the first apps of its kind when the iPhone 3G was released as the first iPhone to have GPS capabilities. RunKeeper has evolved a lot since then, but is still one of the top choice for fitness tracking. The app is free and syncs tracking data to a web portal at runkeeper.com. From there, you can share the details with friends via social media integration or view your performance on a graph.

RunKeeper also offers Fitness Classes that are routines prepared by experienced marathon and distance runners. RunKeeper offers integration with a host of other fitness services, including Withings Scales and heart rate monitors.
[Free - App Store Link]

2. Runmeter

Runmeter from has the same basic features as other run tracking apps, but with a few really cool extra features tossed in. These features include:

• The ability to tweet your progress and have your friends reply to you. Runmeter will read their replies to you while you’re running!
• Race against yourself. Runmeter will track your performance on a route and compare it live to a previous run.
• Runmeter is completely iPhone based, there is no web portal to log into and no monthly fees required.

Another great feature is that Runmeter will automatically remove stopped time from your run data. This is handy for those times that you start an activity on your phone, but don’t start running right away. Also, if you forget to stop your activity right away, your stats won’t get skewed by the extra time tacked on to the end.
[$4.99 - App Store Link]

3. Nike+ GPS

Nike+ used to require a special tracking chip that would enable the built in app to track fitness performance. Now, Nike has followed other apps in this category by using GPS instead. Nike+ GPS has a number of motivational features, including voice feedback, mid-run comments from friends and messages from top Nike sponsor athletes.
Nike has also built in a virtual tag game in which you try to outrun your friends who are also using the app. Nike+ tracks all your run data on their website and has the usual suite of social integrations.

[$1.99 - App Store Link]

4. iMapMyRun+

Map My Run produces a suite of smartphone fitness tracking apps. iMapMyRun+ is their offering specifically for runners. Offering built in live tracking (RunKeeper charges for this feature) is the one feature that really sets this app apart. With live tracking, friends and family can track your progress as you run. This kind of thing is great for races and marathons, when family want to see how you’re doing but can’t attend the actual event.

Other than the live run tracking, the Map My Run apps are quite similar to others in the same category. They offer a whole different app for each activity type (running, cycling, walking, hiking etc.) unlike others that provide the same functions in a single app. It all comes down to personal preference in the end.
[$1.99 - App Store Link]

5. Couch to 5k

Couch to 5k is an interesting type of running app. It’s designed for those who have no experience running, but want to give it a try. It is an app implementation of The Couch to 5k Running Plan.
It is a 3 day per week routine spanning 9 weeks in total that is designed to get you from not running at all to running 5km (3.1 miles). The first week’s activity is 60 seconds of jogging alternating with 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. From there, the intensity slowly increases until you reach your goal.

The app prompts you to switch intervals and will allow Nike+ to run in the background if you want to track your performance. It also has the usual social media integrations that allow you share your progress with friends. If you’re completely new to running, this would be a great way to get off the couch and get moving.