Posts published on July 8, 2015

Health and Fitness Apps For College Students

By Jane Hurst

As a college student, not only do you need to keep your mind active, you also need to keep your body active. When you aren’t in your best physical condition, it can play a huge role in how well you do with your studies. If your body is tired, sluggish, and feeling poorly, chances are your mind is going to be the same. So, you need to find ways to stay in good physical shape so you can get through your classes, exams, etc. without completely draining yourself, both physically and mentally. Here are some online tools that can help.

• Lose It – Sitting in class all day, and then sitting around studying at night can make it so those extra pounds creep up on you in no time flat. iPhone users can get the Lose It app that will let you track your calories for free. You can also track how many calories you burn while exercising, and there is loads of great information about the nutritional values of many of your favorite name-brand foods.
• E-Cigs – If you are a smoker, one of the first things you need to do is kick the habit. Unfortunately, this sounds a lot easier than it actually is. One way to quit is to start using e-cigarettes. You can get them with varying levels of nicotine, from zero to full-strength, and they come in a variety of flavors. This is a great way to quit smoking, because if you do feel the urge for a puff, you can vap instead, and do your body much less harm.
• Fast Food Calorie Counter – You are probably just like every other college student out there, and may tend to eat take-out food more often than you should, because it is so much cheaper than healthy food. This Android app only costs $2, and it has data for 9,000 menu items from 72 of your favorite fast food restaurants, including all of the nutritional information so you can make healthier choices when eating out.
• Endomondo Sports Tracker – This is a free app for Android users who are into running, walking, and cycling. You can use this app to track distances, altitude, speed, and time, and even have a recorded history of all of your workouts. You can sync this app with Google Maps, and even integrate it with your music playlist.
• GymGoal ABC – There is a free and a paid version of this tool (just $0.99 for the paid version), and it is great for those of you who like to use the campus gym. You will be able to use this app to calculate body fat, target your heart rate, learn your BMI, and more. There is even a muscle map that lets you focus on the areas you want to work out the most.
• FitnessBuilder – This app costs $10, but it is worth it because there are so many workouts and fitness routines you can use. Track your workouts, calculate every part of your workout and create a workout that is ideal for your own fitness goals. This is an iPhone app that is recommended for those who are more experienced with working out.
• Beer Gut Fitness – You are on your own for the first time in your life, and don’t try to fool anyone that you aren’t going to keggers and other drinking parties. But, don’t let drinking get the better of you, and of your health. You can use Beer Gut Fitness for just $0.99 on Android phones to track the calories of all of the alcoholic beverages you consume. The app will let you know if you need to exercise first, or if you have been good with diet and exercise and have earned a few drinks.

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot.