What's the Secret Behind the Best Fitness Apps?

It was back in 2009 that Apple trademarked the term "There's an app for that!" Back then, it was mostly just a good marketing slogan. Fast forward ten years, and it is pretty much gospel. Android users are currently able to choose between 2.1 million apps, while Apple's' App Store has almost 1.8 million available. A recent Global News report indicated that there are 320,000 health and fitness apps on major app stores. With such a wide selection, it's no wonder it's hard to find the best fitness apps.

That same article also dove into what happened when researchers attempted to find evidence that any of the most popular health and fitness apps work. Sadly, they did not find much. But that's not necessarily because health apps don't work. According to research recently published in the journal Digital Medicine, it's simply that there haven't been many comprehensive studies conducted yet.

Before I get into the undercover part of this article, let's look at the different types of fitness apps available. 

Types of Fitness Apps

Fitness Trackers

I previously wrote about how fitness trackers don't lead to weight loss. I referenced one study (from September, 2016) called Effect of Wearable Technology Combined With a Lifestyle Intervention on Long-term Weight Loss. That study (and a few others) showed that people who dared to go without a fitness trackers lost more weight (8 lbs, on average) than their tracker-wielding friends. But this study focussed only on weight loss, not on fitness.

Fitness tracking apps are not a magic bullet for weight loss, but they are useful.

When it comes down to it, I have to admit that I'd have a hard time seriously training with a particular goal in mind without a tracker of some sort. Whether I am preparing for a triathlon, my European bike trip, or completing an effective muscle gain program, tracking my workouts means that I can train intelligently. So sure, the fitness tracking apps are not a magic bullet for weight loss, but they are useful.

Fitness Prescribers

Another type of fitness app are the ones that simply generate workouts for you. In many ways, these types of apps only cut down on the amount of searching the internet, or flipping through workout books, that you need to do. If you're a busy person who doesn't want to have to think about what your workout is going to be for the day—and...

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