Fitness apps

We live in a world filled with apps.  I bet there is an app that would write this article about apps for me.

What’s an app?

‘Apps’ is short for application.  Application is a chunk of software that does something.  We are taking a software program and applying it to some task.  In that application it becomes an app.

Apps run on platforms.  Think of the platform as the plumbing or the wiring standards.  You can plug all sorts of apps into the platform.

A platform is typically based in a particular operating system but in the modern world it is a combination of the operating system, the cloud it runs on, and the hardware device you use to access it.

So you might be listening to me using the Apple Podcast App, that runs on iOS on a iPhone.  Or maybe you are listening on a windows laptop using a windows app. Or maybe you are listening on an android phone using a Google app.

Anyhow, what are Fitness Apps?

Fitness apps are applications that run on one of these platforms that aim to provide some sort of functionality addressing your personal fitness.

Typically apps get written because someone has a problem.

Let’s say they want to be able to track their runs.  Or they want to be able to track their nutrition.   Instead of writing it down in a notebook they get an app to type it into.

This creates data that the app can then use to make suggestions or computations for you.

I’m not going to try to be rigorous here because there are just too many apps to deal with.

First there are workout tracking apps.  Some of these are independent like Strava and many are tied to the device you are using, like Apple watch, or Garmin express or Nike+.

These apps allow you to capture and store all sorts of data. Your steps, your movement, your workouts, your heart rate and your sleep patterns.  Without the associated apps your watch would just tell time.  How boring would that be?

Most of these apps come with some sort of community or sharing feature where you can compare workouts or health stats with others.

Some of these apps are specifically designed for coaches.  This way the coach gives you the prescribed workouts in the app and you check them off with your comments. It’s a very efficient way for a coach to handle a group of athletes spread around the world and not lose track.

It’s great for the athlete too. You just log in and see what’s in the que for you.  Takes all the mystery out of training.

The holy grail here is that we will be able to use apps to proactively identify health issues by analyzing the data we are already self-collecting.

A very simple example, which is already available, is the ability to identify A-Fib, like I had a few years back.  In my case I looked at the HR data and figured out something was amiss, but there is no reason an app couldn’t also do that.

For every physical activity you can imagine there is an app.

And yes, this includes all those physical activities.  I had to Google it and God knows what ads I’ll get targeted with now, but there are devices you can put in your, umm, personal places, that will track and graph your orgasms for you.

There is an app for everything.

And if you want to track something as mundane as power-lifting or CrossFit there are apps for that as well.

Apps add value by making it easy to capture the data around your fitness activity and connect you to others like you who have shared passions.

Another place you can find an abundance of helpful apps is for your mental health.  Especially in the current apocalypse there has been an explosion of mental health related initiatives.

Meditation apps, like Headspace and Calm and a host of others guide you through your contemplative journey. Meditation is big business, and the apps make these practices accessible to everyone.

Finally, there are scores of nutrition-based apps to help you with your diet.  You can set your targets and log your foods.

If you have a nutrition coach or are a member of some specific community of dieters, you will have an app to guide you.

Why do you care?

Because whether we like it or not we are living in the middle of a digital age.  An age of digital transformation.

And the hallmark of this age is the conversion of physical things the digital things.  Your food and your workouts, your hobbies and your passions are, or have the elements of physical things.  These will more and more be captured as data – digitized – and smarter apps will continue to feast on this data to transform it into power, health and happiness.

Don’t’ be an old fart.  Lean in.  Learn something.