fitness - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

Put That Tired Old Wii Balance Board Back To Work With FitScales, An App That Turns It Into A Useful Bluetooth Internet-Connected Scale

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

So you got into the whole workout-on-the-Wii fad a while back, but now the Balance Board just hangs out in the corner, collecting dust. What a waste. You could choose to let it continue to clutter up your living room, or you could get it out, blow the dust off of it, and connect it to your Android phone or tablet. What?!

Thanks to an app called FitScales, that process is actually made incredibly simple. Just install the app, fire it up, and follow the on-screen instructions to get it synced up with your Android device. From there, the app can integrate with Fitbit and/or Runkeeper.

Apr

Zombies, Run! Launches Season 2, Time To Strap On Your Vibrams

Posted by Cody Toombs in Applications, News

Few things motivate me to run more than the threat of disembodied zombies pursuing me through city streets. For a while now, escaping the undead has felt dull and repetitive, as if I'm just going through the same motions over and over again. Fortunately, Six to Start is back with a brand new season of Zombies, Run! Fans of the fitness game have been eagerly awaiting a new chapter almost as fervently as Walking Dead watchers crave their favorite AMC hit.

For owners of the app, this update brings a refreshed look to the UI, revamps the base-building experience, and adds seven new missions to the storyline.

Apr

Deal Alert: Woot Offering MOTOACTV 8GB Watch With Heart Rate Monitor Chest Strap For $179.99

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, MOTOACTV

If you're intrigued by the idea of wearable technology, but don't see the Pebble's appeal, or don't have the patience to wait for Google Glass or any of the other rumored wearable goodies coming from Apple, Samsung, or Google (depending on who you ask), Motorola's MOTOACTV, the fitness-tracking smartwatch, may be a good starting point.

The MOTOACTV, which debuted in 2011, is a smartwatch that positions itself as mainly a fitness tool, tracking your runs and slapping some maps and music on top of it for a nice experience. The device also syncs to your smartphone to notify you of calls, SMS messages, and calendar events.

Mar

Conversations With An Amiigo Founder: This Fitness Bracelet Is For Everyone, Whether You Lift Or Not

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Features, News

Last month, we covered the Amiigo which, frankly, looks kind of awesome if it works as advertised. For those who missed it, here's the gist: you put on a bracelet and a shoe clip and the two track your workout. The system then logs that data and feeds it into some fancy software that analyzes your sessions and tells you how much weight you're losing, how many calories you're burning, and what other exercises might be right for you.

The big question that a system like this faces, of course, is one of accuracy. If the device can't really measure what you're doing reliably, then it's not going to be any good.

Feb

RunKeeper Updated To 3.0 With A Completely New Holo UI And Features

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, News

RunKeeper is one of the top fitness apps in Google Play, and it just got a huge update to version 3.0. Not only does this version continue RunKeeper's trend toward a more modern Holo-inspired UI, it adds features that will make your experience better.

Here's what's new in this version of the app:

Visual redesign- Complete visual redesign from the ground up
In-activity splits- Shows your pace per mile/km or workout interval throughout the activity
‘Me’ tab- Central place in the app to view your goal progress, personal records, and activity tally over time
Audio cue improvements- More robust audio cues
Workout reminders- The ability to schedule your next workout when you finish the last one

RunKeeper is a solid way to keep track of your workouts, and provides you with gobs of data to dig through.

Jan

Amiigo Fitness Bracelet For Android Tracks Your Workout Automatically, Lets You Tell Your Friends How Much You Lift

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Accessories, Applications, News

One of the neatest things that the mobile revolution has brought about is an increase in intelligent fitness apps and accessories. Everything from belt clips that can tell how far you've run to zombie-augmented 5K training. The Amiigo bracelet and shoe clip combo may be one of the coolest projects, though. The company behind it promises that, between the two pieces, the system can track any workout you do. If it performs as advertised, this could be amazing.

The software is where the magic really happens (as always). The accompanying app can track up to a hundred different workouts and cross that data with heart rate, blood oxygen levels, calories burned and a bunch of other fun information your body spits out.

Jan

[New App] Fitocracy Makes Its Way To Android, Puts A Little RPG In Your Workout Routine

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Somewhere within the depths of the internet are entire subcultures of people who do things. Among those people are ones who like to work out – you know, it's their thing. Their schtick, even. Some of these guys actually happen to cross over into geekdom at one point or another. Crazy, I know. Somewhere along the lines, these fitness-nut/geek hybrids got together and created a game. And a social network. And a way to track fitness. Then they put them all together and called it Fitocracy.

Sound crazy? Well, that's for good reason – it kind of is. And now it's on Android.

Jan

[CES 2013] Fitbit Announces The Flex, A Wristband To Help You Monitor Progress While You're Up In The Gym Just Working On Your Fitness

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

It's the new year, and you know what that means: everyone is trying to lose weight. Nothing wrong with starting the year off trying to shed a few pounds – but the hard part is staying motivated. There are a flurry of apps that can aid in such a quest, but the real benefit comes when your workout data can be automatically synced with your smart device. And now, Fitbit – a site/service "dedicated to helping people lead healthier, more active lives" – is getting into the game with its own wristband, a la Jawbone's Up or Nike's Fuelband.

It's called Flex, and is designed to keep up with your workouts, calories burned, distance traveled, hours slept, and quality of sleep.

Jan

Zombies, Run! 5K Training Prepares You To Go The Distance With Extra Missions And More Undead

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

We've had our fun with Zombies, Run! before. The fitness program/zombie horde simulator is one of the more innovative ways we've seen to get in shape. However, it's not all casual fun. Sometimes you have to get serious. If you're looking for an app to push you a bit harder, you may want to check out Zombies, Run! 5K Training. Currently on sale for $0.99 in the Play Store (75% off), this one gives you more in-depth structure to get you through a full 5K in 8-weeks.

The app should work much like the regular version, with audio stories to augment your running experience.

Jul

Google's My Tracks Running And Cycling App Gets Spiffy New UI And Sharing Features In Version 2.0

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Applications, News

There's a lot of run tracking apps out there, and you could be forgiven for forgetting about Google's very own My Tracks, what with its complete lack of zombies. But the dedicated runner or cyclist might want to give My Tracks a second glance, since it just got a major overhaul and (more importantly) it's still free. The biggest addition to the open source app is a user interface that plays nice with Ice Cream Sandwich, and presumably, Jelly Bean.