When did you break your New Year’s resolutions this year? It’s easy to start the year full of promise and plan to work less, work out more and eat healthier, but sometimes life gets in the way. As summer approaches, there’s still time to achieve those goals, and either revive or increase the pace of your fitness journey.
Tech is often considered the antithesis of fitness, as too often being drawn into your phone or TV can be an excuse not to work out. However, there are plenty of ways that you can use tech to make your fitness plans easier to achieve.
Whether you’re a regular gym-goer or trying to find the motivation to start, we’ve worked with EE to put together this list of apps, devices and techniques to put you on a clearer track to victory – and make sure everyone knows it too!
A coach on your wrist
Feedback is always important, even in exercise, which is why having a way to track your progress will help to keep you motivated. Smartwatches are a great tool for doing this with little or no effort from your side. There are models to suit all budgets, and almost all of them provide some form of fitness tracking, so you can log your time working out. You’ll also get a general step count for each day and even an idea of your heart rate.
More advanced smartwatches, such as the Apple Watch, will allow you to specify the type of exercise you are doing, and get data based on that specific activity. You can also monitor your performance during your workout, giving you your current pace or heart rate to help determine your level of effort.
Dedicated running watches such as the Garmin Forerunner are designed for serious athletes, and will not only give you more dedicated features, but they often have batteries that last for days, should you want to go off-grid. Check out EE’s partnered smartwatches to see which one is the best fit for you.
It’s not just watches either, you can now get fitness tracking through. Dedicated fitness bands and smart rings and also be used if you prefer something a little subtler.
Follow the app
Most smartphones have a dedicated health app that can collate the data from your smartwatch, tracker or ring into a broader picture of your health. It can often collect data from other sources, take manual inputs and even import medical records.
These health apps are a great way to track your progress, but you can find a number of third-party apps to help you train as well. Specialist running or cycling apps may offer virtual coaching sessions or help plot out your route, as well as offering tips on how to improve. In fact, there are apps for just about every sport or type of exercise available, so if you want to specialise, it’s worth checking your app store.
Sound advice
Good tech will help you to get into your workout zone. If you like to listen to music while you work out, a dedicated pair of sports headphones can make the difference. Sports headphones are usually designed to be more water resistant, to cope with sweat, and will stay firmly in place, even if you’re moving around a lot. EE has a superb range of partnered audio devices to choose from, both wireless and wired.
Bone-conducting headphones are ideal for anyone exercising in public spaces, particularly runners and cyclists. These sit outside of your ears, allowing you to keep aware of your surroundings, yet still deliver incredible sound by transmitting the sound vibrations via your cheekbones.
Body analysis
If it’s your body shape that you need some help with, there are tech solutions for that, too. Smart scales such as the Withings Body Scan, can give you a full body assessment, from precise weight measurement to metabolic functions and nerve health.
Smart scales typically work with a phone app to display the information, but some apps allow you to input your measurements manually to do something similar. It’s handy whether you’re looking for weight loss or building muscle.
The importance of mindfulness
Ensuring good mental health is as important as physical health, with the two often linked. Finding time to clear your mind and relax is a great way to destress from the day’s events and here there are plenty of tech solutions to help you find your chi.
EE is partnered with Calm which provides meditation aids, in the form of guided meditation, music and coaching. Not only will they help you to relax, but they can help you to drift off to sleep and wake up fully refreshed.
To help keep a healthy mind, enjoy great EE offers on the Calm app. Plus, save £20 a month on new, unlimited data mobile plans, when you choose EE Broadband. For more on powering your home working, visit ee.co.uk/home
