Keeping yourself fit is extremely important for both your physical and mental well-being. Technology offers you various options to stay fit and one such option is a fitness mobile app. Fitness apps are very popular and according to Statista, the market of fitness apps would be around $30 billion by 2026. Although there are numerous advantages of fitness apps, there are also certain pitfalls about which you should be aware.
In this article, we have put together a list showing various advantages and disadvantages of using a fitness app. This will help you to get all the benefits of such an app and discard those features that have an unhealthy impact on you.
Pros of using a fitness app
Here are a few points to prove the benefits of having a fitness app to schedule and monitor your exercise routine and the progress you are making.
Easy access
A fitness app gives you the flexibility to work out wherever you are, provided you can access the pre-downloaded videos or you have a Wi-Fi connection to watch the videos online. This allows you to schedule your exercise routine as per your convenience and not depend upon a specific schedule followed by your local gym.
Costs vary low
Most fitness apps are available for free, but if you need to access some of their premium features, then you have to pay $10-$20 per month. The reason for such lower cost is because the overhead expenses are considerably lower than a gym. Furthermore, a fitness app also has a wider audience. You can check out various apps available and finally choose the best fitness app according to the features and pricing.
Multiple exercise routines
If you go to a gym, then you have to exercise a specific routine. If you want to change it with some other routine, then it may not be available in your local gym. This limitation is not there in most premium fitness apps. Here once you pay your monthly premium, then you can join any exercise routine that you wish. All of these routines are designed by experts and there are some certified instructors to guide you online.
It provides privacy
If you are planning to exercise for the first time, then you may get discouraged/intimidated by others who are at an advanced level in your local gym. However, with a fitness app, this scenario is completely avoided as you can try out any new routine in the comfort of your home. Once you have understood the basics, then you can go to your gym and work out like an expert.
Monitor your diet
You can input the type and quantity of food you are taking after every meal and your fitness app will calculate the calories, proteins, fat, and carbohydrate in your meal. This is an excellent feature for those who are looking to reduce their weight.
Get free fitness and health tips
Many premium fitness apps offer regular health tips to help you meet your fitness goals. Based on these steps you can tweak your exercise schedule to get the maximum benefits.
Calculate how much you walk
Many fitness apps come integrated with pedometers. This feature uses the GPS of the mobile phone to count the steps you are taking by calculating the distance you have walked. Such a feature keeps track of your steps and helps you to keep a daily step count and increase it further to become fitter.
Personal health coach
If you have a premium health app, then you don’t need to look for a trainer. Many apps offer personal health coach services at an affordable rate. A coach can design your workout schedule in a way that is best suited for your body type and activity level. This will help you to reach your fitness goals.
Cons of using a fitness app
Blindly following all the tips given by the fitness app could harm your health. Therefore, carefully check the exercise schedule as well as the tips and choose only those that are beneficial for you. Some of the disadvantages of using a fitness app use the following:
Counting calories
Most fitness apps focus on you tracking what you eat and also maintaining a record of your physical activity. The app uses this data to analyze whether you are taking in more calories than you are burning every day. The problem with such an approach is that it is too simplistic as the app calculates all the calories in the same way. However, the calories coming from corn syrups that are high in fructose are more harmful than those that are coming from lean meat protein.
Limited automation
Most fitness apps suffer from limited automation and the user has to input all the necessary information manually. This makes it harder as people may find it difficult to add data to the fitness app every single day after every meal to input what they have eaten. This lack of automation leads to users running out of patience after using such an app for one or two months.
Faster battery drainage
A fitness app draws a lot of energy from the phone battery to continuously keep track of the physical activity of the user. If you are wearing a wearable device that is connected to your smartphone health app, then it continuously monitors your heart rate. This activity would quickly drain your phone battery (after one or two hours only!). Therefore, you have to repeatedly charge your smartphone which can be irritating and also inconvenient.
It can become overwhelming
The volume of data generated by online fitness apps gives rise to a huge number of possibilities. As there are numerous exercise routines, multiple advice, and fitness videos, it may become overwhelming.
It may not motivate you enough
To get the best out of a fitness app, you should have a disciplined mind and have the ability to motivate yourself. However, if you find it hard to work alone in your home and love to exercise in a social workout environment, then a fitness app is not right for you.
Conclusion
Fitness is one of the top growing sectors in the mobile app industry. Many apps in this segment are launched regularly. It offers a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to leverage the high demand of people who are looking for options to stay fit. Fitness apps should be designed in such a way that it offers highly personalized fitness solutions to the user by leveraging the integrated smartphone sensors!
