Fitness APPtitude

Getting and staying in shape is a high priority for most people, but often is challenging. Travel also affects one's success in keeping fitness habits. In this mobile world, with the right apps, you will never be without your fitness plan.

There are several free apps to help you develop a fitness routine, and monitor your progress. Many track calories burned from activities, weight changes, calories consumed and other nutritional data. Studies have shown that people who keep track of exercises and food consumed have better luck with diets and exercise routines.

Daily Burn. The workout and training feature enables you to identify and customize a training program based on the goals you want to achieve. Weight and body fat can be graphed over time for easy reference. The calorie counter includes more than 350,000 foods and the Foodscanner feature allows you to scan food bar codes with the iPhone camera to obtain nutrition information. There are several add-on features that can be purchased to enhance the Daily Burn experience.

Calorie Tracker Lite (includes ads). You can monitor your personal weight management on a daily basis based on goals you set. This app includes over 625,000 food and fitness items, including restaurant options.  Fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, sugar, fiber and protein intake are also monitored.

Lose It! According to their website, the average user of this app has lost over 12 pounds, and 96% of people who use it for over 4 weeks lose weight.  The tracking app can be used with features on the website to provide more comprehensive reports and graphs, and even allows data to be downloaded into Excel. You can add friends on Facebook or Twitter for motivation.

There are other comprehensive tracking apps for a fee, including All-in Fitness ($1.99), Calorie Counter by ZEDA, Inc. ($1.99), and Calorie Tracker by LIVESTRONG.COM ($2.99). They all receive high user ratings.

Other apps detail exercise routines or specific exercises.

Nike Training Club. Over 60 workout routines are accompanied by audio instruction from a Nike professional. You can get a full body workout in 30 or 45 minutes, and more targeted workouts in 15 minutes. Friends can be invited for motivation and competition. There are over 90 drills for cardio, core, strength, and interval training. All exercise programs can be set to your favorite music.

Exercise TV. Looking for new workouts everyday? With this app, you get a new workout routine everyday, ranging from 10 - 45 minutes. Routines are designed by top professional trainers and may include exercises working your total body or those focused on abs, upper body, lower body or yoga/stretches. You can also purchase other exercise routines directly from your iPhone.

There are also special apps for the distance exercises.

Endomondo. The Endomondo Sports Tracker uses your phone's GPS to monitor distance, time and average speed, and can be used for running, biking, hiking, skiing, kayaking or walking. You can plan your route using Google Maps, and play music while you exercise. By inviting friends to participate, they can send instant-message pep talks to keep you motivated.

RunKeeper. Good News Girl Tina Lawson swears by this app - she uses it to track her power walking/running progress. Again, using the iPhone's GPS, you can track your route on a map, and download the distance, elevation and time data to RunKeeper website to compare with other walks and runs.  You can also monitor pace, speed, and calories burned.

Most of the good yoga apps are not free. Some, including Authentic Yoga with Deepak Chopra ($1.99) and All-In Yoga: 200 Poses and Yoga Classes ($1.99) - get great reviews. An app for exercises you can do at your desk, iSometrics by Medl Mobile ($1.99) focuses on muscle contractions with little to no visible movement.

So get your apps and get moving. Your smart phone will help.