If you have an Apple Watch you’ll be familiar with the Activity app, which helps remind you to stand, move around and exercise daily. Now take it to the next level with these apps for better health, fitness and mindfulness.
If you have an Apple Watch you’ll be familiar with the Activity app, which helps remind you to stand, move around and exercise daily. Now take it to the next level with these apps for better health, fitness and mindfulness.
WATERMINDER
iOS Free
We’ve all heard that you should drink eight cups of water every day. But if you’re having trouble remembering to stay hydrated this handy app can help. The app tracks your intake during the day, gives your current hydration levels, and puts you on a hydration schedule that reminds you when it’s time to get some much-needed H20. The app includes a Watch Complication that will display an activity-like ring.
3 MINUTE MINDFULNESS
iOS Free
Mental health is just as important as physical health, but it can be hard to find the time to take a minute to relax. 3 Minute Mindfulness helps out with some easy to do 3-minute breathing exercises that can be done anywhere. The app uses the Apple Watch’s haptic feedback engine to help guide you through the breathing exercises, so you don’t even need to look at the screen while you’re doing them.
LARK
iOS Free (Pro features – US$19.99/month)
Lark is a personal trainer, nutritionist and sleep coach all in one. The app keeps an eye on your exercise, sleep, and diet, and engages with you in a conversational manner to keep you on track with your daily goals – it’s a bit like messaging with a personal trainer. The Watch version is a lighter version of the main iPhone app, allowing you to quickly log meals, extraneous exercise without having to open your phone.
POCKET YOGA
iOS S$4.48
Yoga is one of the best full body exercises you can do. Instead of having to look up at a TV or instructor to make sure you have the pose right, this app helps you see what the proper pose looks like right on your wrist. It also displays a handy countdown that tells you how long you have to hold each pose for. The app includes 27 different sessions of varying duration and difficulty, as well as a pose dictionary with detailed explanations of the correct posture, alignment, and the benefits of each pose.
MY FITNESSPAL
iOS Free
If you’re trying to lose weight, MyFitnessPal is an essential app, with an easy-to-use calorie counter and a huge food database with over 5 million items. The Watch version includes daily calorie rings that fill up as you eat. There’s also a detailed screen that breaks your calorie count down into food types: carbohydrates, fat, protein etc. There’s even a built in pedometer that lets you earn back calories for those days where you just can’t resist that ice cream sundae.
RUNKEEPER
iOS Free
Runkeeper is an essential fitness app, not just for runners, but also those who enjoy walking and cycling. The straight-forward exercise-logging system makes it easy to track past performance and see how quickly you’ve improved. The Apple Watch version of the app provides you with an array of exercise plans and once selected displays your elapsed time, distance and heart rate. All exercise logged through Runkeeper will count towards completing your daily Activity ring on your Apple Watch.
