January may finally be over, but this is no excuse to start falling off the health and fitness bandwagon. You can stick to your resolutions this year - no guilt-inducing, unused gym membership required… Sound like a good plan, yaas? We’ve got you covered with five wellbeing apps you should have on your mobile phone for a happy, healthy 2019! Being busy is one of the reasons our new year's resolutions can fall by the wayside… so mobile apps are the perfect solution to help you squeeze in some “you time” whenever you have a spare five minutes and beat those winter blues.
Continue your health & fitness kick with these 5 mobile apps
1. Grab some Headspace!
Taking care of your health is about more than just spending hours at the gym. Whether you get feelings of anxiety from time to time or regularly find yourself feeling stressed out - it’s so important to give your mind some TLC. With themed, guided meditations ranging from 3 to 30 minutes, Headspace can help you reduce stress and improve focus. If you’re struggling to unwind, you can grab your mobile - which is never far away - and plug in for a meditation sesh wherever you are. Headspace has lots of free sessions; however, you’ll need to subscribe to unlock their full library.
2. Calm it with the Keep Yoga App
Want to be more Zen? Yes please! If you prefer low intensity exercise and want to be more focused then yoga is for you. Gentle on the body, yoga can help you to chill out after a long day as well as toning your muscles and increasing flexibility. The free Keep Yoga app has heaps of free sessions to help you achieve your fitness goals. Fifteen minute sessions are easy to slot into your morning routine or you can opt for a longer practise as you become a yoga guru. We know it'll leave you feeling great, inside and out.
3. Stay on top of your fitness with a tracker App
Whatever your favourite form of exercise, you can easily set yourself goals and track your progress with a fitness tracker. Apps like My Fitness Pal record all your activity in one place - from yoga to rowing - giving you an idea of how many calories you’re burning a day. If you’re a Fitbit owner then you’ll beam a whole range of useful stats back to your mobile and your device will give you a little nudge to walk about if you’ve been vegging out for too long. Take a look at the Nike+ Running app if you’re a runner, Strava if cycling is your thing, or even a simple pedometer app to make sure you get your 10,000 steps a day. And no, shaking your mobile back and forth while chilling on the couch doesn't count as walking!
4. Sleep Bug; get some decent shut eye!
Do you sometimes find yourself struggling to get your 8 hours - even if you've taken a long bath and pampered yourself to within half an inch of your life? We know how you feel - sometimes sleep is elusive! There are loads of apps out there to help you drift off without needing to count sheep. Sleep Bug is a free app, offering relaxing soundtracks from forest rain to desert night. Simply set the time for fifteen to twenty minutes and relax into the sounds.
5. And let’s not forget YouTube
We're sure this is an app you'll already have on your mobile. Free, diverse and seemingly bottomless, YouTube has to be one of the top fitness resources out there! By subscribing to a fitness channel, you'll receive notifications when a new video is released, motivating you to keep trying new exercise routines.
Joe Wicks has taken YouTube by storm with his LeanIn15 workouts. High Intensity Interval Training - or HIIT - is brutal for the fifteen minutes you are pushing yourself; however, you’ll feel a great sense of achievement afterwards… Minimum time for maximum gain! If Joe isn’t your cup of tea then check out Kayla Itsines. Next time you're browsing old Towie clips, explore some workout videos too!
Resolutions are for life, not just January…
To feel healthy and energised, sleep, mental health and physical fitness are all essential ingredients so we can't think of better goals for you to set for 2019. You could say that prioritising your wellness has never been easier, with lots of great tools to help you feel fabulous this year. Got enough mobile data in your life to cover all these amazing apps as well as share your progress on insta? Make sure you get your hands on the best sim only deal around so that you can keep up with those resolutions. We're sure you'll smash it!
