Some people seem to believe that to be healthy you must stop eating and drinking the things you normally would. Then you must start eating and drinking things you really don’t like, and of course work out regularly. Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?
Yes working out is great; it makes you feel refreshed, and gives a boost to our physical and mental health. That’s really easy to say, but it’s not so easy to get off our butts once in a while. Even if that means taking a short walk in the park.
Right now though, I’m talking about myself actually. If you know me, or seen recent photos, then you would know first hand (or first look) that I’m not the active kind of person. Although years ago, I used to play tennis five times a week, with my family, when I was in high school.
We all make excuses for why we can’t work out or stay in shape: no time, too busy, too far, too tired, too late, too early…
However it seems that by having someone accompany and encourage us while we workout is a very effective idea to get our body moving again. To be honest, it’s not really that easy to find someone, but once you do you can encourage each other and even build a strong relationship.
One day, out of the blue, a colleague asked me to go for a walk in the park because she felt that she’s putting on some weight. From that moment on, we started walking together, talking about everything from work to family, and all the small little things in life that fascinates us. Because we are so into our conversations, we often don’t realize how far, or how long, we walk, nor the amount of exercise we get.
After many of these walks, I decided to search for some technology for help. Today more and more people are getting smartphones whether they be an Iphone, a Blackberry or something that runs on Android. Any smartphone today comes with apps that help us in our daily lives, and some of those apps are actually out there to keep us in shape.
One of these apps is called Endomondo, an app available for all major smart phone operating systems. It’s free and if you feel generous you can unlock all the available features by spending a little money.
I use the basic free app on my Nexus S,which does the job nicely. It’s simple to use and you can – set a goal of distant, or time for a running session, to see how far you have traveled, how many minutes you have spent exercising, how many calories burnt during the workout and so much more.
This app takes advantage of the built-in GPS and you are able to see where you have traveled, be it a heart pumping hiking session, or just some simple walk around the block. You can even tie the app to Facebook or check out other friends to see how they are doing with their workout sessions.
You can sign into their website to check out your progress, to challenge a friend to a showdown in various activities, or even take part in their prized events where you can win yourself some great prizes!
The other great things about smart phones is you can listen to music, take pictures and videos of your work out, listen to news, watch movies, and other entertaining things even while you’re getting your heart pumping and your body moving.
Nothing like staying in shape and having fun at the same time.
This post actually peaked my personal interest.