Apps sure have become a big part of our lives. And with what we do at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc it's inevitable that we see more people using apps to track their health, log their nutrition and structure their workouts. With more and more people owning smart phones it's reasonable to expect the number of fitness apps and users to climb. Currently it is estimated that 20% of smart phone owners have a least one fitness app. So I took some time to check out some of the more popular fitness apps out there. Here's what I found. 1. My Fitness Pal - free http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ Because it's a free app you will see ads bordering the pages of the app. And I'd say that's a small price to pay for a resource that helps you track your nutrition. And with 40 million users apparently others don't mind a little monetization from some ads either. This app also includes a section for exercise but I would pass on it using it for exercise help for a couple of reasons. One is it estimates caloric expenditure based on the exercise type. Looking under 'S' I couldn't find squat. Not good. I eventually did find an entry for squat but when it asked me for minutes of squatting rather than load and reps I knew we can do better. 2. Fitness Buddy - $0.99 http://fitnessbuddyapp.com/ While the previous app was geared around your nutrition this one is all about your workouts. The workouts seem to be a bodybuilding style of training where you select body parts to put a particular emphasis for a workout. So you might choose Butt and Thigh Toning or a Big Chest Program. From the looks of the app it includes pictures rather than videos of how to perform the...

Fitness sure has changed over the last couple of decades. This used to be the way we worked out. And I don't mean we as in all of us personally but in a more general sense as in this was how many people trained a few years ago.What about now?What are we doing differently with regards to fitness? Well pretty much everything.We've changed the way we warm up to the lifts we do. We have some new tools to use and a different way to cool down and recover.But one of the biggest changes with respect to fitness has to do with technology. In particular fitness apps. Not quite a year ago almost half of Americans owned a smartphone and thus had access to the various apps available to them.Below are five apps I like when it comes to tracking my workouts and fitness. 1. Interval Timer Before this app came along everyone was going with a GymBoss timer. Not that there's anything wrong with this device except the extra cost and it's one more to bring with you to your workout.Interval Timer is a free app and allows you to set up your workout to have a count down timer displayed during your sets. You can contol the number of sets, the length of the intervals, your rest breaks and even what type of bell sounds.I know there was an update for this update which others say isnt' as good as the initial version. So I haven't bothered to update mine and find it works great for me.2. Azumio Heart RateA college buddy in Washington put me on to this app which measures your heart rate. Why do I like it? It's easy to use. There's no need for a timing device or to try and count a racing pulse after a strenous session. One...