Apple Watch

Running Gear & iOS Health Apps

I have always considered myself a runner. I started running in jr. high and ran through high school as well. I was never the fastest, or could run the longest, but I always enjoyed it. I have always wanted to get back into running and finally have gotten the motivation and time to do it. For about the last month and a half I have been really using my iPhone 6 to track all kinds of aspects of my health, and it has made a huge impact on me already. I wanted to sit down and write a post about all the running gear and iOS health apps I use in my day to day life so maybe someone else can get some good from it as well.

Running Gear

I don’t know why, but I love buying new running gear. Since this new kick I have added a few new things that I totally love to my collection. My favorite of these is my Flip Belt. I used to run with an arm band but always hated it. It was always so awkward to have a phone strapped to the side of my arm, but with the Flip Belt it is awesome. I put my iPhone 6 in the front pouch and have never had it budge on me. I totally forget that I even have it on me. The reason I take my phone is two fold. One for me to use RunKeeper to track my run and millage, the other is to listen to music. I use a pair of Soundpeats Qy7’s while I run and I love them. I also just got a new pair of Nike Free 5.0’s. Its my first pair of super light running shoes and after a few runs in them my feet feel great and I forget I even have them on when I run. I have always had an issue with shin splints so I got a pair of compression calf guards which have made a huge difference. I got setup with some awesome socks that make my runs even more comfortable. Finish all that off with some running shorts and shirts from nike and I’m all set. All this in tow makes my runs really great and allows me to focus on the run itself and not having to mess with all the stuff I want to take along with me.

iOS Health Apps

I use about 9 different apps to track things all day long. The two most important are RunKeeper and Lifesum. I looked for a long time before settling down on these two apps. There are many competitors in the same space as them. RunKeeper gives me the most options and is already going to be compatible with my Apple Watch that should be here soon, and works great with all my running gear. Lifesum has the best UI of any calorie tracking app and makes it super simple to plug stuff in on the go and also helps me to make sure I am drinking enough water all day long. I use FitPort as a nice way to look at all my healthkit data and I use StepWise and Pedometer++ to track my steps all day long. The great thing about StepWise is that it adds active calories into healthkit which is really nice to track over time. I use Pillow to to track my sleep every night which gives me a great baseline start for how my day is going to be. The final apps are Wahoo 7 Minutes, Heart Rate by Runtastic and Buzz. These fill in the gaps where I need them.

All in all these apps help me keep my health organized, and it is really starting to make a difference. The iOS health apps that are out there are awesome, this is just a small taste of them all. I am already down 10 out of the 25 pounds I am hoping to loose.