If you’re working out at the gym or on a bike ride, the last thing you want to do is pull out your smartphone to keep painstaking track of your workout progress. Whether it’s the new Galaxy Watch 6, Pixel Watch, a fantastic Android smartwatch can be a great way to manage your activities at a glance without taking away from the experience. With these smartwatch apps, you’ll be crushing your goals quickly with better fitness and nutrition.
1 Sleep Cycle: Sleep Tracker
If you’re tired, literally, of getting a poor night’s sleep, the Sleep Cycle app might be a way to improve your rest. With advanced tracking, including microphone recordings to detect noises in your sleep — snoring — it’s a great option for analyzing where your slumber is going wrong. You can select when you start your sleep and even choose the type of alarm you’d like to receive in the morning, all from your Android smartwatch. You can select from a more traditional alarm or let Sleep Cycle determine the optimal time to wake you within a wake window.
2 Nike Run Club
As the name would suggest, the Nike Run Club app is a way to add a social element to working out. It allows you to compete in Nike challenges and keep track of your friend’s workouts to help motivate you further. In addition, there are guided runs and nutrition tips to keep your health goals on track. From your Android smartwatch, you can start and stop runs and monitor your pace and heart rate for an optimal cardio experience.
3 Strava: Run, Bike, Hike
If you want to do more than just run to keep in shape, the Strava app has you covered. It can keep track of hikes and bike rides in addition to all your running activities. You can chart all of the above on maps that you can share with friends and get personalized metrics that keep track of your heart zones and pace. You can initiate workouts and keep track of your speed, heart rate, and distance, all from your smartwatch. If you’re looking for a feature-rich fitness experience that makes good use of your watch, the Strava app has much to offer.
4 Fitbod Fitness and Workout Plans
Fitbod takes the workouts a step beyond tracking walks and hikes. If you’re looking for a full workout experience, it can help you build better lifting habits and sets with the ability to log reps right from your smartwatch. It will keep track of calories burned and even how much weight you lifted during the entire session. Fitbod can also help ensure each muscle group is worked the proper amount for a balanced workout for best results. If you’re serious about your shred, the Fitbod app is a great Android watch companion.
5 FITIV Pulse Heart Rate Monitor
The FITIV Pulse app features a wide range of fitness tracking options with comprehensive Android smartwatch integration. You can keep track of pace, heart rate, calorie burn, and distance from your watch. In addition, the app can keep track of body fat and skeletal muscle mass. It’s also helpful to see your workout history and measurements on your watch. Anytime you don’t have to open your phone during a workout is good, and the FITIV Pulse app does a good job of limiting the amount of time you’ll spend on your smartphone.
6 Cycling App - Bike Tracker
Zeopaxa’s Cycling App does a great job of encouraging progression through video game-style achievements. You can keep track of distance, speed, calories, elevation, and more, all through easily readable progressions. In addition, you can chart your rides over Google Maps with all the benefits of dark mode for nighttime riding. You can start and track rides from your watch while monitoring heart rate and duration from your watch.
7 Calorie Counter - MyNetDiary
Calorie Counter helps keep track of your life away from the gym with plans for healthy eating and weight loss. You log your meals using the Calorie Counter app and can keep track of proteins, carbs, and fats daily from your watch. The companion app allows for barcode scanning to identify foods and nutritional information easily. On your watch, you can track the calories for each individual meal and count your water intake for the day to make sure you stay hydrated. I enjoyed the options available through my TicWatch Pro 5 and recommend the app to anyone trying to adjust their diet.
8 Shapes: Anti-Stress Therapy
As a way to calm down from all that working out, the Shapes app helps reduce stress levels with calming puzzles accompanied by music. It’s a great experience on a smartwatch with soothing colors that help take your mind off the daily grind. If you notice your heart rate getting a little high, open up the Shapes app and feel the noise of the day melt away in the background. The puzzles can get a little repetitive, but if you find the app useful, there are ways to purchase more sets.
Improve your smartwatch experience with these awesome apps
I love the flexibility smartwatches provide, and these apps show how powerful tracking information can be on your wrist. Whether it's building the proper workout or making sure you're getting enough water, smartwatches are a fantastic tool for building a healthier lifestyle. If you start using these apps, you'll notice a difference in your life.