January 17th is traditionally ‘Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day’, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re on the verge of letting your 2025 fitness goals slide away, we’ve dug out 8 fun apps and challenge plans that might help you stay on track for a more active year.
When the rain is pouring or the ground is covered in ice, it’s natural for the mind and body to recoil in shock, but that doesn’t mean we have to give it all up and spend the day playing FIFA on the X-Box or becoming full time online bingo players! What we can do though, is use the concept of gamification and apply it to our fitness routines.
The attraction of claiming a reward or hitting your next milestone is more powerful than you might think, so here are 8 apps and fitness challenges that you might want to consider signing up for rather than throwing the towel in.
Gamified fitness apps
The smartphone is often unfairly portrayed as a portal into a sedentary life, but with the right choice of fitness app, you could get the best of both the virtual and real worlds. Here are 4 examples that we found particularly motivating.
Zombies, Run!
There’s nothing like a shot of adrenalin to get your running pace up, and this classic app has combined that fact with the trending ‘zombie apocalypse’ theme to create an ingenious and unique fitness motivator.
What began as an ambitious Kickstarter campaign, back in 2011, has evolved into an epic gaming world complete with regular campaign add-ons and merch store. But the core concept is simple. Pop in some earbuds, go out for a run (anywhere), listen to the unfolding drama and when the zombie horde is behind you – run!
For a tasty preview of what to expect, here’s one of the original Zombies, Run! trailers
Pokemon GO
Probably the most famous AR (augmented reality) apps out there, Pokemon GO gets users out and about in the real world while overlaying their surroundings with elusive Pokemon. Your role is to help a researcher by tracking down the colourful characters and adding them to your personal Pokedex. There are also other items to find and collect, turning your daily walk, run or cycle into a virtual adventure.
Here is a Pokemon GO walkthrough.
SelfQuest
Available only on the App Store for iPhone, this app is for old school RPG enthusiasts. Complete workout tasks to collect gold and XP, buying equipment and levelling up your character to take on progressively tougher challenges.
Supplement your main quest with side quests to keep things varied, and compete with your mates on the leaderboard.
Find out more about SelfQuest here.
Foodie Fitness
Another one I found on the App Store was Foodie Fitness. This plays on the concept of earning your meals.
Your avatar is a grocery trolley winding its way through supermarket aisles, and as you complete workouts, you pick up virtual food to fill your trolley. Along the way, you also collect badges and unlock new levels as you become stronger and fitter.
Foodie Fitness also uses your phone’s camera and AI to check and grade your form, which is great for those of us who lose out on workout benefits due to poor posture or technique.
Discover the details about Foodie Fitness here.
More fitness app examples
If the above games have whetted your app-etite (sorry!), here are some more we recommend you check out:
Fun fitness challenges
Sometimes, all we need is an outside push to overcome our New Year fitness wobbles. If a PT is beyond your budget, there are plenty of organised fitness challenges you can join. Or, as in our first example, you could challenge your friends and family to stay active.
Fitness Dice*
A set of these were a smart Christmas gift in our family home. The concept is deceptively simple. You throw the dice and complete the challenge it gives you. But with a bit of imagination, you can easily turn this into a fun and powerful fitness aid. For example, one of our children decided to give the dice-wielder ultimate power to command the other to exercise. Between reps, they would tussle for the dice to try and win back control.
The dice holder would sometimes delight in coercing the other child out of bed to complete some early morning reps. OK, so these dice may have crossed the line from fitness aid to torture device at times, but they definitely helped keep everyone active over the festive season.
*Please note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Couch to 5K (C25K)
The classic Couch to 5K plan was created by an American runner, Josh Clarke, with the goal of getting his mum off the sofa and on the path to fitness. Almost thirty years later, and even the NHS has a C25K app you can download.
If your New Year’s resolution was to start running from scratch, and you’re finding it tough to stay the course, we recommend considering this time-proven path to a fitter life.
MedalMad
Let’s face it, there’s nothing like a hunk of metal around your neck to make you feel like a successful athlete. MedalMad draws on our need for bling to motivate us into joining and completing running challenges.
With hundreds of challenges to choose from, sortable by theme and distance, there’s bound to be a medal out there for you. Click the link to find out how MedalMad works.
Charity Miles
If being a good person is more motivating to you than achieving personal fitness goals or competing with your mates, then Charity Miles could be for you.
Whether you are going solo or joining as an employee, you can turn every mile you walk, run or cycle into money for charity. Visit the link to download the Charity Miles app or find out more about how it all works.
More fitness challenge examples
Most popular fitness apps have a challenges section to help give you a little push past Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day. For example, check out:
Apple Fitness: Close Your Rings
30 Day Fitness app (Apple & Android)
Do you have any recommendations for our followers?
Are there any apps, gadgets or plans you would recommend? Let us know so we can share the intel. If your product or service would benefit our sports and fitness mad followers, consider sponsoring Clubnets.
Cover image licensed under CC BY 4.0. ©Free Malaysia Today