In an age of tech advancement, not only do we have smartphones to keep us connected and online, but now we can use them to track our own personal health – steps taken, calories burned, active minutes, and so forth. You may have noticed that apps to track your steps have become quite popular.
In this article we’ll be taking a comprehensive look at why tracking your steps is so beneficial and why numerous apps have been created to keep count of your daily strides. Let’s get started!
Why Walking Apps Are Popular
Walking apps are incredibly popular, particularly since the start of the pandemic era. With lockdowns and social distancing rules in force around the world, people have needed to find new ways to stay physically active—and walking apps provide an easy solution. With just a few clicks, users can track and monitor their progress as they walk.
Studies have noted that people today prefer digital tracking systems, such as step counters embedded in phones or smartwatches, to help them reach their lifestyle goals. For instance, a survey conducted by IBM found that more than half of respondents preferred digital over physical means for tracking weight loss goals or health metrics.
Tracking and Monitoring Benefits
The desire to track and monitor one’s steps is a major reason why walking apps have grown in popularity. Tracking offers the incentive to document progress over time as well as offer motivation to strive for personal fitness targets and goals. The use of these tracking systems provide helpful feedback which then leads to behavioural change for users motivated by healthy living objectives.
In addition, tracking can often provide a greater degree of clarity for those individuals who want to maximise their physical activity output. With some apps being able to recognise patterns in user behaviour from the data collected, it may be possible to receive further feedback on what kind of activity could potentially enhance the fitness regime or provide more insight on how an individual might reach certain goals.
The Variety of Walking Apps
The widespread usage of smartphones and the availability of tracking apps has not gone unnoticed by walking enthusiasts and those interested in fitness.
The introduction of walking tracking apps has greatly facilitated access to step-counting, providing individuals with the ability to motivate themselves to become more active and improve their overall level of physical fitness. Tracking apps are convenient and easy to use, giving individuals the opportunity to monitor and analyse important health stats over time.
This diversity of walking apps ensure that there is something for everyone regardless of their personal preferences or desired goals. There are currently hundreds of different walking planning apps available on major app stores, each catering to different users with different objectives in mind.
Many of these apps come with a variety of interesting features that enable users to better monitor, analyse and compare their progress over time. Some even provide daily challenges and rewards that help keep motivation levels high.
Different Types of Walking Apps
With the increasing popularity of tracking step counts, a variety of walking apps have been created to meet the demands of users. Many offer similar features, yet some have unique offerings for different needs.
The most popular type of walking app is the pedometer-style app that quantifies your step count over time. Using algorithms and motion sensors within users’ smart devices, these apps can track steps taken throughout the day, map the route walked, and also calculate total miles walked. Other advanced features may include nutritional advice and meal planning, insight into your sleep patterns, and automatic calorie logging when connected to an account on MyFitnessPal.
A second type of walking app is GPS-based. These more robust apps are ideal for those who enjoy long distance walks–and even running or biking. With a GPS tracker, these apps have highly accurate mapping abilities which can pinpoint location data in order to record distance travelled on a route. This allows individuals to map and monitor their progress using various graph formats like heat maps or average speed calculations over a certain amount of time or miles. Additionally, users may enter challenges or offers designed to keep them motivated with fitness goals they set for themselves.
Reasons to Use Walking Apps
Walking apps are a popular way for individuals to track their progress and better understand their physical activity. There are many reasons to use walking apps, including convenience, motivation, and accountability.
The convenience of walking apps makes it easier for people to accurately track their steps and other exercise metrics while incorporating that tracking into their day-to-day lives. For example, Apple Health gives users the option to set reminders that automatically register how many steps they’ve taken throughout the day without them having to remember to log it themselves. This helps ensure accurate record keeping without any extra effort from the individual.
Walking apps can also provide motivation for people who don’t have any particular goal but just want to keep themselves active. Every time someone uses an app like Fitbit or Apple Health, they can get a better idea of what their daily average looks like and set future goals to exceed that average. Many apps also gamify the process by awarding accomplishments such as badges when they reach certain milestones. These features give users something clear and tangible to strive for while pushing them to stay physically active.
Personalised Information and Goals
Personalised information and goals has been a major driving force of the popularity of walking apps. Personalised information allows users to tailor their fitness journey to their specific needs and lifestyle. This type of customization helps users easily prioritise their fitness goals, such as reaching a certain step count or competing with friends. Such personalization has made it much easier for people to break into the habit of working out regularly, which can go a long way in providing users with motivation and structure.
The ability to set personalised goals are also helpful because it allows users to track progress towards achieving them easily.
Socialising with Friends and Family through Walking Apps
The notion of socialising with friends and family through Walking Apps has been gaining momentum in recent years. Alongside tracking the number of steps taken, many such apps offer the facility for users to connect with their friends and family members and compete against each other. This is a great way to stay motivated and encouraged while also providing entertainment.
Proponents of such Walking Apps argue that such friendly competition can be an effective motivator for individuals to reach their desired goals. Even when someone’s progress begins to plateau, the presence of connected peers can increase motivation levels to keep users pushing themselves and striving forward. Furthermore, creating a network of like-minded
individuals looking to set and achieve common goals can be seen as beneficial.
Offline Advantages of Walking Apps
Walking apps can also offer some advantages when they are used offline. While the primary purpose of most walking apps is to help users track their steps, their capabilities typically extend beyond that. For example, some apps enable users to record and monitor distance, calories burned, and time spent walking outdoors without the need for an internet connexion. Recording these data points can help individuals set activity goals for themselves and stay motivated to reach them.
It is important to note that this can be especially beneficial for people who do not always have a good signal or no access to WIFI. When travelling, for instance, they can still track their steps and make sure to reach their intended goals without worrying about dropping any records. Furthermore, if an individual’s phone doesn’t have enough battery or is otherwise unable to connect to the internet, they can still take advantage of the app’s offline capabilities.
Overall, utilising the offline features of walking apps can provide convenient access to tracking technology regardless of one’s Internet situation. It can also help people stay engaged with their physical activity due to activities being accurately logged even when an online connection isn’t available. However, it should be noted that many advanced features such as in-depth data analysis, social engagement, and sharing progress usually require a stable connection in order to be enjoyed in full capacity.
