Top Fitness Apps for a Happy and Healthy 2015

11 Top Fitness Apps

1. Mountain Athletics. With categories for Backcountry Skiing, All-Mountain Skiing, General Fitness, Running, Alpine Climb and Climbing, just having this app on my phone made me feel like a bad-ass. I chose General Fitness as the most realistic goal for me, but using this app has inspired me to find a gym with a rock wall near my apartment and sign up for some technical climbing instruction.

Ultrarunners, skiers and climbers will definitely benefit from Mountain Athletics’ training programs. Each of the options is designed to help you complete a six-week training course to achieve specific objectives. The General Fitness program focuses on building total-body and core strength and increasing your overall physical capability, which directly relates to improved ability to cope with exertion in mountain conditions. You’ll train five days a week, with a mix of strength and cardio sessions to improve your work capacity. As you train, the program gets progressively tougher — you’ll do the same exercises, but with a higher load or volume of work. For the best results, you’ll need some equipment: a barbell and plates, boxes for jumps, dumbbells, a squat rack and a stopwatch. However, the app gives you modifications if you only have access to dumbbells.

This isn’t a major piece of the workout, but there is a section on nutrition advice. Personally, I thought it was a bit too hardcore: no bread, pasta or grain of any kind, no potatoes, corn, or starches, and no sugar, candy, soda or alcohol. Will you see results? How could you not? But my ideal fitness program has room for both burpees and high-quality dark chocolate.

This app is deliberately intense, so if you’re relatively new to exercising (or prefer a more laid-back approach), this might not be the program for you. For example, I wouldn’t feel comfortable banging out bench presses and weighted squats if I wasn’t already confident in my form and abilities. But if you’re looking for a challenge, give one of the programs a try. Each workout is laid out intuitively, with clear instructions and helpful videos. The mix of exercises keeps things fun, and I like the emphasis on fitness with a practical, real-life application. For an experienced and adventurous fitness enthusiast, this app is a welcome kick in the ski pants.