The world truly stopped in 2020. The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic was shocking, to say the least. Everyone was forced to reevaluate, reorient, and restart their lives.
This caused a lot of turmoil and change in a very short period of time.One of the silver linings to this worldwide pandemic was the way people started to refocus on themselves and their health. Many people sought new and innovative ways to stay in shape while stuck inside. Taking the time and energy to find and start a health and wellness routine has a lot of positive, lasting effects. Focusing and improving your overall health can help you feel better, live longer, and get you discounts on things like term life quotes.
The biggest help in that health endeavor is at-home fitness apps. These apps can help anyone achieve any goal without visiting a gym or investing in a lot of big, expensive equipment.
The only negative is shifting through the literal thousands of health and wellness apps, trying to find the one that offers you what you want in the format you want.
Term Life Insurance and Your Health
Term life insurance is a very basic and affordable way to do life insurance. The idea with term life insurance is to purchase a policy that covers you for a certain period, or term, of your life. It can be small terms like 10 or 15 years or up to 30 years.
The policy only pays out if you pass during that term, and it expires at the end of the term. These conditions make term life insurance more affordable. On average, a 25-year-old female can get a 20-year, $100,000 policy for under $15 a month.
Of course, the exact cost depends on several factors, including gender, age, ZIP code, and overall health. This means an investment in your overall health now can help improve your rates and coverage in term life insurance. So those little at-home fitness apps can make a big difference in more areas of your life.
Apps for Fitness and Working Out
The sheer number of fitness apps can be daunting. Many people take a quick look through the top five or so apps listed under each category and pick blindly. This usually ends in frustration and a quick end to working out. It’s helpful to know what features each app offers before diving in.
Fitness Buddy
The Fitness Buddy app is an all-in-one app that has a little something for every level. It’s best described as a “personal trainer in your pocket.” This app offers hundreds of workouts ranging in skill level and approach.
The workouts offered on Fitness Buddy are paired with clear videos and detailed instructions, making it easy to try new workouts. It also offers progressive workout plans, so you can continue to challenge yourself.
The biggest benefit of Fitness Buddy? It offers personalized meal plans and recipes. You can attack your wellness goals in the kitchen, too.
30-Day Fitness at Home
The 30-Day Fitness at Home app is tons of at-home workouts with a focus on 30-day challenges. Each challenge focuses on a different muscle group or part of the body. This can help keep workouts fresh and interesting.
It also offers lots of great benefits. It easily syncs to the Apple Health app, keeping everything in one place and convenient. Plus, 30-Day Fitness at Home has built in workout reminders to keep you on track and motivated.
FitOn Workouts and Fitness Plans
One of the highest rated workout apps is FitOn. This free app features well-known celebrity trainers in video training sessions. There are workouts to help you build muscles or lose inches, anything to help you reach your goals.
FitOn also features a health and wellness community in the form of a leaderboard. You can post your progress or completed workouts to stay engaged and level up the competitiveness.
Openfit
The Openfit app is another highly rated option for at home workouts and fitness. It offers workouts that fit into every schedule, ranging from five minutes to over 40 minutes. There are hundreds of live classes each week and even more preloaded on-demand options ready at any time. Openfit also boasts personalized meal programs and meal planning to keep you on track.
The biggest difference with Openfit is the cost. This app must be purchased and offers payment options at three months, six months, and 12 months. Each subscription level offers unlimited access to the workouts and features of the app.
At-home workouts also offer new opportunities for personal trainers and people in the fitness business. These apps can translate to workout software and personal training opportunities as well.
Running
One of the easiest ways to stay in shape well at home is to take up running. Running is a total body, cardiovascular workout that is totally free. You can strap on a pair of good running shoes and step outside your front door. But there are many helpful apps to make your running more effective.
Map My Run
The Map My Run app allows you to track your running routes and times. It also has a feature that allows you to find nearby locations to run.
Map My Run can also be used to track other cardiovascular workouts. Keep track and log your activities like cycling, walking, and even yoga all in one place.
10K Runner
10K Runner is a training app for those wanting to train for long distance running and races. It offers audio guidance from personal trainers and easily integrates your favorite music. Choose from plans that will have you running a 5k in as little as 8 weeks or a 10k in only 6 weeks.
If running isn’t your thing, don’t worry. There are many free alternatives in getting that cardio workout without running. You still get the cardiovascular benefits without expending the same type of energy.
If you’re a more advanced athlete, these apps may not be challenging enough. You might need that extra push to get in the workout necessary to maintain or exceed your health and fitness goals. If that’s the case, then there are ways to increase the challenge of your at-home workouts. Challenging doesn’t have to take you far from your home.
Diet
They say abs are made in the kitchen. How you fuel your body is just as important as how you move it. The diet portion of a health and wellness routine, however, can often be overwhelming for people.
If you don’t know what to eat, it’s all too easy to grab a burger and fries from the nearest drive thru. But apps are available that can help you understand how to feed your body to better reach your goals.
Lose It!
The Lose It! app is a weight loss app that focuses on calorie counting. This app helps you understand how much your body truly needs in a day. It analyzes your weight, age, and weight goals to create your calorie needs and personalized weight loss plan.
It also helps you stay on track with a barcode scanner to quickly add and store foods in your log. You can even save foods you eat or snack on frequently to make logging your food even easier.
Lose It! is one of the only apps to offer a “snap it” feature. With this feature you can take a picture of your food to track and store it. Taking a picture of your food is believed to help with portion control and leads to more success in weight loss journeys. Losing weight can improve your mood and your life insurance rates are affected by your BMI.
Noom
Noom is one of the newest and trendiest food tracking app. It’s more than just a quick fix or a charge diet, though. Noom is all about making sustainable, lifestyle changes when it comes to food. It features virtual health coaching, informational readings, and quizzes to make lasting change.
Noom is subscription based, so there is no limited, free version available. It costs $59 monthly, but does offer a slightly discounted price of $199 for a yearly subscription.
Fooducate
Fooducate is a slightly different type of health and wellness app. It’s a nutrition scanner used to help you make better choices while grocery shopping. Fooducate allows you to scan barcodes to easily obtain nutritional information on that product.
The best feature of Fooducate? It will highlight unhealthy ingredients that are often hidden deep in nutritional labels. With the help of this app, you can start to identify some of the more deceiving and unhealthy aspects of the food you eat.
Mental Health
Health and wellness aren’t just about the physical body. No, health and wellness reach every part of our life and our being. Mental health is an underrated element in a health and wellness routine.
Some people find it difficult to add another thing to their already busy lives, so mental health can take a back seat. Luckily, some apps can help uplift and strengthen this part of your wellness routine.
HeadSpace
HeadSpace is a meditation app that leads users on a journey of mindfulness. It offers daily, guided meditations that take just a few minutes to complete. There are meditation sessions that focus on stress, anxiety, and even sleep. It’s a very user- and beginner-friendly option for those seeking ways to improve their mental health.
TalkSpace
TalkSpace is an at-home virtual therapy session. It quickly connects you with a licensed mental health professional through text messages, video, and audio call options. Each therapist has extensive training in different areas of mental health.
This app helps you get connected without leaving your home or sitting in uncomfortable and sometimes impersonal waiting rooms. You get the help you need while in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
MoodMission
MoodMission is an app meant to help you identify and overcome the debilitating effects of stress, anxiety, and depression. It’s a mission-based app that encourages the user to complete different activities based on their mood and emotions. These missions help you understand your emotions and work to improve your mood and coping skills.
Taking Care of Your Health at Home
Health and wellness aren’t just about how you look or feel physically. It’s an all-encompassing routine meant to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit. Balancing all these elements will help keep you healthy, happy, and thriving even in a post-pandemic world.
Laura Gunn researches and writes for the life insurance comparison site, QuickQuote.com. She is passionate about health and fitness and helping others find the health and wellness routines that help them thrive.