Holistic Wellness for Life North of 50

Spring has sprung, summer’s around the corner — it’s time to get outside and get in shape. We know your iPhone-owning counterparts have plenty of apps for tracking their calories and kilometers to stay in shape, but there are plenty of health-related apps in the Android Market, too.

Here are eight highly rated free and paid Android (

) apps that will help you get and stay in shape. If you’ve got recommendations — particularly for apps that will help folks get outdoors while the weather’s nice — please let us know about them in the comments.

1. CardioTrainer Racing

Rating (

): 5 stars
Price: $2.99
Downloads: 1,000-5,000

This app combines the free CardioTrainer with a racing application that challenges users to beat their own best times. Motivational features include a virtual race simulator, complete with a voice telling the user exactly how far behind or ahead he is. In addition to the racing module, the free CardioTrainer app can be enhanced with a weight loss module, which will cost you another $2.99 in the Android Market (

).

User comments:
“This works great since it’s so motivating! I’m easily beating my previous times. Well done on Droid!”
“The perfect running coach.”

2. Fast Food Calorie Counter

Rating: 4 stars
Price: $1.99
Downloads: 1,000-5,000

Even when you’re trying to watch your weight, it’s sometimes impossible to resist the allure of fast food. Whether you’re in a hurry or have a sudden craving for a Frosty, this app can help you mitigate the disastrous effects of too many fried, mayonnaise-drenched, delicious snacks. The app tracks and serves data for almost 9,000 items from 72 fast food restaurants. Data includes calories, fat grams, fiber, carbs and protein. There’s also a free version of this app, Fast Food Calorie Counter Lite.

User comments:
“Good resource, but needs to be updated more often.”
“Helps me stick to my diet since I eat out at times.”

3. Endomondo Sports Tracker

Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: FREE
Downloads: 10K-50K

This is a great application for runners, cyclists, joggers, rollerskaters/rollerbladers, or folks who simply like to take a walk from time to time. It helps you track your time, distance, speed and altitude, and keeps a history of your workouts. The app integrates with Google Maps (

) and your audio playlist in addition to the website, to allow for a more detailed analysis of your progress.

User comments:
“Works seamlessly. Excellent social integration. Highly recommended.”
“The best. I have tried so many other apps of this style and none compare to Endomondo’s accuracy and speed.” Read the rest of this entry »