Fitness is of paramount importance in this day and age of high competitiveness, work related stresses and pressures. The significance of leading a healthy life cannot be over stressed though training everyday may seem like a mundane activity; however, its benefits in the long run do always bear fruit.

Thanks to the abundance of smartphones, the requirement of having a gym membership or hiring a personal trainer is nullified. Various fitness apps on Android and iOS fill that gap and allow you to track your fitness activities which are listed below:

Map My Run (iOS & Android)

If you are into jogging or running on a regular basis, Map My Run is the app you would prefer using. It can track the distance that you run, and logs activities for cycling, walking, gym workouts, yoga and many other things. It can compute your stats using GPS for pace, route, distance, calorie burn, elevation profile, etc. Importing data from the best activity tracking devices in the industry is supported including Jawbone, Fitbit and Garmin to name a few. For iOS download from: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/run-map-my-run-gps-running/id291890420?mt=8 & Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapmyrun.android2&hl=en

Strava (iOS & Android)

For bicycle enthusiasts and runners, Strava is the go to app for tracking the aforementioned activities. It is one of the most popular apps to track your exact route, along with stats for pace, elevation changes, power and cadence. Strava houses a large user database which may include your friends with whom you can compare and compete in leaderboards, set personal records, share personal activities on social media. For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/strava-running-cycling-gps/id426826309?mt=8 & Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.strava&hl=en

FitStar Personal Trainer (iOS)

Fitstar provides a unique approach to personal training. It allows you to commit to a fitness routine using a mix of training videos and tracks, connecting your Jawbone, Fitbit account to automatically sync your weight and consolidate your fitness activity. Download from: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fitstar-personal-trainer-burn/id535640259?mt=8

Fitness Buddy

With its wide variety of 400 plus exercises with detailed descriptions and collection of workouts, Fitness Buddy is a must have app. It features exercise categorisation, detailed instructions for how to exercise, tracking your body weight and metrics, and graph your body progress. It allows you to build up your own workout routines and specific to the equipment being used etc. For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fitness-buddy-free-400+-exercise/id514780106?mt=8 & Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skyhealth fitnessbuddyandroidfree&hl=en

JEFIT Workout (iOS & Android)

This app is solely and exclusively for gym enthusiasts. It allows to create personal workout routines, daily fitness plans, track body statistics and viewing workout progress. It has over 1300+ unique exercises in its vast database, add friends and interact with a large community for motivational purposes. It allows you to track cardio, yoga, fitness and strength training exercises at a touch of a button. For iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jefit-workout-free-personal/id449810000?mt=8 & Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rheumatrack&hl=en

The writer is a freelance columnist with diversified interests in technology, finance & history. He tweets @MohammadFarooq_ and blogs at http://mohammadfarooq.net

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 3rd, 2016