by Erica House

Here's our favorite motivating fitness apps and workout gear to get you moving

Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout

Android: Free; iPhone: Free

The J&J Official 7 Minute Workout is a workout designed by Chris Jordan, director of exercise physiology at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute. The app is centered around research on HIIT and circuit training that shows that short bursts of hard exercise with short recoveries can improve aerobic fitness quickly.

Setup is fast and easy. You can jump straight into a 7-minute workout, or 9.07 minutes with a warmup. Swiping between workout views on the slick interface displays time, video, or music, which can be selected from your phone music library. You can also give a thumbs up or thumbs down for exercises that you like or dislike.

RunKeeper

Android: Free; iPhone: Free

It is easy to stay motivated with RunKeeper. You can join challenges to push yourself, win rewards for your workouts, and share your progress with friends. You can also create your own challenges, invite friends to join you, and encourage and cheer each other on along the way.

RunKeeper tracks walks, runs, and any other physical activity. From the casual stroller to the 5K runner and those building up to a marathon, this GPS app boasts a community of 50 million users and is suitable for everyone. You can build, save, and discover new routes with GPS to keep your workout stimulating.

Yoga Studio

Android: $4.99; iPhone: $4.99

With 70+ yoga and meditation classes with levels ranging from beginner to advanced, Yoga Studio offers something for everyone.

Yoga Studio allows users to customize classes and choose whether you want to focus on strength, balance, flexibility, relaxation, or a combination of all four. Yoga Studio provides clear and easy-to-follow instructions on poses and transitions. Users can also sync classes with your phone calendar to make sure you can fit regular yoga practice into your busy schedule.

Strava

Android: Free; iPhone: Free

You might join Strava for the app's tracking ability, but you will stay for their motivating and competitive community.

Strava's community includes millions of cyclists, runners, active adventurers, and pros that record their activities. Strava's activity tracking provides key statistics such as speed, pace, distance, elevation gained, and calories burned during and after exercise. An interactive map of your activity is also displayed.

You can compare your performance with other users and connect with the community, as well as share highlights of your activity, stories, and showcase photos of the best moments from your run or ride. Encouragement and motivation can be gained or given through comments and kudos. A bit of friendly competition can also be injected into your workout by shooting for the best time on the leaderboard.

Sworkit

Android: Free; iPhone: Free

Sworkit is a simple and customizable workout app.

After entering your personal data, you can select your motives and goals to make sure every second counts. The workout dashboard includes exercises for strength, cardio, yoga, and stretching. You can choose workout plans to become "Leaner," "Fitter," or "Stronger," and each of the three categories contain workouts, which are free for 7 days, for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Upgrading to Premium gives you full access to guided workouts.

Zombies, Run!

Android: Free; iPhone: Free

Zombies, Run! is an immersive running game and audio adventure. You are presented with a story detailing that you are runner en route to one of humanity's last remaining outposts after the zombie epidemic. Your mission is to gather supplies, rescue survivors, and defend their homes.The first four missions are free, and a new mission can be unlocked each week. Upgrading to Pro unlocks unlimited access to more than 260 missions and interval training. If you want to get your heart racing and have an adrenalin rush, this is the app for you.

Charity Miles

Android: Free; iPhone: Free

If making a difference with your training, then Charity Miles is for you. By going out to grab a coffee, walking your dog, biking around the neighborhood, or shoveling some snow, not only will your health benefit from being physically active, but charities will also benefit too. Users of the app have already raised more than $2 million for charity.

You can select numerous charities to support. Once you start your activity, you are sponsored by a brand to complete your task. Your activity, distance, duration, and the total amount earned by the community for your chosen charity is displayed on the dashboard.

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