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SALT LAKE CITY — As we approach warmer months, we begin to realize it’s time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.
The problem is, previous months spent inside during colder weather may have left our muscles a bit stiff and our endurance lacking. Fortunately, we have spring to prep for all of the awesome activities summer has to offer. If you’re currently in the process of figuring out how you’ll pull your body out of winter mode and start enjoying a more active lifestyle in spring and summer, tech can help!
Although it may seem like you need expensive gadgets like FitBits and heart rate monitors to effectively track your efforts and make progress this season, using tech to achieve your fitness goals can actually be pretty affordable if you do it right. Here are six affordable ways you can use tech to help optimize your favorite spring activities and start making serious strides in your efforts to get fit for summer.
1. Track and optimize your spring skiing
Spring skiing is arguably one of the best ways to build your strength and endurance for the summer activities ahead of you. A great way to ensure you get a solid workout from your regular trips to the slopes is to track your progress.
SNOCRU is an app created by a local company that helps you track your vertical feet traveled, speed, and overall number of runs you’ve taken for a day. The best part is you can set it up to compete with your friends. If you’re currently an Epic Pass holder, Vail Resorts offers the Epic Mix app that automatically tracks these same metrics by picking up a signal from your mobile device each time you enter a lift.
If you’re concerned about resort and trail closures as the ski season winds down, you can check out Ski Utah’s free app ahead of time to find out what trails are open at each resort and take a look at the snow conditions for each day.
2. Find “guilt free” options for your favorite foods
Instagram can be a brilliant resource for healthy recipes. Start following a fitness blogger or two to see what you can learn from their nutritional habits. Several solid recipes for healthy pizza, ice cream, and waffles come from IFBB Bikini Pro, @nicmoo13. Two additional local fitness bloggers, @honestlyfitness and @simplysadiejane, also offer up awesome recipes and motivation on their pages.
Obviously, Pinterest is another great place to look for free healthy recipes to satisfy your cravings for savory foods and sweets with healthier alternatives.
3. Identify others who share interest in your active hobbies
Working out with others on a regular basis is a great way to stay on track with your fitness goals this spring. It’s even better if you can find others who enjoy your favorite active hobbies as much or more than you do.
Use apps like MeetUp to find groups of others in your area who share your exercise interests. For example, if someone was looking to work out with a group of avid kick boxers to boost their attendance and push their abilities, they could find several groups in the Sugarhouse/SLC area by running a simple search on MeetUp.
4. Discover deals at health food stores
If eating healthy was cheap, it would be much easier to stay on top of fitness goals! Although the prices at top health food stores might not change overall, you can use official store apps to download coupons and save big during your next shopping trip. Local favorites like Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market have apps that offer up info on store locations, events and deals. Finding ways to save on fresh produce and natural food options could help motivate you to take the time to select quality food to fuel your body.
5. Get competitive with spring hiking
Much like spring skiing, spring hiking is a fantastic opportunity to get outside on a beautiful Saturday. However, if you want it to be effective in helping you reach your fitness goals, you’ll need to take your hiking past the level of a leisurely stroll. This is where apps like Endomondo can help you get motivated by sparking some friendly competition between you and your friends.
When you set the Endomondo app at the trailhead, you can track your time and vertical feet gained, then compare your hike’s results with friends who use the same platform. Use this app to start weekly competitions with your friends. Maybe even set up a system where the winner for each week gets a free, healthy lunch from the rest of the group to generate additional motivation.
6. Save by switching to a virtual personal trainer
Personal training can get pretty pricey. If you’d like a little more direction at the gym, but don’t quite have the funds to support enrolling in a personal training program, try an online personal trainer. Apps like Nike Training Club and GAIN Fitness Cross Trainer can provide you with access to workouts and nutritional programs from fitness pros at a more affordable cost. If you find it difficult to commit to a regime without an actual trainer to hold you accountable, try teaming up with a friend to accomplish weekly workout and nutritional goals together.
Hopefully these tech tips will help you as you start the process of creating a more active lifestyle for summer. If you have any additional tips, let us know in the comments below.
Cosette is a freelance writer and remote worker specializing in topics surrounding the tech and lifestyle fields. She is a University of Utah graduate with a BA from the Department of Communications.
