We would be willing to bet that we don’t actually need to give you a reason to bring your iPhone to the gym, but just in case you were wondering- we think you should. Many of us are total social media junkies and love to take our smartphones with us wherever we go. Sometimes some people wonder about bringing the phone to the gym- does it distract or does it help us? If you use it the right way, your smartphone can be an amazing tool in the gym.

Why You Should Bring Your iPhone to the Gym

If you’re a social media junkie, we’ve got the perfect fitness class for you. In the Klout Workout—inspired by the company that uses a point system to measure your influence across social networks—participants rack up points based on their own performance in the gym.

But here’s where things get weird: The class, which was created by fitness trainer Alexandra Williams and recently debuted at San Diego’s IDEA World Fitness Convention, requires you to fiddle with your phone during an actual workout. For example, at one station that takes its cues from Pinterest, you bounce on a stability ball in the plank position while pinning motivational quotes to a board.

If you truly want to make big gains at the gym, though, you probably shouldn’t be tweeting in between sets and reps. But there are still plenty of ways that technology can enhance your workout. Download these 6 apps to help ignite your muscles and fry away fat—with the swipe of a finger.

Upgrade Your Hoops Game with Nike+ Basketball
Designed to work exclusively with shoes that contain the latest Nike+ Sport technology, this app syncs your kicks directly to your mobile and allows you to measure your athleticism. Not only can you record the height of your vertical jump, the app also tracks how quickly you can move up, down, and around the court. (Free for iOS)

Be a Better Runner with RunKeeper
You won’t find many apps—especially free ones—more versatile than Runkeeper. It covers all the basics: GPS tracking, tools that measure distance, speed, and calories burned, and it’ll keep your workouts archived. Upload everything to runkeeper.com to track your progress over the weeks, months, or years and share your newest running routes with friends. (Free for iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile.) And for more running apps that will help you burn calories and slash minutes off your mile time, check out The Best Apps for Runners.

Track Your Heart Rate with BeatMeter
Sure, you can feel the sweat dripping down your body during a workout—but how hard are you really working? Here’s an app that helps you find out by recording your measured heartbeats per minute. All you have to do is locate your pulse—try pressing your carotid artery at the base of the neck—then tap the screen each time you feel it. After 60 seconds, your results will be ready. ($0.99 for iOS)

Pump Up the Jams with Music Interval Training Tool
Whether you’re hitting the track or pounding out sprints on the bike, this app helps take your intensity to the next level. How it works: Create a high intensity and low intensity playlist to accompany your interval training, then set the number of seconds you want to exercise at each intensity. When you’re going hard, the music will sync with the upbeat tunes. Then once the interval is up, the music switches to something more low key. ($0.99 for iOS)

Source

Your phones are probably coming with to the gym anyways, so you might as well put them to good use. One workout called the Klout Workout is inspired by a company that uses a point system to gauge your exact influence in your social networks- this workout is the same concept but gauges your performance at the gym through a similar point system. If you live near San Diego, you will find a class at the IDEA World Fitness Convention that requires you to use your phone during your workout. We aren’t telling you to stop in between sprints on the treadmill to update your twitter followers about your heart rate, but there are some very useful tools that will turn your iPhone into your fitness buddy.

Watch this video about tracking progress…

Check out these apps for fitness:

Nike+ Basketball- this works with your Nike+ compatible shoes, it measures the height of your jumps, your speed, and more to keep you reaching for higher goals.

RunKeeper- this free app uses a gps to measure speed, distance, and even calculated calories burned during your runs.

BeatMeter-this app measures your heart rate to give you an accurate idea of how hard you are really working.

Music Interval Training Tool-this app allows you to create playlists to compliment your pace.
Have you used any of these apps?

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