APP CULTURE
Step into a new you
On the street, at work, or in school: We do it every day. Walking is more than the chores of getting from point A to B. It’s an extremely overlooked form of exercise that can help maintain muscle tone and healthy joints. It’s also a great way to get some fresh air, clear your head and spend time with friends.
Get going! Move your feet with these apps that add a little fun to an already valuable activity.
What do 7,000 steps taste like?
A slice of pizza, actually. One slice more or less contains the calories you’re likely to burn from walking 7,000 steps. That’s where wearable pedometers come in handy. They calculate your steps and their calorie equivalent. But sometimes, pure data doesn’t make the impact we need to stay motivated.
Things become a lot clearer when we’re looking at more familiar units – like hamburgers. For instance, 10,000 steps may sound like a lot. But just as Movesum would tell you, you’ve only burned a little over 200 calories – the equivalent of a single hamburger patty.
This can be a game changer for anyone looking to slim down. You start thinking of every sneaked snack in terms of how many steps it would take to cancel out the calories. If weight loss isn’t your goal, just knowing how many hamburgers, pizza slices or glasses of wine you’ve burned through makes any walk a little more interesting.
A new kind of space walk
What would it be like to take a stroll across the universe? Walkr puts you at the wheel of a tiny rocket ship powered by your steps, jogs and runs. The further you go, the more in-game energy you generate.
Your ‘walking energy’ powers your trips to planets, speeds up production of currency, and helps in growing food (represented by tomatoes) for its happy inhabitants. No matter if you walk or run, every drop of sweat is fuelling your space adventure and motivation to keep on going.
Grab a friend and catch a monster
Across the world, Pokémon GO has successfully gotten countless couch potatoes on their feet and out the door on quests to become Pokémon Masters.
The AR game starts off with you searching for Pokémon on your screen. But these little guys are not going to come to you. It takes constantly scanning your real world surroundings. Pokémon species will vary based on your local geography. For instance, you’ll only run into Water-type Pokémon near a lake or by the sea. But finding Pokémon is just a part of the game. You’ll have to catch these creatures by flicking a ball their way, and some of them can be quite elusive.
You can even form teams with friends and meet up at different Pokémon Gyms to battle your monsters. Win and the Gym will be yours. If you’re not looking to pick a fight, concentrate on collecting as many of these critters as possible – while getting what adds up to a very good workout.