Turn your iPhone into a fully functioning activity and fitnesstracking device

This is the story of how I turned my iPhone 5 into a fully functional activity and fitness tracker. 

This years biggest and most exciting techbuzz has been the rising popularity of wearable technology. Although the term wearable technology has a very broad meaning, recently it has focused mainly on activity tracking and fitness tracking. 

Image source: allthatiknow.com

Wearable devices like the Nike fuelband, Fitbit Flex, and Jawbone Up are growing in popularity mainly for its ability to track ones activity and monitor fitness. I have long wanted to try one of them out but I had a hard time deciding which one to pick. I read a lot of reviews on all three of them and the reviews are mixed. I researched their specs and features more and found that taken individually, each one seemed to lack something the other was offering. Take for example the ability to track activity and monitor/update calorie in-take and budget. Say I go for a run and burn a certain amount of calories, I want my calorie budget to be updated right away based on the recent activity and the food I took so far. Both the Jawbone Up and Fitbitflex have application support to log food intake however logging food intake is not very convenient for both. Both of them have mobile applications that support logging calorie in-take however it does not provide live update of your calorie budget based on your activity. For the Fitbitflex you have to wait until your bracelet has synched with your desktop app to calculate your net Calorie intake for the day. Not one of these fitness bracelet supports integration and live updates. After days of researching I ended up frustrated. Not one bracelet met my needs and I sure as hell was not going to buy all three of them. Then I had a light bulb moment- why not customize my iPhone 5 into the kind of activity/fitness tracking device I want through Apps. 

Before I tell you how I did this, let me share with you first what I consider as essential features to any activity/ fitness tracking device:

1. Run logger w/ GPS and live feedback

•  I need live feedback of my run progress (ie. distance and pace)
•  I need GPS tracking to map my route because when I discover a nice running route I want to be able to remember where to got.
• I need it to have access to my music library

2. Location aware Pedometer 

•  I want to know how many steps I took each day
•  I want it to be location aware so that I know where and when I am most inactive. 

3. Calorie tracker

•  Ask every nutritionist and fitness coach and they will tell you the food you eat affects your overall fitness level. 
•  I want to know how much carbohydrates, fat and protein I am taking eachday.  

4. Sleep Cycle tracker

• I need to know if I am taking enough quality sleep each day. The amount and quality of sleep I take each day is as important as the amount and quality of activity I do.

5. Integration

• I want the information I track to understand how they affect each other. (ie. calories burned during a run should update my calorie budget for the day.) 

Here is a run-down of how I turned my iPhone 5 into a fully functional activity/ fitness tracker.

The Applications.

1. Runkeeper: this is my app of choice for logging my runs. It has a simple and straightforward design. Its free version provides GPS tracking, Live feedback, access to my music library, and integrates with 3rd party apps. Another thing that makes runkeeper stand out is how it tries to gamefiy my running experience to improve engagement. I am not talking about the usual milestones/ achievements reward system most running apps have. If I clock an above average pace (based on location), I get a virtual speeding ticket. Everytime I share my run on Twitter I get an updated "world rank" that allows me to see where I stand against everyone else accross the world. The paid version of the app provides more detailed analytics of your runs. Whats great is that the runs you logged with the basic version are carried over to the premium version. You do not have start over.

2. Moves: this is my pedometer app of choice. It has a very clean and playful design that is loaded with smart features. Moves is a pedometer w/ all the important extras. It logs duration of activity, location of activities and it is smart enough to know the kind of activity I am engaged in at a particular time and place (walking, running, cycling, transport, etc). This last feature is extremely important for an activity tracker. The first step in changing ones life with an activity tracker is for the device to be invisible. It has to track with accuracy without needing too much user intervention. Moves achieves this with ease.

3. Myfitnesspal: this is my calorie counter/budget app. It allows me to keep track of my daily calorie in-take and set a daily calorie budget to achieve a desired weight goal. Aside from just counting your calories, the app breaks down the calories into Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats. This is very important information for people trying to maintain a certain diet. I do a lot of running and I know I need a lot of Carbohydrates to sustain my runs. This app allows me to set a meal plan that has the right amount of carbs, protein and fat. I am able to do this with the apps Recipe feature where I can set specific meals I prepare at the beginning of the week. The app also supports bar-code scanning for most pre-packed food items. Just scan the barcode and the relevant dietary information is on your screen. Last, but not the least, the app integrates with 3rd party apps that are health and fitness focused. In my case it integrates with Runkeeper and my Runtastic Road bike. This means after every run or bike session, the calories burned are updated into my daily calorie budget. This is both convenient and smart. 

4. Sleep cycle alarm: this app allows me to monitor the quality of my sleep. I believe that tracking ones sleep quality is as important as tracking ones sleep quality. We can push our body as much as we can but if we do not give it the proper amount of rest, eventually it will break down. Sleep gives us two benefits- physical rest and mental rest. If you are very active during the day, your body is flooded with adrenaline and endorphines which has its mental upside. When I started running I felt more alert and able to concentrate more on mental activities. However our mind needs some time to just go deep into sleep. Like our body our mind needs to just shut itself down not doing any thinking. This is what sleep gives and that is why I use this app. Sleep cycle alarm tracks the length of my sleep and the quality. It tracks how many hours I spend in sleep state vs deep sleep. It also allows me to take sleep notes so I can see what certain daily activities affect my sleep quality the most. The app also has a built in alarm clock that adjusts to your sleep pattern. This means the app is able to wake you up during the best time- if you are in deep sleep during the designated alarm time, it sets off lightly. When it detects movement it sets itself to snooze automatically. It loops in this pattern (alarm-snooze) until you manually turn it off. The only time it does not auto-snooze is when it reaches your pre-set alarm time. Ever since I started using this app I always woke up feeling rested. Unlike other alarm clocks I have used that made me feel annoyed upon waking up, this app did not give me such a rushed and harassed feeling at all.

So those are the applications I have used in the last month. I can say with all honesty that they have worked perfectly well for me. I believe I have been able to achieve what most people want to achieve when using a wearable fitness tracker. With the help of Moves I was able to realize that I spend to much time at rest when I am in the office even during lunch breaks. This made me decide to take a walk around the office block during breaks to stay active for most of the day. Using Myfitnesspal and Runkeeper has allowed me to make sure I am eating the right kind of calories to help me improve my runs. These are just a few of the benefits I have enjoyed in the last 30 days or so and I am sure I will see more benefits the more I use them. 

For now I am happy to say that I was able to build and customize my own fitness and activity tracking system using my iPhone 5. The total cost to me? Less than $10 for all the apps. Not bad compared to a fitness bracelet that runs upward $100 each with features that do not necessarily fit your needs. 

Check out some great deals on the most popular Fitness Armbands/ Bracelets.
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, Black
UP by Jawbone - Medium Wristband - Retail Packaging - Onyx
Nike+ ICE Fuelband - Medium Size