Five essential fitness gadgets for 2016

Keep it up - motivation can be kept high with a huge range of apps and devices designed to keep you on your fitness journey

You’ve got through Monday at work and feel that in itself is worth a medal. Well a double bill of Coronation Street, at least. You had promised yourself a trip to the gym, but its really the last thing you want to do. Weakness set sets in as you wonder whether you could just go tomorrow instead. Or Wednesday. Or next week,

Here are five fitness apps and trackers which could help you go the distance in 2016 - and face your fitness challenge head on.

JAWBONE UP2 ACTIVITY TRACKER

Jawbone UP2 has been hailed for the way it charts sleep and activity - at a reasonable price

If you really want to know how your body is performing when both active and at rest, an activity tracker might be the answer.

The levels of information that will be collected from this minimal-looking wristband will have you thinking about yourself in a whole new light - there will literally be hiding place from your health profile.

The activity tracker market has become quickly crowded but the Jawbone UP2 has been gaining credit for its core functions which are being offered at a good, reasonable price.

It doesn’t have a heart monitor or a GPS system but its simple, effective system will open up the benefits of good health information to a whole new audience.

It measures how well you slept, including data on light deep and light sleep, with tips on how to sleep better. You can also be woken gently during light sleep with the device’s vibrating alarm to help you feel more refreshed in the morning.

The device will detect when you hit spurts of activity, with details of energy used and timings saved through the tracker app. This will then be used to build up a picture of your improving fitness - and suggest other workouts which will help you progress even further.  PACT

For every time you fail to do your exercise you will be fined and every time you do make it to the gym, or to your run or yoga class, you will be rewarded - in cold hard cash.

When you sign up you set your own pact with yourself - how many times you will exercise and the stake you will put on each activity.

Money goes into the communal pot by those too lazy to honour the Pact - and is taken out by those who face down their inner sloth.

The app verifies if you’ve hit your goals by making sure you check in to the venues where you pledged you’d be exercising.

Of course, it can be open to cheating and you could drive to the gym, check in and then leave again.

But that just wouldn’t be very sporting at all.

Forecasting the fitness trends of 2016

ROCK MY RUN

Music can make the difference between a great run - and a truly gruelling one. Get those tunes right and your feet could be moving faster than at a rave in 1991. Get it wrong and you could feel that you are truly at battle with yourself.

Rock my Run has been devised to keep you running faster, for longer, with a less pained expression on your face.

The app is described as an “intelligent music centre” that matches your workout music to your to body movement.

You can pick playlists from styles including house, hip-hop, 80s and classical with DJs mixing the tracks to keep the tempo moving at the right pace.

Another feature will allow the tunes to be matched to your heart beat - which will really keep you in the zone.

FITOCRACY

Fitocracy is like an activity all in itself. Part social media network and part video game, Fitocracy is said to harness the addictive qualities of both mediums. So not only are you earning points while you exercise and achieve your goals, you are also communicating with others who are on the same fitness drive as yourself.

There are around 900 exercises programmes available on Fitocracy but you can also create your own or follow others devised by fellow ‘Fitocrats’.

Inspiration, conversation and competition are all part of the Fitocracy terrain so however hard or frustrating your fitness journey has become, you really won’t be alone. You might even meet some new fit friends on the way.

MOOV NOW FITNESS BAND AND COACH

If you want to get fit in the water and improve your stroke, this tracker will automatically track the number of laps, lap time, turn time, resting time, and pace; stroke style, number of strokes, average stroke time and distance per stroke, and fastest 100m.

The accompanying app will calculate and monitor your best performances and devise the most effective workout.

It is, however, only waterproof to one-metre deep so just be careful when you dive in.

The Moov can also be used to analyse running, walking, cardio boxing, bodyweight training, and cycling performance.