TOP 9 Things that Make a Healthy Lifestyle Easy

Technological development is unstoppable and one can see its benefits in a wide range of industries. Fitness and a healthy lifestyle are no exception, and today there are many solutions available to make things simpler or better. Examples include popular fitness apps, bracelets, and watches, which enable you to move constantly and stick to your goals more precisely. Today, we will look at a number of items that should not be missing in the equipment of a healthy lifestyle enthusiast.

Tools that make a healthy lifestyle easier

Various gadgets can help track burned calories, heart rate, or overall progress during training. Whether you do strength training, run, love cycling, or any other sport. Additionally, these gadgets might make it simpler for you to learn the basic guidelines, including those related to the diet. Functional clothing, on the other hand, is typically made of breathable materials that drain away moisture and sweat to assist your performance. However, we will discuss the specific things that will facilitate your healthy lifestyle in more detail below.

If you want to try tracking your diet and calorie intake, make sure you avoid the most common mistakes we discussed in our article: 10 Most Common Mistakes When Counting and Entering Calories in Apps.

1.2. Fitness apps for specific diets

An interesting solution in this regard is offered by Cronometer, which contains exact portion sizes. It also considers pregnant women, who have the option of selecting a particular profile with higher calorie content. Additionally, you can track adherence to particular diets, such as the paleo, low-carb, or low-fat vegetarian diets. Based on this, the macronutrient recommendations are changing. Applications that are focused on intermittent fasting like Paleo, My Macros+ or Simple are also helpful in this aspect.

If you are more interested in this topic, read our article The Complete Guide to Intermittent Fasting.

1.3. Fitness apps for training

Fiit is a well-known training app. Whether you want to gain strength, improve your fitness, or lose weight, it offers a selection of training videos focused on different goals. It includes training suggestions from experts, and the majority of the exercises don’t require any specialized equipment. As a result, you can do it in the comfort of your own home. Other popular training applications include FitiFy, Freeletics, and Nike Training Club. You can use one of our accessories to make exercising at home more challenging. [9–⁠12]

If you prefer to workout at home, make sure not to miss our article How to Create a Proper Training Program for Home Workouts?  

1.4. Fitness apps for tracking sports performance

You can find different applications for the specific needs of athletes. One of the most popular is Strava, which combines social and exercise-related features. It offers recording options for numerous other activities but is particularly well-liked among runners and cyclists. It allows you to analyze your results and track the route using GPS. The app also includes a number of challenges that you can finish with your friends. Sharing training photos is a new feature that is included. Applications for tracking athletic performance include Runkeeper and Runtastic, for example. [13–⁠15]

You might be interested in these products:

2. Sportswear

Everyday clothing is designed for you to look good, be comfortable, and warm. It is not suited for sports activities like running, cycling, HIIT, or weightlifting. Sweating causes it to easily seep through, leaving you feeling uncomfortable and wet after a workout. High-quality sportswear is made to effectively wick away sweat, support your muscles, and enable you to train harder and get better results. It also makes your life a whole lot easier because it doesn’t need any special care. It should be noted, however, that you should wash it in accordance with the directions on the label to ensure its longevity. [16–⁠18]

Quality functional clothing should offer the following features:

• sweat-wicking helps keep you dry throughout your workout. Choose clothing composed of synthetic fabrics that are distinguished by reliable evaporation of sweat and moisture, such as polyester, nylon, or polyamide.
• breathability allows air to pass through the fabric to keep comfort during your exercise. Cotton is one of the most breathable materials, and different mesh components can also make clothing more breathable overall.
• compression to support your performance and boost blood flow. As a result, the working muscles can receive more oxygen and nutrients. Compression clothing can therefore help in pain relief, performance enhancement, and support regeneration in joints, ligaments, and tendons. Various degrees are available, with a compression level of 15–30 mmHg being advised for beginners.
• specific parameters depending on a certain activity, where, for example, in the case of performance athletes, it can be better aerodynamics, which you get with a tighter cut. Additionally, you can find clothing that keeps you cool or, on the opposite, warm. Higher resistance or technologies that keep you from getting wet if you are caught in the rain while doing sports are also a welcome bonus.

Such sportswear for men and women can be found, for example, in our STRIX offer, which combines modern design and uncompromising functional properties. Be sure to read the following articles if sportswear is your topic of interest:

• What is the Best Gym or Running Wear? Discover the Properties of Materials.
• Functional Clothing: Why It Matters and How It Can Help You Improve Your Performance?

4. Smart gadgets

The market also offers a wide range of additional smart devices, making the category of tools that support a healthy lifestyle extremely broad. An excellent example is a Smart Composition Scale with Wi-Fi that provides you with extra options in addition to self-weighing.

For instance, it can measure the amount of bone and muscle mass, the percentage of water in the body, or body fat, including visceral fat. You can also find a smart skipping rope that counts jumps or counts time. Moreover, manufacturers’ technological and creative abilities know no limits, which is why you can easily discover a variety of fitness mirrors, muscle stimulators, and oximeters. Smart bottles and sports cases for a smartphone are also highly popular options for making you remember to drink enough water.

5. Fitness diaries

A fitness diary is unquestionably one of the most useful resources that can be found offline. Athletes and their coaches use it to analyze performance on a regular basis. So it’s useful to make notes on your journey to become a better version of yourself. The date, details about the activity you are doing on that day, and your feelings are usually included.

When strength training, for instance, you record the date, the exact exercises, the number of sets and repetitions, as well as the amount of the load. The fitness diary should also contain a few notes to evaluate your nutrition or details about your performance or training schedule, depending on your goals. In order to understand why you are or are not achieving your goals, it is important that you are honest with yourself when keeping a fitness journal. This will help you choose if you should stick with the current regime or whether something has to be changed. [20]

6. Meal prepping

Diet is one of the key pillars in helping people reach their goals. Due to various daily responsibilities, you might not always have the time needed for its preparation. The solution is to prepare food in advance, e.g. meal prepping. You can easily prepare several portions of food for the next few days, which you only need to reheat later.  You have complete control over everything you eat as a result of this.

The benefit is that you can save time and money, as eating out is not the most affordable option. Additionally, nothing will catch you off guard, and you won’t encounter situations where you must improvise or eat whatever is first available in the refrigerator. You will eat regularly as a result of the meal preparation, which will help you prevent overeating later. Furthermore, maintaining a regular diet is linked to a higher level of success with weight loss. [21]

If you are more interested in the topic of meal prepping, check our article Sample Meal Plan for 2000 kcal.

7. Diagnostic tests

Modern gadgets that can facilitate a healthy lifestyle undoubtedly include home diagnostic tests. They are easy to do at home and they work on a simple basis. The next step is to either assess them yourself or send them by courier to the laboratory for a more in-depth analysis. Once the results are available, you can view them online and use them to make your decision on a healthy lifestyle or health care.

Moreover, you may get at-home DNA testing in this category that can show areas that need improvement and get additional information about your genes, health, nutrition, and lifestyle. Many of them will also provide you with recommendations for sports that are best for you. With the use of these tests, you can use a quick way to determine your level of vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, iron deficiency, or gluten intolerance, for example.

If you are interested in this topic and want to know more, read our article Everything You Need to Know About Home DNA Testing.

8. Regeneration accessories

Regeneration ought to be a natural component of training. It regains physical and mental power that has been damaged by previous stress. Its lack carries a number of risks, including muscle pain, fatigue, and poor performance. Massage tools can speed up regeneration, shorten the time required for recovery, and get you back to training as soon as possible. Additionally, they can increase the range of motion, enhance flexibility, reduce muscle discomfort, and improve blood circulation. For effective muscle treatment in the comfort of your home, you can choose, for instance, massage rollers, massage balls or massage guns. [22–⁠24]

If you are more interested in the topic of regeneration, do not miss our article on How to Support Regeneration Using a Massage Gun and Other Tools?

9. Basic tools for a small home gym

Home workout is very popular among many people because nowadays, you don’t necessarily have to go to the gym every day to get in good shape. Bodyweight workout will usually be enough for beginners. But as time goes on and your condition progressively gets better, you can also consider investing in some inexpensive home gym essentials.

The basic home gym equipment includes:

• exercise mats provide stability and protect your floor during a workout
• resistance bands and expanders can make popular workouts like squats, lunges, or push-ups more challenging.
• suspension training set is one of the compact tools for a total-body workout
• weights for stimulating muscle growth and strength training, such as dumbbells

If you are considering investing in home exercise equipment and want to know more detailed information about it, read our article Must-Have Accessories for Your Home Gym.

Conclusion

It’s challenging to live a healthy lifestyle or pursue your goals, but it doesn’t have to be as difficult as it might initially appear. We discussed some of the useful tools in our article. Each gadget has a specific purpose and can facilitate a particular task. Saving time, keeping an eye on sports performance, analyzing the results, or even the exercise itself. In the end, how you approach our journey to a better self and the goal all depends on you. On the other hand, it should be noted that the aforementioned helpers need to be treated with care and shouldn’t be driven simply by the desire to improve the statistics on the display. The most important thing to keep in mind is that participating in sports helps you feel good and happy.

Sources:

[1] My Fitness Pal – https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

[2] YAZIO – https://www.yazio.com/en

[3] Lose It – https://www.loseit.com/

[4] Fatsecret – https://www.fatsecret.com/

[5] MyNetDiary – https://www.mynetdiary.com/

[6] Cronometer – https://cronometer.com/

[7] Paleo – https://paleo.io/

[8] My Macros+ – https://getmymacros.com/

[9] Fiit – https://fiit.tv/

[10] Fitbody App – https://fitbodyapp.com/

[11] Freeletics – https://www.freeletics.com/en/

[12] Nike Training Club – https://www.nike.com/sk/ntc-app

[13] Strava Mobile – https://www.strava.com/mobile

[14] Runkeeper – https://runkeeper.com/cms/

[15] Adidas Runtastic – https://www.runtastic.com/

[16] HOW SPORTSWEAR CAN IMPROVE YOUR OVERALL PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY – https://www.kymirasport.com/blogs/news/how-sportswear-can-improve-your-overall-performance-and-recovery

[17] How To Choose The Right Workout Clothes – https://wellnessed.com/choose-right-workout-clothes/

[18] Florian Azad Engel, Hans-Christer Holmberg & Billy Sperlich - Is There Evidence that Runners can Benefit from Wearing Compression Clothing? – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0546-5

[19] Which Compression Level is Best for Your Body? – https://www.cepcompression.com/blogs/news/understanding-compression-levels-cep-compression

[20] Samantha Clayton - How to Keep a Fitness Journal: Track Your Workouts for Better Results – https://iamherbalifenutrition.com/fitness/workout-journal/

[21] Antonio Paoli, Grant Tinsley, Antonino Bianco, Tatiana Moro - The Influence of Meal Frequency and Timing on Health in Humans: The Role of Fasting – https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/4/719

[22] Sage Rountree - What Happens When You Don’t Recover Properly? – https://www.triathlete.com/training/recovery/happens-dont-recover-properly/

[23] Jonathan Ross - Passive Vs. Active Recovery: Which is More Effective? – https://www.acefitness.org/resources/pros/expert-articles/5456/passive-vs-active-recovery-which-is-more-effective/

[24] HOW MASSAGE THERAPY BENEFITS WORKOUT RECOVERY – https://ridgeathletic.com/how-massage-therapy-benefits-workout-recovery/