I've lost over 50 lbs in the past year primarily by doing a good job of sticking to my diet. However, it's time to step things up a bit and get back into a regular exercise routine. I have an elliptical machine and swimming pool at home as well as some free weights. I'd be lying if I said I knew what I was doing on any of them. Sure I can set the elliptical machine to 30 minutes and go! However, is that enough? Probably not! So if I were to design a fitness App for the iPad I would want to have tons of different exercises in it with pictures, explanations of the exercises as well as videos on how to do them. I'd want to be able to build an exercise program with my own workouts as well as suggested routines and the ability to track my progress.
iFitness HD is exactly what I'd ask for and more
I was quite surprised at how comprehensive this App was and how loaded it is with info. There are over 330 exercises built-in. If that's not enough you can even add your own custom ones. Although there isn't a video for every exercise, the short videos showing you exactly how to perform the exercises are a huge plus. It's rich with tracking abilities too. You can monitor your schedule via a nice built-in calendar and even export your logs via email in CSV (txt format) or PDF. There's even a built-in BMI calculator (I hate looking at that thing! LOL) If you have the iPhone version you can sync the data between them. There's a built in timer for many of the workouts too. This App definitely seems to have it all! However, there's one thing that I would definitely like to see added. One of the problems working out alone is that, well you're alone. There doesn't seem to be any audio in this App. I'd love to have the App count out my repetitions as I do them as well as having an audible time. In other works I'd want more of a workout "video" trainer when possible. The iPad has a nice large display and is great to prop up and watch as you work out. I often sit it on my elliptical machine and watch podcasts while working out. It would be cool to have a workout instructor guide me verbally as well as visually. The only other thing is that the App for some reason doesn't work in landscape view. It's not a big deal just surprising that everything is portrait. Otherwise this App has it all.
You can get iFitness HD for the introductory price of $3.99 here from the 
iFitness HD
iFitness HD allows you to view and get information on over 330 exercises and allows you to track your progress.
- Hooman Zohoor
- Get on App Store
- $3.99
All info was collected on 16th August, 2010 when the app was reviewed.
About Terry White
Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
Terry,
Congratulations on losing the weight!! I know that sticking to a diet can be a tough thing to do, especially since you travel a lot. I have to hand it to you! You did a great job!
Let me know when you want to hit Flat Top Grill again when you are in Chicago. We’ll stick with the low cal, low fat items and still enjoy ourselves.
Thanks for the iFitness HD review. I’ll have to see how this fits into my workout routine.
I also don’t like dieting. I prefer active way of life so I had this app in my mobile. It was really useful but unfortunately it was deleted from the store and now I’m using another one – All-in Fitness – another great iPhone app even with video and sounds and built in pedometer. I offer you to try it.