jogging

The hardest part of losing weight, eating right and getting in shape is not the exercise. It's in your head - it's understanding and remembering the benefit of physical fitness. It's that mental barrier that many people fail to knock down.

When we come home from work, tired, fed up and starving it's the barrier that stops us from preparing the right meal. Instead, we opt for eating junk food until the void is filled. For now.

The number one cure for this problem is to have a fitness buddy to encourage you, pick you up when you're feeling down and maybe even shame you for not going for that run. But we don't all have those. That's where the magic of the Interwebs comes in!

Phitter

benefits physical fitness

Like Twitter? Good. Then this one is for you. Phitter is an online web app which allows you to post health, diet and exercise 'Phits'. It works in pretty much the same way as Twitter, right down to using '@' to reply to messages and even the real-time stream of 'Phits' looks almost identical to Twitter's.

It has only launched recently but already there are loads of positive reviews and stories going around. By giving people daily reminders of the benefit of physical fitness through encouragement, tips, advice and conversation throughout the day it assists them in overcoming that mental barrier of 'I can't be bothered' when the novelty of getting fit starts to wear off.

Traineo

fitness motivational sites

This website is designed for those who like a bit of social media - but not the intensity of Twitter/Phitter. Put simply, this is an online community of people getting fit and staying healthy. You're put into small groups with each member playing the role of 'motivator' for the others and reminding them of the benefit of physical fitness in their lives. If someone needs help, they're helped. If they need encouragement, they're encouraged. If they're feeling down, they're uplifted.

The beauty behind this is that you're put into close contact with others rather than an entire network. This makes it similar to having an exercise buddy in real life.

Your stats (weight, BMI, goals etc...) are also recorded and displayed. These are there to motivate you and to let the others know how you're getting on.

Fit Day

benefits of physical fitness

Fit day is for those who don't embrace the social media scene. See this as more of a tool - there to keep track of your progress, plan your future fitness regime and to give yourself that boost to get off the couch.

Features include a calorie counter, weight loss and goals area, detailed nutrition for thousands of foods and long-term diet analysis and advice.

One of my favourite features about Fit Day was the Journal. This allows the user to make quick entries as regards their progress and more importantly their personal opinions, feelings and reflections on their fitness and the work involved. Given the fact that journals are proven to improve your analysis of your own life and act as a catalyst for action taking, the importance of this feature shouldn't be overlooked.

Another series of great articles you should also look at are :

One Hundred Pushups - A Geeky Pushup Workout Program To Get In Shape - Tobias.

MedHelp- A Mental & Physical Fitness Log to Monitor your Health - Ryan

Best Workout Websites That Combine Technology and Fitness - Ryan

So how do you keep in shape? Do you use apps and websites to help you? Or do you go it alone?

Image Attribution: MikeBaird