8 Best Android Apps for Health and Fitness

Spring has sprung, summer's around the corner — it's time to get outside and get in shape. We know your iPhone-owning counterparts have plenty of apps for tracking their calories and kilometers to stay in shape, but there are plenty of health-related apps in the Android Market, too.

 
Here are eight highly rated free and paid Android apps that will help you get and stay in shape. If you've got recommendations — particularly for apps that will help folks get outdoors while the weather's nice — please let us know about them in the comments.

1. CardioTrainer + Racing

This app combines the free CardioTrainer with a racing application that challenges users to beat their own best times. Motivational features include a virtual race simulator, complete with a voice telling the user exactly how far behind or ahead he is. In addition to the racing module, the free CardioTrainer app can be enhanced with a weight loss module, which will cost you another $2.99 in the Android Market.

2. Fast Food Calorie Counter

Even when you're trying to watch your weight, it's sometimes impossible to resist the allure of fast food. Whether you're in a hurry or have a sudden craving for a Frosty, this app can help you mitigate the disastrous effects of too many fried, mayonnaise-drenched, delicious snacks. The app tracks and serves data for almost 9,000 items from 72 fast food restaurants. Data includes calories, fat grams, fiber, carbs and protein. There's also a free version of this app, Fast Food Calorie Counter Lite.

3. Endomondo Sports Tracker

This is a great application for runners, cyclists, joggers, rollerskaters/rollerbladers, or folks who simply like to take a walk from time to time. It helps you track your time, distance, speed and altitude, and keeps a history of your workouts. The app integrates with Google Maps and your audio playlist in addition to the website, to allow for a more detailed analysis of your progress.

4. Calorie Counter by Fat Secret

Here's a simple tool for those who'd like to keep track of their calories and other nutrition facts. This app also figures the recommended daily intake for a user to achieve his or her fitness and weight goals, and has a built-in barcode scanner to make finding foods a snap. As they say, "The more you know..."

5. AllSport GPS

This app is on the spendier side of the Android Market, but many users rave about its capabilities. AllSport GPS allows users to track routes, distance, time, speed and calories burned. Users get maps, virtual races, downloadable routes, elevation and speed graphs. The app also lets you share workouts online, including on Facebook.

6. Beer Gut Fitness

If you're worried about your intake of empty calories from all those frosty beers and caipirinhas you plan to drink this spring and summer, this might be the app for you. It tells you when you're safe to have a drink — calorically speaking — and when you need to exercise. It even shows you what kinds of exercise you can do and for how long.

7. Absolute Fitness

If you want an all-in-one app to track your food intake, exercise regimen and fitness goals, check out Absolute Fitness. It includes features such as stats, charts, food analysis and online backup of your data.

8. Backpacker GPS Trails

For the true outdoors lover, or for those who need a little mobile support to feel at home in the wild, Backpacker provides a portable trip database and personal navigation device. You can track yourself, geotag pics and vids, share your trips and download maps. Best of all, users can find nearby trails, including thousands of trips endorsed by the readers and editors of Backpacker magazine.

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