Top 5 fitness apps to boost your Vitality points

We all want to get the most out of our medical aid – after all, they try to get as much as they can out of us. Discovery is one of the famous few that actually give a little something back, especially if you’re signed up with Discovery’s Vitality Active Rewards programme, which gives you points for going to regular medical check-ups, hitting the gym, and eating right. To get the most points and get the most out of this programme, folks have turned to various health apps and fitness trackers to make sure Discovery is kept in the loop about every step and heartrate-spike. Phonefinder’s Phil has pumped up his game to help you reach your gains with these top 5 fitness and health tracking apps. So, Phil up on your protein shakes and prepare to get ripped and rewarded! 

First things first: if you haven’t done so already, you’d better download the official Discovery app. Aside from documenting your medical stats, helping you keep track of your claims, and putting you in touch with doctors on your network, this app also lets you see how close you are to reaching your next Vitality goal. These apps work best when they are directly linked to the Discovery app, so read to the end of the article to see how to link your device or app and look forward to sweet, sweet Vitality Active Rewards coming your way.

That’s right! We’re kicking off our list with probably the most popular name in health and fitness tracking in South Africa. Of course, you tend to get the most out of this app, if you have a compatible smartwatch device or some similar wearable tech to go with it – although the app does allow for your smartphone to track some basic stats. With all the bells and whistles, the Fitbit app includes a step counter (walking and running), a heartrate monitor, an exercise calendar, and a food log. You can track your weight, your calorie intake, even your sleep cycles! More importantly, so can Discovery.

Aside from the typical step counter, exercise tracker, and stress management features, the Samsung health app differentiates itself with a food scanning feature that can keep your food log honest and supply you with a thorough rundown of the nutritional data of your meal in a snap of your phone camera. This fitness app also doubles as a resource for the latest news in health trends and workout plans. In case looking in the mirror wasn’t motivation enough, Samsung Health allows you to compete against your friends  for the highest number of daily steps (loser buys the winner a post-gym smoothie) and show off your milestones! Like Apple’s Health app, Samsung Health can operate seamlessly with various other diet trackers and fitness apps, helping you keep an in-depth record of all your health stats and communicate them with Discovery to get the most out of those Vitality points.

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away – and Apple’s Health app will help you track your fitness and boost your vitality points in the meantime. As the name suggests, Apple users have their own unique Health app, which syncs seamlessly with their iPhone and smartwatch. This app has four main focuses: Activity, Sleep, Mindfulness, and Nutrition. Aside from counting your steps and measuring the distance travelled, this app offers you a regular sleep analysis, meditation guidance, and a tracker for various nutritional metrics. It also keeps a record of your body measurements, blood pressure, and blood glucose among other things.

This app is usually preloaded on your new iPhone. Sorry for you android users!

This app is especially helpful to anyone contemplating competing in the next Cape Argus or 947 Cycle Challenge. Since this GPS giant branched out into the wearable technology field, they have become instrumental in mapping out (see what I did there?) personal exercise plans. Kick off your day with a daily overview of your health data, so you can see what personal goals you can strive to smash that day. Analyse your progress with a monthly mileage report or average heartrate or average lap pace over time. From this personal data, you can develop your own workout routine or have the app develop and fill your calendar with a personalised training plan. If you’re not sure what route to run or ride, the Garmin Connect™ app can also plan out a route in your area. Finally, connect with other Connect users over the app to compare routes, stats and show off your progress.

Huawei is proving stiff competition these days (especially where Samsung is concerned) and the fitness app game is no exception. Although this app got off to a bumpy start, it has gained a lot of popularity, since it started talking with Discovery and bumping up users’ Vitality points. This fitness app collects all the data that Discovery Vitality cares about with its walking, running, and cycling modes, while also tracking your sleep, share your data with friends, and helping you set reasonable exercise targets.

While this app comes preloaded on all Huawei smartphones, you can still download the app onto any smartphone of your choice.

While these apps alone are great motivators for your health journey, you may also want to consider complementing them with a corresponding smartwatch or some similar device. As it happens, being a member of Discovery Vitality can help you get a good price on these devices – just give Discovery a call to find out more.

To link your device to your Discovery Vitality account, you need to get onto either the Discovery app or website and register via the “Gym, devices, and fitness” page. Special heads-up for you guys, who like to use the Samsung Health app and Apple’s Health App: you can only add your app or device in the Discovery app on the “Devices and Apps” screen under Vitality. Now, get active and rack up those Vitality points!