Clearly 2014 is the year to get into shape. Everyone from Google to Apple and all the other technology companies in between are pushing new health and fitness apps and devices. Now even Microsoft has jumped on the band wagon with Bing Health and Fitness.
Instead of manufacturing an expensive wearable, Microsoft opted to bring health and fitness to Windows Phone users in the form of several apps. The first, called Health and Fitness, actually tracks your workouts, diet, medicine use and encourages you to improve your overall well-being. The app has three main sections: Diet Tracker, Cardio Tracker and GPS Tracker. Obviously the diet tab helps you count calories so that you don't overeat and ruin all your hard work. The cardio tab keeps track of all your workouts and suggests hundreds of routines for you to choose from, while the GPS tab monitors how far you've run, walked, biked etc.
The app will even sends you motivational messages like a real personal trainer or coach would. The app also gets concerned for your health if you're not feeling well and has a Symptom Checker so you can find out what's ailing you. The app also syncs all of your health and fitness data to your other Windows 8 devices, making it easier to track your progress. The app is available in 50 different languages, but sadly it's only in the Windows app store, so no Android or iOS users can benefit yet.
Perhaps the best thing about the new Bing Health and Fitness app is that it consolidates several fitness apps into one convenient app. Typically, the fitness tracker and calorie counter are two separate apps and it can be hard to gauge your progress. It's also quite convenient that the workouts your are using to burn the calories you are consuming are also included in the app. In a sense, Bing Health and Fitness has one of the most logical setups for those looking to improve their health with the help of an app.
Microsoft also launched several other new apps, including Bing Food and Drink, which gives you recipe ideas and lets you make shopping lists so you don't forget a single ingredient. The app features a lot of images to tempt your taste buds, so perhaps you shouldn't download this app if your goal is to get fit and you don't quite have the will power to resist.
In addition, Microsoft introduced the Bing Travel app, which gives you suggestions of where to go and how to get there. A lot of the suggestions are based on reviews, but you can also check out the pictures to get an idea of where you're headed, too.
