When it comes to fitness having a few good quality mobility apps around is a great way to help keep the motivation going and give a focus on training. They allow you to know at a glance your progress and where you need to do a little more work or change your exercises to properly balance out your training. If you do not have time to get to the gym or you do not have a coach or trainer you can use your apps to help with your mobility exercises and also to learn the proper form. Even if you go regularly to the gym and have coaching or belong to a group class, fitness and mobility apps are a great way to give you direction and a point to aim for when exercising either alone or in a group.

The best five fitness and mobility apps I have found are:

1. BODYSPACE

This app is very helpful for beginners and veterans alike. It allows you to follow other people’s work routines or create your own workouts. It’s very easy to change workout or routines as well as working on different body areas with a variety of equipment. Each exercise has a tutorial showing the correct way and from to do it as well as tools for keeping track of your workout history.

2. “GET RUNNING” which is a –COUCH 25K- app

This app will encourage you to start your fitness routine with running and give you all the details of your progress and the tools to improve one step at a time. It helps you with knowing when to run; when to rest and when to cool down from 5 minute runs to a full marathon and is usually under $5, great value.

3. MYFITNESSPAL

This mobility app keeps track of your weight-loss and fitness program. You can use it as a food diary and track your total food intake know you nutritional counts when creating recipes making balancing input with output much easier.

4. FITBIT

This app is great for logging all the steps of your workouts as well as your heart rate while you’re exercising, while you’re at rest or asleep. These recordings give a view of your work history and make it easier to see where you’re going and where you need extra work. It is also a social app that can bring out your competitive streak with others doing a similar exercise to keep you motivated and challenged.

5. SECONDS

Helps to spice up your workouts and is especially great for “Tabata”. You can format your workouts using the exercises that you prefer using the equipment you have and intervals that are best for you and can let you know your progress

Many working woman have little time left in their busy lifestyles so it is important that they get the best value from their workouts possible.

Here are some top mobility exercises that will help you retain all over body movement as well as strength training as an added bonus.

Shoulder Sweeps

Lie on your mat on your right side with your knees stacked together, making a 90 degree bend

Stretch your arms out in line with your chest

Sweep the arm at the top up and above your head in a full 180 degree arc while following your hand with your eyes

Return to the start position and bring your arm over your body with your fingers reaching to the sky

Do this stretch eight times and then change sides and do another eight

Crab walk

Begin in a reverse bridge position with your hands under your shoulders and feet under your knees while your chest faces upwards

Walk on your feet and hands in one direction the back in another

Keep your hips lifted and core strong

Do eight repeats

Crab Reach

Start sitting on your mat with your legs at hip distance apart and your heels pressed into the mat

Place your hands on the mat behind you

Lift your butt up so you hover over the mat

Push up your hips high above a reverse bridge while you take your right hand from the mat and stretch it with a slight rotation towards your left side

Slowly untwist your hand while you lower your hips to a hover close to the mat

Repeat this on the other side with a total of eight reps per side

Shin Box

Begin sitting on the mat with your knees in a z-sit position towards the left

Have your arms stretched out at shoulder height and straight out in front

Push yourself to a kneeling position using your hips and glutes while your hands are back behind your body

Slowly using muscle control lower yourself back to the start position and switch sidesso your knees face to the right and repeat for eight reps per side

Three D Kneeling Lunge

Begin in a kneeling position

Push your left leg forward in line

Push your left foot back towards your knee to the left at 45 degrees then @ 90 degrees

Push out in line with your body then return to start the stretch again

Do eight reps per side

Cossack Squat

Begin with a wide legged stance

Squat down on your butt with your weight towards your left heel

Straighten your right leg and lift your leg from the mat while you point your toes to the sky

Push through your heels and go back to the start. Then switch sides and do eight reps per side

Children today spend so much time sitting at school or doing the computer stuff that they are not getting the full range of movement that they could enjoy so it is appropriate for them to do some mobility exercises.

The following mobility exercises are fun and low key but will ensure your children are supple and flexible. All stretching should be done when the body and muscles are warmed up so either a little exercise or may be  jogging, riding a bike or swimming should be considered first.

Child’s Pose is very relaxing

Kneel on the mat with the toes touching and knees slightly apart

Slowly bend the head over so forehead touches the ground in front. The arms can be at the side or placed in front to steady with the palms on the mat

Exhale and inhale deeply and hold the pose for 5 breaths

The Cat Cow is good for the child’s spine and strengthens the abdominal muscles

Begin on all fours with the spine and neck in a comfortable neutral position

Keep the back flat a bit like a table with the eyes looking straight down to the mat

Inhale and slowly drop the stomach down towards the mat while lifting the head and neck up

While exhaling, lift up the stomach and arch the spine like a cat with the eyes looking towards the belly button

Do 5 to 10 of each stretch, then relax

Arm Stretch

With the feet together, stand straight and raise the arms straight up with the elbows slightly bent, hands touching or apart

Try a little back bend, but keep the chin straight

Bring the arms down until they are straight out in front with the thumbs pointed down

Gently swing both arms to the back like trying to squeeze a ball between your shoulder blades and bring forward again. Repeat 5 times

Shoulder stretch

Extend your right arm straight out in front and place the left wrist on the right are a little above the elbow

Pull the right arm across the body with your left until you feel a stretch

Repeat with the opposite arms 5 times each

Butterfly Stretch

Sit on the mat with the soles of the feet together, held with the hands

Place the elbowscan rest on the knees or between them

Gently push down on the knees to flap the butterfly wings

Gently move the head forward to add a back stretch

Leg Stretch

Stand facing a wall with your left arm out to support you

Bend your right leg and grab it with your right hand

Gently press your foot towards your body until you feel it stretch the front of your thigh

Hold this for 10 to 30 seconds, and switch legs

Place both hands on the wall and one foot near the wall

Extend your other leg back until you feel the stretch and hold for 30 seconds

Australia now leads the world in producing mobility apps, they are no longer just for amusement like playing games or watching movies. There is now a mobility app for almost anything you can think of from finding where the local toilets are situated to having a fresh hot wholesome meal delivered right to you, no matter where you are, (within reason). There are apps that can find the best airline flight or where and how much it costs to catch the next bus home.

Mobility apps are becoming an essential part of life in Australia and the rest of the world. This is especially true for the younger generation that grew up with a cell phone and playstation. Unlike those of us who are watching our grandchildren using these new smart phones and still trying to figure how to turn them on, but that’s progress.

Some of the things that mobility apps can do help you improve your lifestyle are:

Triplify is the Australian Traveller’s Apps guide

If you want to get off the tourist route and mingle with the locals, find out where the best beach parties, local markets and outback festivals are Triplify is the app for you.

TransitTimes+

The ideal app for finding all the public transport routes, fare and timetables across Australia.

Gumtree

This is the app for buying or selling anything either locally or nationwide. Used buses, motorbikes, cars to books and hand crafts, finding flat mates or a new home Gumtree has it all.

Party with a Local

This app gets you in touch with locals in the area to get you right in there so you have a real live guide to explore all the party animal hangouts of the city.

SurfStitch Surf Check

Getting an indepth and detailed report on the weather and surf conditions, including water temperatures, wind and cloud conditions. This app gives locally produced surf reports and associated info so you know which beaches are a go and the ones to avoid each day. Maybe you just like the sun and some “bird” or “buck” watching.

Deliveroo

The times when you do not want to drive to the restaurant or are just too busy, Deliveroo will get your dinner to you when you need it and piping hot, just use your smart phone and it’s done.

Pocket Weather

An up to the minute weather reports as well as the latest predictions for the following week.

Beat the Q

This app allows you to order your in advance at many of the best hot cafes around, so you don’t have to wait in a queue.

Australian Slang

If you’re new to the area or the country this app helps understand the local lingo.

TransferWise

The perfect app for giving or receiving money anytime from local or overseas, so you are never short of cash.

Stretching is an essential and an integral part of every workout program, especially mobility stretches because flexibility is considered to be part of the five most important components of everyone’s fitness It should be included in all regular training regimes and these are the main reason why:

Reduction of Injury Risk

When a person is flexible they reduce their risk of becoming injured from extensive movements and this allows you to safely increase your range of joint movement and motion.

Stretching helps to stop the degeneration of your joints and muscles.

The act of stretching your muscles loosens up and prepares the body for the impact of exercise; this reduces the chance of any injury. A strong muscle that is pre-stretched is better able to resist stress than an un-stretched muscle.

Stretching helps to improve a person’s posture, especially stretching the shoulders, chest and lower back. The flexibility gained from stretching in the hip flexors, hamstrings and muscles attached to the pelvis help to relieve stress on the spine and nerves of the back reducing the chances of lower back pain.

The body’s stress levels can decrease with stretching because as they warm up they hold less tension, this allows your muscles to relax properly. Muscles that are always tense tend to cut off much of their own blood circulation causing oxygen starvation and damage.

Stretching helps to increase the blood supply to all areas of the body especially the muscles and joints. This provides the necessary nutrient to reach the places it’s needed quickly and efficiently.

Mobility stretches improve the mechanical efficiency and performance of joints because it makes them more energy efficient, they will also improve your “body awareness” and increase your body’s ability to learn and perform different types of skilled movements.

Post Exercise, Stretching

Stretching after exercise or maintenance exercise is now considered to be just as important as pre-exercise stretches. By stretching the muscles you used during your workout session gets the muscles back to their normal length, which can help to alleviate any potential pain or stiffness because it reduces the tightening and shortening effect that often happens while exercising.

Usually, a maintenance stretch is held for between 0 to 5 seconds and repeated five to ten times.

This is often important for females as it helps relieve or reduce the chances of dysmenorrhea (painful Menstruation).

You Should Avoid Stretching

If you have had any recent bone fractures, strains, sprains or cramps except under the direction of your medical provider such as a physiotherapist.

If your joints or muscles are infected or inflamed.

If you have any signs of osteoporosis or are suffering from gout or other forms of arthritis.

If you feel any unusual pain when moving the joint or the muscles when stretched.