Any good free fitness apps?

I use an app called Strong to track workouts. I hate paying for apps, but this one gets everything right. Worth a look. If you're looking for nutrition, MyFitnessPal is the go-to.

 

Agree with JJ on MyFitnessPal. For the other, I think you need to be a bit more specific. Are you looking for something to track workouts or something to help direct workouts? Are you lifting, crossfit, bike, run, ????

 

Keeping in mind that I am FAR from an expert but I will give you my read on this.

Initial Assessment:
You do plenty of exercise and are probably in great shape overall. Rowing is primarily back and core, you get some bicep, shoulder, and other stuff but they are somewhat incidental. The cycling is primarily legs and cardio. Notably missing is chest & triceps. Your back is probably also very strong in some areas and somewhat weak in others, a bit out of balance.

Suggestions:
The body only likes/tolerates so much imbalance in your build. In my case, legs are behind and have stalled other areas. In your case I would guess chest is the weak link. SO, I would focus gym time mixing chest and offsetting back. If you hit it twice per week it won't be too bad for getting sore. I find that 3x is minimum but I do more muscle groups since it is my primary exercise. The back exercises will hit bicep as well but you can mix them in if you have time or want to do that.

Many people arrive in the gym and want to get 6-pack abs so they try sit-ups etc. There is a saying in the gym "Abs are made in the kitchen." IE: you get them to show with low body fat and no matter how much workout you do, it won't offset that requirement. I suspect that you need to look at the calorie intake and manage that for a while. It sounds like your weight is stable so you just need to get the lbs off and you can likely maintain, once your body gets used to operating at the new body fat level. MyFitnessPal is all about tracking calories and helping you to understand where you are getting them. That lets you make easy tradeoffs to reduce the calories a bit and get the weight off. That is it's primary purpose and is where you will find that 15 lbs. You can do that without paying them, they want $ if you are tracking nutrients etc.

Apps/Programs:
I work with a trainer but success with a trainer comes down to finding a good match/synergy and that isn't easy. I haven't used any of the training apps to plan a program so I can not comment in any meaningful way. Let us know how it goes with the program you are using.

 

Best apps (paid) are Carbon and RP Strength.
Both are build by people that actually know their **** versus tech nerds wanting to cash in on a ‘hype’….!

The free apps are a great way to get started and get a sensible idea of what you are eating and tracking calories. Most people tend to under estimate their calories and thus eat too much.
They are not great once you get to an advanced/intermediate but as a start you can’t go wrong!

 

Yup, as Skidkid said you are exercising a lot. So overall volume is not the problem.
It’s probably calories or food choices and timing.
Once you get a feel for what you are genuinely eating on a day to day basis you can easy adjust.

Starting with a program is the hardest. Those initial days are weird as you need to switch things up a bit from your standard diet.
But once you do get a rhythm it becomes easier and easier to the point where you hardly have to track calories as you simply ‘ know’ what you need to do to gain weight or lose it.

Again using the free apps is a great way to get started. But do make sure you have an honest conversation with yourself about what your goals are and what you are willing to do to reach them.
Next step is to figure out what foods work for you and which you like and dislike.
I know I’ d rather be obese then being forced to eat raw fish each day! Yet I do extremely well on beef.
So make sure you go with diet choices you know you like and thus can sustain day in and out.
Don’t go for a diet that makes you feel horrible. That’s only doable for a number of days/weeks until you fall of the wagon again.

Eat what you like, in a sensible manner, and you’ll never diet a day in your life yet look like you do!

I’m a sucker for weight lifting and time and time again the importance of weight lifting is becoming more and more important.
In fact, try to find any psychologist that isn’t a big proponent of weight training… it is the fountain of youth.
Having said that, try and indeed do 2 full body workouts if you go to the gym 2 days a week.
It’s not ideal, but you can do a lot with those 2 sessions and realy chance your build.
Both you and your wife.
In fact, I would stress that weight training for women, as they age, becomes even more important due to osteoporosis.

Good luck

 

+1 for Strong. I have used it since Nov 2014. It’s elegant in its simplicity. There’s a free version and a paid version. I pay, and it’s more than worth it. I have measured every rep, set, movement, and workout since I got it. It tracks PR for weight, volume, 1RM, etc. I absolutely love it.

 

My favorite one is "Jefit"

 

I used MyFitnessPal exclusively, every day for about 2 years back in 2013-2014,
stopped in maybe 2017, have not been back.(stopped because I stopped going to the gym)

So I installed it on my phone today - yikes - $20 a month? It was free when I used it.
I don't use it enough - I know what to do by now.
I fully deleted my account and uninstalled it.