Top 5 online tools to help kick start your fitness regime in 2016

Getting and staying in shape is easily one of the most common New Year resolutions that people make, but it is also one of the ones that people seem to find hard to stick to.

The aim of this piece is to highlight a few of the online tools and plans that are available to help you retain your motivation and meet your fitness goals.

1. Zombies, Run
   Do you think fearing having your brains eaten by a marauding invasion of zombies would motivate you to keep running? If so, this mobile fitness app could be ideal for you. It casts you in the role of Runner 5, who is a key gatherer and equipment handler for Abel Township, which is fighting off a zombie attack. It features 23 different missions for working your way through, including a 20k challenge, and will interrupt your music to let you know that the undead are hot on your heels.
2. Commitment contract
   Sometimes the risk of losing something can be a very powerful form of motivation and that is what an online commitment contract involves. Basically you sign it in front of friends or family and have to pay a penalty if you don’t uphold your end of the agreement and complete the required exercise. The penalties can range from public admission of failure to actual financial ones, depending on how much motivation you think you will need.
3. Online roulette wheel
   Sometimes the exercise routine can become just that: a dull, samey routine. This is where the online roulette wheel, which was devised by Ladbrokes, comes in. It works in similar fashion to the ones you will find at online casino sites, but where the wheel stops does not determine whether you win or lose money, but what exercise you will do. It adds some random unpredictability that can be just the thing to shake up your fitness programme and stop you losing interest.
4. Pocket yoga
   Yoga can be a brilliant way to get yourself in shape, but also a rather expensive one. However, this mobile app provides you with a comprehensive set of yoga workouts that can be downloaded to your phone, allowing you to maintain a daily yoga routine from home and without having to pay exorbitant class fees.
5. Exergaming
   Combining the exercise process with an enjoyable activity is a great way to boost motivation and exergaming sees it mixed with games. Since the first exergames launched back in the 1980s, it has become very popular, with modern examples including EA Sports Active, Wii Fit, PCGamerBike and iSTEP. Most of these are so much fun; you will forget that they are also getting you in shape.

Try out some of these tools or plans and you should find yourself far more motivated to shed those pounds.