1. 7 Minute Workout
OS: Apple or Android
With only seven minutes to spare (a few more with a warm up and cool down) a chair and a smartphone, a total body workout is within reach. Basic movements add up to a high intensity circuit workout created by exercise scientists. The app contains 36 routines, 3 full circuits with different difficulty levels and a tracker to monitor progress. Now there’s really, really no excuse.

Our take: The workouts are simple, easy to follow and there is no learning curve.
Free; 7minuteworkout.jnj.com

2. SweetBeat
OS: Apple
There is much more to heart rate training than knowing the resting heart rate and zones. The hottest catchphrase these days is heart rate variability (HRV), which measures slight changes in the rate that can signal stress, illness, overtraining and even food intolerances. Strap a Bluetooth-equipped monitor on once a day for five minutes after meals to decode what your ticker is trying to tell you. SweetBeat tracks HRV to make recommendations on training (go easy or go hard today), destressing and foods that may be problematic.

Our take: A little complicated to get the hang of at first, but the overtraining monitoring is especially helpful for serious athletes.
$5; sweetwaterhrv.com

3. Pact
OS: Apple or Android
Motivated by the bottom line more than the line of your bottom? Pact hits where it hurts: This app asks users to commit to either exercise, healthy eating or food tracking and then rewards or penalizes users based on their follow-through. The app deducts a pre-chosen amount ($5 or $10) from your bank account for each day missed and pays if goals are met from a pool of other users who’ve failed. Yes, cheating is theoretically possible, but at the peril of a waistline.

Our take: Setting that monetary value per vegetable consumed was scary. And getting into the habit of recording each green eaten was harder than eating healthy.
Free, sans slacking; gym-pact.com