EndoMondo - the Best App Ever this week

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EndoMondo Pro workout screen

EndoMondo Pro workout summary

EndoMondo Pro workout map

EndoMondo Pro friends activity

For many, like me, getting enough exercise is hard. It's not simply a matter of time, which many of us lack today, but it's also a motivational issue. While a smartphone can't necessarily get your boss to cancel that early morning staff meeting to free up your schedule, it is possible, with the right application, for your smartphone to help on the motivational side of things.

For me, that app is Endomondo Pro, which is available for most smartphone platforms (I use it on Android). It's a great multi-sport tracking application that can keep track of just about any type of exercise-related activity. Activities like biking, hiking, running, kayaking, aerobics - even cricket and polo - are all supported. For outdoor activities, the application will make use of your phone's GPS to track your route on a map. Endomondo will also track laps to highlight your fastest and slowest times, and will automatically create lap split times each mile for non-lap related sports like biking.

You start a session by picking sport. Then you have the option to select or create a workout with specific goals, such as completing a distance in some period of time or besting a recently logged workout entered into Endomondo by a friend. You start your workout by hitting the big green START button or by tapping on the countdown button, which will give you time to get into starting position with your phone tucked safely away.

Once underway, you'll receive speed, distance, pace, and calorie information on your phone's display, with a map view of your in-progress workout just a swipe away. Endomondo supports wireless heart rate monitors and cycling cadence accessories, and can even give you audio feedback through a Bluetooth or wired headset.

After you have completed your pound-shedding workout, Endomondo can upload your workouts to its own site or Facebook, so that your friends can loathe themselves a bit more, wishing that they were as healthy-living as you.

It's a great app that is available in free and paid "Pro" versions on all of the major smartphone platforms, so get your geek on while you exercise. Other similar apps to consider are RunKeeper and AllSport GPS.

"Best App Ever" is a feature on MobileBurn.com where we point out some of our favorite apps. They don't have to be new, but they will be applications that we actually use ourselves and truly like. If you have an idea for an app we should check out, contact us here.