Many people start off the new year making a resolution to get healthier, lose weight or get more active. I usually tell myself that I'm going to get more active and exercise more because I know all of the amazing benefits that come with being more active and exercising regularly. It's the medicine that you don't have to take, it's the medicine you just have to do.
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Over the last few months, I've been trying out the free app from ParticipACTION. Yes, the ParticipACTION you might remember from your school days. ParticipACTION has been a Canadian staple since 1971. According to Wikipedia, ParticipACTION was a response to a 1969 study commissioned by the National Advisory Council for Fitness and Amateur Sport that found that the future of Canadian health was at risk from poor physical fitness. Fast forward 52 years and here we are in 2021 and there are countless references that would state a similar affair. So they've created an app that they hope will help Canadians get more active and arm them with information and tools that can use in the palm of their hands.
ParticipACTION's free app is really, really great. The app is available on Android and iOS Simple to use and full of information, exercise videos, tracking your activity, tips and tricks to help you get moving and more. Right now I'm participating in a challenge called the True North challenge with a team of colleagues to help motivate each other to get active and have some friendly competition. We might even win prizes!
Manually or by syncing your wearable device like an Apple watch or FitBit, you can track your active minutes against your personal activity goal. There are lots of motivational articles, survey questions and videos to watch for your chance to win weekly, monthly and quarterly prizes! I won a $10 Amazon gift card a few weeks ago.
There are lots of apps out there that will help you to monitor, inform and help you form healthier habits but many aren't Canadian and many aren't free. I'm sharing my experiences with the app in hopes that it helps someone to be more active. Like one of the promotional videos from ParticipACTION will tell you, "everything gets better when you get active"
Here's a few screen shots form the app
