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Connected Health » Mobile Phone Apps » Yog connects you up with other runners to stay motivated

Yog connects you up with other runners to stay motivated

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Many of us plan on eating our own body weight in meat and mince pies over the next few weeks, so just like every year January needs to be all about getting back in shape.

Although fancy gyms and over-priced personal trainers are a tempting option, we really don’t think you can ever beat a good run outside to get your heart beating and body moving. However, one of the main problems when it comes to running solo is that it’s hard to stay motivated and keep going, especially when it’s really cold outside. Well a new app called Yog aims to make your workouts a lot more enjoyable by helping runners of all levels connect with each other and organise fun jogs together.

Using the app you can schedule runs by inviting friends through Facebook or your contacts list, but don’t worry you don’t have to be in the same neighbourhood, this is all about virtually running and competing. So once the race is about to start everyone who’s opted in will get a countdown and the app then works to track how much each person has run, serving up audio commentary when you reach a certain distance or overtake another competitor.

Peter Pelberg, the Co-Founder of Yog, told Mashable that the initial idea for the app came when he moved to New York and found it hard to workout:

“I had been playing team sports all my life and when I moved to New York, I kind of stopped […] I realized it was the lack of community.”

For those who may only just be starting to take exercise seriously the thought of racing other users may seem a bit daunting, but the truth is competing really does work and encourages users to push themselves more than they usually would, which is a mechanic employed by other health and fitness tech companies, like Nike+ and FitBit.

It seems Yog is just the beginning for Pelberg and the team, as they hope to bring a similar offering to different exercises. Pelberg said:

“Our vision is to create a global community of people exercising, whether it’s biking, rowing or swimming. You can go find someone to exercise with at any skill or experience level in real time.”

Yog is available from iTunes for free now.

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