Running: an exercise loved by some and loathed by most.
Despite this love-it-or-hate-it relationship, we find ourselves doing it anyway, because, well, it’s good for you — and your blood pressure, mood, brain, memory, heart and more.
Now, a new app is about to launch with the goal of making running more exciting — and less sucky.
Called Perfect Run, the app tracks your run and heart rate while interrupting your usual jog with guided exercises and suggested repetitions. Users can customize their own workouts or select from a preloaded set while running the app alongside their own music on Apple watch or mobile.
“A lot of people think running is boring and monotonous,” said founder Joel Hargett. “This app breaks it up. You never go more than four to five minutes at a time before stopping to complete a movement. It’s fun, but most importantly, it’s functional.”
A lot of people think running is boring and monotonous. This app breaks it up... It’s fun, but most importantly, it’s functional.”
Hargett, a University of Texas track team alum and personal trainer, designed the app from runs and exercises he once used during training.
“I’ve always enjoyed running two, three, four miles at a time,” said Hargett. “In the offseason, I’d train myself by going for a jog and randomly stopping to mix in exercises along the way.”
Hargett got to work creating it about two years ago, when the idea popped into his head while showering.
“Perfect Run has a little bit of science behind it, but what I’m really trying to do is integrate movements that hit on all three planes of motion: sagittal, frontal and transverse,” said Hargett. “When you run, you’re only moving in one plane. Our app, on the other hand, offers a more complete total body workout.
Set to launch later this week, the app features 16 exercises with instructions for each movement, including push ups, planks, squats, sit ups, planks and rocket jumps. Users can deselect activities chosen from preset workouts or add new ones to a customized plan. Perfect Run also offers weekly fitness challenges, aptly named the Perfect Challenge, that promote healthy competition within small groups users can join over the app.
According to Hargett, Perfect Run plans to release a premium version later this year, giving users a larger exercise bank and link to social media platforms and other fitness tracking apps.
