Many of us have tons third-party apps on our phones. But you may be amazed at how many your Apple or Android phone can do out of the box. This extends to fitness and health tracking.You don't have to search for new apps or buy a new watch if you want to improve your physical health, even after a global pandemic. Everything you need is already in your phone.Google FitGoogle Fit, as the name implies, is Google's fitness tracking app. It comes preinstalled on Android phones. If you don't have it, you can download it from the Google Play Store. It's cross-platform unlike Apple's version. You can find the iOS version here. Although Google Fit may not be the best health and fitness app, it does enough to cover the basics.Two rings dominate the home screen, which show heart points and steps. Scroll down to see all that Google Fit can track, including sleep and weight. These metrics might be something you want to track in the future. However, you have the option to manually enter data or ignore them at this time.Google Fit tracks activity in terms heart points. David Nield via GoogleBefore you do anything, make a list of your daily goals. Tap Profile and tell Google Fit how many steps and heart points you would like to complete each day. You can also enter your birth date, weight, height, and gender to help the app calculate and assess your stats more accurately.Google Fit should automatically log your running and walking steps. If this is not happening, open the Android Settings screen and tap Apps and Notifications. Next, tap Apps and permissions. You can check if the app has permission to track your activity via movements that are detected by your phone. You'll begin to create a picture of your daily exercise if you have your phone.You can purchase additional smartwatches or chest straps to track more activity. However, if you are just starting out, you can still add these workouts manually. Tap the plus button (lower left) to add an activity. You can specify what type of activity you have done, how long it took and an estimate of how hard it made your heart work.
