Fit Radio streams up-tempo tunes to motivate your workout
Available for Android, iOS, and the Web, this amazing app helps you reach the finish line with fun, high-energy music streamed free of charge.
The more I run, the more I realize my regular playlist isn't cutting it. Even with some 150 hand-picked songs, I get bored hearing the same ones over and over. And although they're among my favorite power-pop tunes, they're quite diverse when it comes to tempo. I need songs of at least 128 beats per minute (bpm) to keep me running strong.
Enter Fit Radio, a free app (Android|iOS|Web) that streams up-tempo playlists designed to amp up your workout. It's like Songza for sprinters, or maybe Pandora for bike peddlers.
The app is divided into three main sections: Genres, Stations, and DJs. Within each you'll find mostly DJ-mixed mash-ups of the songs you'd hear in an aerobics class or dance club -- perfect stuff for your run or workout.
Dig a little deeper and you'll also find stations like Chakra and Lounge, which spin lower-tempo ambient tunes for things like meditation and cool-downs.
As with most such apps, Fit Radio lets you tag any station as a favorite -- though this is a little confusing, as the Favorites list is divided into Stations, Mixes, and DJs. Whenever I tapped the heart icon while listening to something, it ended up in the Mixes list. I couldn't figure out how to add stations.
The free version of Fit Radio includes the occasional commercial (mostly for Fit Radio itself), but no banner ads or the like. For $2.99 per month or $36 annually, Fit Radio Premium does away with the ads, gives you unlimited skips, and adds more genres, stations, and DJs.
It would be incredible if you could access the app's playlists from within, say, Runkeeper, though the two can work in tandem. Just be sure you have a fully charged battery, as you're pulling a lot of data between the streaming, the GPS, and so on.
Interestingly, the developers are currently running a Fundable project (which has already more than met its goal) to help improve the app, expand to other platforms, and so on. This seems a little odd given how fully functional the app already is, but if nothing else, it lets you score a deal on Fit Radio Premium: $24 for one year, $35 for two years, or $60 for a lifetime subscription.
For everyone from aerobics instructors to distance runners to gym rats, Fit Radio offers a ton of great motivational music for free or cheap. It's already one of my favorite new apps of 2013.