^[1]Happy 2013, everyone! Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year? Chances are, if you did set a goal for yourself this year, it’s got something to do with fitness. In the spirit of helping you stay on track with your New Year’s goal, here’s a handy app that you might want to add to your inventory: iPush-up Counter, developed by Marz Software.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

iPush-up Counter is an ultra simple app that helps you to get the most out of every single rep. What it does is very simple: as you do each push-up, you simply make sure that your nose bumps into the screen of your iPhone or other Apple device. With each contact from your nose, the app notes how many push-ups you have completed in total. You don’t need to count anymore: you can just focus on having the best form possible.

Pros

• Takes up very little space on your phone
• Easy to use
• Placing phone on the floor and making you hit the phone with your nose ensure your push-ups are as deep as possible…and that ensures faster results.

Cons

• Ad-supported
• The count of your push-ups is registered no matter where your nose hits the screen. However, you need to be careful that you don’t accidentally open up the app information, hit the back button, or start a new rep count
• You need to manually change your settings to keep your phone from going to sleep
• Somewhat under-designed, both in terms of aesthetics and in terms of other features that would be useful, such as a timer.

Discussion

iPush-up Counter is a very simple app, but it’s that same simplicity that also makes it an effective tool. When most people do push-ups, they start off with decent form. However, as they continue to do more reps, they start getting tired, and that’s when they have a tendency to start cutting corners.

Because iPush-up only registers a push-up as completed when your nose hits the screen, it forces you to dig deep and push harder, doing push-ups that are nice and close to the floor. I really wish there was a built-in timer, in order to more easily see how many push-ups I can do in a minute, or to time my exercises out better. Overall, this simple app is surprisingly helpful, despite that fact that it really only does one thing.

Conclusion and download link

If your New Year’s Resolution is to build upper body strength or lose weight, iPush-up Counter is an absurdly simple app that may just push you to do the best push-ups of your life. Despite a few minor flaws, it’s a great free app to add to your collection of fitness apps…assuming you have a nose, that is.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: 1.1

Requires iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, iOS version 5.1 or later

Download size: 2.6 MB

iPush-up Counter on Apple App Store