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PumpUp review

PumpUp helps you create, schedule, and share your cardio and weight-based workouts. In this Instagram-style app, you can also post workout and healthy meal photos to motivate your fellow fitness enthusiasts.

Pros

Well-organized interface: PumpUp's clean, modern interface is reminiscent of Instagram's. Scroll up and down to see how your friends or influencers are burning calories and eating healthily.

Workout assistance: Enter your fitness level, location, equipment, and training goals, and PumpUp will customize easy yet effective video workouts for you. There are more than 500 exercises -- from acrobatics to Zumba -- sandwiched between warm-ups and cool-downs. Upgrade to the Pro version for voice instruction, so that you don't have to stare at your phone as you work out, and for positive feedback to keep you motivated. Post-workout, enter duration, distance, intensity, and height and weight, and PumpUp will calculate calories burned.

Scheduling: Create a workout for now or schedule one for later using PumpUp's integrated calendar and reminder function. Check under the notifications icon to see your next workout time.

Privacy features: When you post a photo or status update, you decide whether to share with PumpUp users, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or privately.

Cons

Stalls and errors: We encountered occasional stalls and even error messages when we attempted to post status updates.

Mislabeled button: This is minor, but the gear-shaped button -- which usually means settings in other apps -- is actually a scheduling button in PumpUp.

Friend shortage: The PumpUp community is over one million strong, but if it doesn't include your friends, you may not find the app as useful. In our tests, the app scanned our extensive contact list and found only one person with a PumpUp account. Of course, you can always invite friends to join.

Bottom Line

PumpUp is one of the most compelling fitness apps we've encountered. It's an exercise and social media app in one that will push you toward your fitness goals.

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