App Review: Pacer
Lately, I’ve been rethinking my go-to walking apps. I’ve been thinking about dumping some of my old regulars for apps that are more reliable. And part of this re-examination of my apps came because I joined a challenge that required the Pacer app.
In order to join the Ohio 25-Mile Walking Challenge for September and get my pin for completing it, I needed to download Pacer—and I soon found that I liked it more than some of the apps that I’ve been using for years. For the most part, it’s a pretty basic fitness-tracking app. You can connect it to a number of different trackers (mine is connected through my phone’s health app and my watch) to keep track of your daily steps. It then displays your daily steps, mileage, active time, and calories burned.
When you’re ready to start a workout, there are a number of different types of exercises that you can record or enter manually once you’re finished. But if you’re walking (or running) outside, you can use the GPS function to track your entire workout. You’ll get your workout mapped out, along with detailed stats about your distance, pace, and more. If you’re listening to a book or some music, you’ll also get regular audio updates. You can change your preferences, but the default updates you every five minutes with your distance. Though I’m not used to getting updates that frequently, I’ve come to appreciate the quick notification about my time and distance.
If you’re getting your steps and showing up every day, this app will keep encouraging you. It’ll tell you how your day stacks up to other days—and how it compares to other users. And each week, it’ll give you a recap and give you an example of how far you walked.
If you want to take your workouts a little further, the app offers some additional walking programs and workouts for short strength training sessions. And if you want to go beyond the basic free options, you can sign up for a subscription and join fun walking challenges (much like the free Ohio 25-Mile Walking Challenge).
Admittedly, if you’re walking indoors or doing other activities, this app might not be all that useful. But if you just want the basics—tracking your daily steps and your outdoor walks—it’s a simple and reliable tracking app.
Pros:
– Easy to use
– Offers daily encouragement to keep moving
– Minimal glitching
– Connects directly to watch apps for more accurate step count
– Offers regular audio updates during workouts
– Offers additional challenges and workouts—plus more for paid subscribers
Cons:
– Not a lot of options for tracking workouts
Pacer is available for both Android and iPhone. You can find it in your app store.
