Depending on where you live in the country, Spring is back or Summer is on its way. In either case, it's that time again: time to break out the drop-resistant smartphone case and earphones and hit the track to really get started on that perennial New Year's resolution. Here are the five best fitness apps to get you going and to track your progress.

5. GymPact

GymPact has been around for a couple of years, and it takes one of the most interesting strategies to motivating you to meet your goals: money.

The app allows you to create a "Pact" over the number of times you'll go to the gym, fitness center or other designated workout places each week. You create that pact by telling how much money you're willing to lose if you don't live up to your goal (the app measures this by having you "check-in," much like Foursquare, at those locations). If you live up to your goals, and even surpass them, you get cash rewards from the pact, which is paid for by the people who'd rather pay an app (which they signed up for!) money than go to the gym that week.

It's like a bookie system, betting on your laziness. But money talks, and GymPact might be the cleverest way to motivate you to get out and work out. The app also can create pacts for veggies eaten and food goals, measured by the affiliated MyFitnessPal. For the "inside the gym" portion (no, you shouldn't just go to the gym and check in at the front door without exercising), GymPact syncs with several other fitness trackers and apps. It's available for iOS and Android, and it's not free -- of course.

4. The "Zombies, Run!" Series

For some people, putting cash on the line just isn't enough to get them moving. It's got to be a (fictional) life-or-death situation. That's why the "Zombies, Run!" series of apps is so brilliant. Now on their third version of the app (available for iOS and Android), "Zombies, Run!" is like an audio adventure that keeps you running to help save humanity -- and keeps you distracted from the fact that you're exercising.

It tracks your movement via GPS or accelerometer and will give you fictional rewards of survival gear and specific objects, depending on the mission you're "playing." The adventures and missions range from simple walking to a long jog or a full-out sprint away from a zombie hoard, so no matter what fitness level you're at (regardless of whether you'd actually be fit enough to survive a real zombie apocalypse!), you can have fun getting healthier. It costs about $4.

3. Moves 

Last week we told you about the new constant-tracking general fitness app Breeze, by the makers of RunKeeper. Breeze is only available on the iPhone 5s right now, but Moves does the same thing for any Android and iOS device, plus it also uses the iPhone 5s's special M7 motion processor to save up to 40 percent of the battery on that device.

Moves will run in the background all day track your daily motion with a calorie counter and map, and an easy-to-read storyline mode that recognizes locations and tells you how long you walked between them each day. It also can instantly recognize when you're cycling or running and will adjust to count that as well. And it connects to more than 40 self-tracking websites and apps, so if you're looking to get a complete picture of your habits, Moves can be a simple way to record the baseline.

It's so simple and easy to track nearly everything basic -- it's like if a pedometer had self-awareness. For the harder-to-track activities, like weight lifting, you can manually input your results but currently only on the iPhone version, which is why Moves isn't higher on this list. It's free though, for iOS and Android, so that's nice.

2. RunKeeper

Of course RunKeeper is on this list. It was one of the first, and it's still one of the best fitness apps available. Though it's available for free on iOS and Android, most of the features that keep RunKeeper popular are in the Pro or Elite package, the second of which costs $20 per year. The more expensive packages let you broadcast your activities, gives you more social media options and greater in-depth tracking, but the free version has a lot of features to get you started.

RunKeeper is just one of the most detailed and capable trackers and fitness apps out there. Put in your profile and log any activity, from jogging to cycling to sports to rowing. I'm pretty sure you can enter how many minutes you spent clogging, and RunKeeper will figure out how many calories you burned.

The app also keeps track of your runs with a GPS map (accuracy may vary depending on your phone) and lets you listen to music during your workout -- though it will be interrupted occasionally by the RunKeeper AI-ladyvoice announcing your time, distance and calorie count. RunKeeper is also very flexible with lots of devices and tracking websites and apps and even lets you download your stats as a file and use that data however you like.

1. Noom

RunKeeper might be the go-to exercise app for most people since it's so flexible and capable of logging nearly anything, but Noom is the best fitness app for the average person. It's basically a selection of personal fitness trainer apps that actually feels like a digital coach in your pocket.

While more capable on Android, Noom has its main food app "Noom Weight" on both iOS and Android. But for the full experience, you need Noom Weight, Noom Walk, and Noom Cardio for Android. With those three connected apps, you've got the best of Moves (Walk), RunKeeper (Cardio), and a digital nutritionist (Weight), all wrapped up in your smartphone.

Noom will keep track of your steps when you're not working out, your activity when you do, and will help you track your food intake if you so choose to let the app run your whole life. But if you do, you'll be happy for it. Like Breeze or Move, Noom Walk runs in the background to give you a baseline of your daily activities. Like RunKeeper, Noom Cardio maps your activities (which you can also input, for things like yoga or weight lifting), integrates your favorite workout music, keeps you on a schedule, and tracks your calories burned.

The two work apps together to give you motivational notifications, much like Breeze, but less annoying. Noom's simple awards system for reaching calorie-burn goals feels more like you're leveling up in a role playing game, which is surprisingly motivating. Finally, the two fitness apps work with the master app Noom Weight, which helps you easily track your food intake and suggests healthier alternatives, based on your goals and your progress.

Noom is simply the most comprehensive and simultaneously simple to use health and fitness app out there. And if you pay for the Pro version on Android, it has a support group, expert advice, an educational library and healthy recipes integrated into the app. Trying out the free Noom for Android when it first came on the scene a few years ago, I easily lost more than 10 pounds in a few weeks -- and I'm no fitness buff. Try it out, set some goals, and see what you can do.

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