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.

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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