By Elizabeth Comeau
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: StandApp
By: Lyonel Douge
Available on: iPhone
Price: Free
Should you get it? Yes, if you need a reminder to get up from your desk job

OK, I fully admit that the idea behind this app sounds foolish and unnecessary: An app that reminds you to get out of your desk chair and stand up at various intervals during the day.

But I'm a web producer. Other than the fact that I'm training for a half-marathon, my entire day is spent sitting down at my computer.

StandApp is really straightforward: Download the free app and tell it at which specific interval you would like to be reminded to get up.

By Elizabeth Comeau
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: Good Guide
By: The Good Guide
Available on: Android, iPhone
Price: Free
Should you get it? Yes

Being the health and wellness producer here makes me keenly aware of the possible impacts harsh chemicals can have on your system (think the risks associated with BPA and things of the like.)

So when I found out that one of my favorite sources for checking the environmental and health impact of products on the web had developed an app, I had to check it out.

By Elizabeth Comeau
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: Hal Higdon Half Marathon Novice 1
By: bluefinapps
Available on: Android, iPhone
Price: $9.99
Should you get it? Maybe

When I decided I was going to run a half-marathon, the first thing I did was research training plans. Having never run a half before, I needed something that would guide me through the process, help keep me motivated, and, most importantly, keep track of my workouts.

After speaking with several friends who have run marathons, I found the Hal Higdon running apps.

If you don't know who Higdon is, he has written more than 30 books (most on running), run in the Olympic Trials eight times, and finished 111 marathons (his first was Boston in 1959).

The app claims it will have you ready for a half marathon in just 12 weeks, taking you from running two to three miles all the way up to running 10 miles a week before your race.

By Elizabeth Comeau
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: Push ups
By: Rittr Labs
Available for: Android
Price: Free
Should you get it? Yes!

On my own blog over at Get Moving, I’ve talked at length about how I’d love to have buff arms like Michelle Obama.

And since seeing a clip of her on the Ellen Degeneres show doing many push-ups in a row, I decided I want to improve my ability to do the exercise.

At most, I can do 10 in a row (although my form starts to slack and by the end I tend to feel like my biceps are made of pudding).

So I scoured the Google Play store for a push-up app, and let me tell you there were plenty to choose from.

By Elizabeth Comeau
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: Instant heart rate
By: Azumio
Available on: iPhone, Android
Price: Free
Should you get it? Absolutely

As an avid runner, mountain biker, and all-around fitness junkie, I have been hemming and hawing the past few years about just biting the bullet and buying a fancy heart rate monitor.

The reason I still haven’t? Cost. I don’t want to shell out a few hundred bucks for a good heart rate monitor that I (being the klutz I am) break, get wet, or forget to put on.

I needed something that is always with me already to work as a monitor – and the idea of wearing a giant heart rate monitor as a wristwatch was simply just not fashionable enough for me.

Enter the instant heart rate monitor app.