Fitness trackers are not a trend that will quickly go away as more and more people realize how incredibly useful they can be for both exercise and everyday life.
What is Fitness Tracker
Fitness trackers are wearable devices that, in most cases, people wear on their wrists. Depending on the brand or model, they can look very much like a digital watch or a band with a small digital display.
They help people monitor their physical activity such as the number of steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and other various activities. This data can then be synced with an app on your phone to track your progress and provide you with information about your activity levels.
It is also possible for a fitness tracker to monitor your sleep patterns, which can be helpful if you're having trouble sleeping or if you're having trouble staying asleep at night.
Benefits of Wearing Fitness Tracker
Fitness trackers are not a fad, there are many benefits to using a fitness tracker, and the list continues to grow as technology improves. Here are some of the most popular and well-known benefits:
Accountability
A fitness tracker helps you exercise every day whether just walking, jogging, or working out. You are more committed to getting your steps in or completing your workout sessions.
Motivation
It gives a visual of your progress and accomplishments each day. Seeing your progress is good motivation to improve more and more each day.
Healthy eating
It is important to eat a healthy diet while you exercise. Keeping track of your food and water intake helps you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Set goals
Set goals for yourself to accomplish each day. For example, 10,000 steps a day. It is a great feeling to know you are capable of achieving anything you set your mind to.
Tracks sleep
A fitness tracker can track your sleep patterns, how deep or light your sleep, how long you slept, and each time you woke up. Recognizing your sleep patterns can allow you to have a good night’s sleep and improve your mood the next day.
Stay Connected
Some fitness trackers include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This allows you to receive incoming calls, text messages, or emails without looking at your phone. It is a great way to stay connected without always being close to your phone.
Monitors Heart Rate
Most fitness trackers can monitor your heart rate by measuring your pulse. This allows you to reach your target heart rate with each workout. The maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age. During moderate physical activities, your target heart rate is about 50-70% of the maximum heart rate and with vigorous workouts, it should be about 70-85% of the maximum heart rate. The fitness tracker can detect changes that may occur to your heart rate.
The Features of the Best Fitness Trackers
With the rise of technology, we have seen an increase in the number of gadgets that are designed to help us stay healthy. Fitness trackers are one such device.
Since fitness trackers can be used for a variety of purposes, it is important to know which features are best for your needs.
Fitness trackers have come a long way from just monitoring steps and calories burned. They now monitor heart rate, sleep quality, and more.
In addition to these features, fitness trackers also motivate you by allowing you to set goals and compete with friends or family members. This can help you stay on track when it comes to your fitness goals.
The best fitness tracker will depend on your personal needs but some features should be considered before making a purchase:
- Water Resistance: The ability of your fitness tracker to be waterproof will greatly affect the health of your investment.
- Battery Life: An important factor in the tracker is battery life. You should also find out if the battery will need to be charged via USB or wirelessly.
- GPS connectivity
Our Picks
Best Overall: Fitbit Charge 5
Fitbit Charge 5 is one of the best fitness trackers currently available on the market.
The new Fitbit Charge 5 is a huge improvement over the previous Charge and Charge 2. The new Charge has a much larger OLED display that shows more information like your heart rate, steps, floors climbed, and sleep quality. It also has many other new features such as guided breathing sessions and a redesigned charger with interchangeable bands.
The Fitbit Charge 5 also has improved battery life. It lasts for about 7 days before you need to recharge it, which is very good due to the colorful display.
Works for iPhone users and Android owners.
Best for iPhone Users: Apple Watch Series 8
Apple Watch Series 8 is a great smartwatch for iPhone owners. It has a fashionable design with impressive fitness services.
Some of the features that make this watch so special are its stylish design, advanced health and fitness features, and improved cellular capabilities.
With its ownership, you get access to the Apple WatchOS app, which supports all known fitness apps.
In this particular version, a skin temperature sensor is added, which gives information about sleep cycles.
The battery life is not good, but on the other hand, the watch charges quickly.
Instead of series 8, series 7 is available.
Best for Android Owners: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is a fitness tracker and smartwatch. It`s the best option that can be paired with any Android phone.
The addition of a GPX file will not only allow you to never get lost but also have the option to download offline maps for use without an internet connection.
The bioactive sensor provides additional information on body fat and muscle, which can be also very useful.
We liked the bright display but were not particularly keen on the battery life.
Best Garmin: Garmin Venu 2
If you don't own an iPhone and want a fashionable fitness tracker designed as a smartwatch, the Garmin Vēnū 2 is the right option for you.
It has a small, bright, and colorful OLED screen.
Its advantages are fast GPS connectivity and even 10-day battery life. This is the perfect smartwatch for those that are on the go and want to track their everyday fitness.
The app is not for iPhones, so this is the perfect watch for everyday life and the average sports enthusiast or recreational athlete.
Best Budget Tracker: Amazfit Band 5
The Amazfit Band 5 is an affordable, fashionable fitness tracker that can connect to Amazon's Alexa smart assistant. It may not be as advanced as Apple WatchOS, but it's good enough for the casual fitness fan. It has a built-in PAI (personal activity indicator) to track progress and also a blood oxygen sensor, support for 11 exercises, and a stress management tool.
Also impressive is the 15-day battery life.
A big downside is no GPS.
Why I Recommend Using Fitness Tracker?
Whether you choose one of the above or decide on another one, a fitness tracker is something I recommend for several reasons.
1. The tracking capabilities of a fitness tracker allow you to have more knowledge than just how much time you spend sitting and moving around by yourself. It can also allow you to log other activities to work towards your goals, such as walking, running, weight lifting, and swimming. The activity tracker tracks movement throughout the day. A fitness tracker can help you stay on target to achieve your weight loss goals, or if you're just looking for a routine.
2. A fitness tracker is also helpful for monitoring your sleep patterns, heart rate, and other metrics that are involved with tracking specific health metrics.
3. Many trackers can display phone notifications from your smartphone so that you don't have to interrupt your workouts or other activities to check your phone.
4. A fitness tracker can help you stick to a routine, which is great for those looking for a guided program or those who are trying to stay accountable.
5. They have an incredible variety of styles and designs that can suit any budget and personality.
The options are endless.