Fitness Trackers have come a long way from the simple bands that only recorded steps and nothing else. Modern trackers can monitor everything from heart health to recovery after a hard workout. They have a variety of sensors and in some cases can even keep up with smartwatches. Whatever your fitness goals are, there’s likely a fitness tracker that can help you achieve them. They can help you track your progress and give you pointers on how much you should be pushing yourself.
Whether you are training for a marathon or just want to be more active, these devices can help you better understand your daily activity. They can record the number of steps you take, your average heart rate, how long you sleep, and more. As exercise-oriented wearables, fitness trackers can measure heart rate, determine blood oxygen levels, guide you when you swim, and tell you if you’re well rested. When you’re not exercising, some fitness trackers can be used to pay for groceries, play music, reply to text messages, and more.
Types of Fitness Trackers
Wearables are designed to meet a range of needs. There are three types of fitness wearables on the market: all-day trackers, workout trackers and smartwatches. Choosing the right device depends on individual needs and health goals. All-day trackers are ideal for those who are exercising for the first time and want to monitor overall activity throughout the day.
Fitness trackers offer advanced features in addition to those of all-day trackers. They are designed specifically for people who are active on a regular basis, as well as professional athletes who need to constantly monitor their health. If you are interested in both productivity and fitness, then a smartwatch is the right choice.
Display and Design
Display and design are a very subjective issue when buying a wearable device. The display is an essential part of any fitness tracker as it shows all the information and allows the user to interact with the data. Most inexpensive trackers offer a screen size of less than one inch, while advanced and more expensive devices come with larger displays of over 1 inch. The display consists of either an LCD or OLED panel and can also be color or black and white. Almost all devices support touch functions.
In terms of design, fitness wearables come in a variety of shapes, styles and sizes. Most trackers are designed to be worn on the wrist, while some come with a clip that allows them to be attached to clothing. Smartwatches resemble traditional watches, while fitness bands resemble a wristband with a display. Some wearables are equipped with MIL-STD-810G standards to withstand harsh environments.
Features of Fitness Trackers
When buying a new fitness wearable, buyers should consider what metrics they want to capture. Fitness trackers offer a range of functions. Most of them record steps, distance, calories and exercise duration. Many wearables also have a heart rate monitor and sleep analysis. Below are the most common features that can help you decide what to buy:
GPS Functions
By monitoring the Global Position System (GPS), a fitness tracker can provide data such as mileage, speed, location, and altitude. Devices connected to multiple GPS satellite systems provide the fastest and most accurate data and location tracking.
Sports Activities
Both fitness trackers and smartwatches are designed to support a variety of sporting activities. These include cycling, elliptical training, treadmill training, swimming, mountain climbing, hiking, etc. Buyers should be careful to choose a device that captures data for the specific activity or sport they do most often.
Navigation
More affordable devices offer simple tracking features and warn you when you’re off course. More sophisticated devices have programmable routes and can tell you which turn to take. Many devices let you mark waypoints or let the device create a breadcrumb trail. Base maps for navigation vary, with the best maps included in top-of-the-line devices.
Sleep Monitoring
Monitoring inactivity? Since sufficient rest is also important for health, many trackers offer feedback on sleep, which can range from sleep duration to different sleep stages.
Speed
An activity tracker that monitors your speed is important for people training for a marathon or other fitness activities. You can set goals to improve your speed and see how it has improved over days and months.
Comfort
Fitness trackers need to fit well – not too small and not too big – and they need to be comfortable when worn for long periods of time. Long-distance runners Gwen Jorgensen and Camille Herron both noted that it can be difficult to fit trackers or watches to their wrists.
When testing all-day trackers, we looked at how comfortable the watch was throughout the day, if there was a time of day that was more comfortable than another, how comfortable it was for sleeping (if it had a sleep tracker), and if there were size options so people could find a good fit.
Swim Tracking
Some brands now offer waterproof devices with built-in swim trackers. They help measure stroke detection, accurate lap and distance measurement, oxygen levels and heart rate underwater.
Heart-Rate Monitor (HRM) Functions
They provide cardio and exercise data such as heart rate, heart rate zones, VO2 max and more. Most trackers provide heart rate data via a wrist sensor, which is more convenient than a chest strap. Chest straps, available as accessories, are still considered more accurate, but wrist sensors have improved.
Activity-Specific Modes
Options include running, cycling (road and trail), swimming, triathlon, and skiing (alpine and XC). When you select a mode, you can get a set of metrics for that mode.
Music Functions
Some fitness trackers allow you to download music and pair headphones.
Water Resistance
Trackers have become more shockproof and waterproof over the years. Only a few are suitable for diving, but most are waterproof to 30 meters or more.
Phone Notifications
Many trackers can be paired with your smartphone to notify you of incoming calls or text messages on the fitness tracker’s display.
Mental Wellness and Sedentary Reminder
Some fitness wearables also have mental well-being features that can indicate the user’s stress level. The sedentary reminder alerts the user to take up a new activity or to move if they have not moved for a certain period of time.
Battery + Charging
The battery life of your fitness tracker depends a lot on its features. Devices with GPS usually have a much shorter battery life, and you need to charge them much more often. Many fitness trackers last 4-5 days on a single charge. Others use standard CR2032 batteries and only need to be replaced every few months. Also consider the charging time when making your decision.
Tracker Style
Trackers are designed not only for their functionality. Wristbands, lapel pins and watches improve sales opportunities. Which style suits you best depends on your comfort preferences. The type of display can also be a deciding factor, measured against your needs or goals. If you always want to keep an eye on your stats or use your wearable tracker as a wristwatch, you should opt for a model with an always-on display.
Don’t opt for Bulky Fitness Trackers and Choose the Color Smartly
When choosing the design of the fitness tracker, always opt for a device that is lightweight and lies flat on the wrist. This is because bulky fitness trackers are often uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. Also, pay attention to the color of the wristband. Colors like white, pink and other bright colors look very attractive, but they get dirty very quickly. Also, it will be difficult to find replacement wristbands for trendy colors later on.
Sensors and Connectivity
Fitness wearables are equipped with a variety of sensors that monitor different aspects throughout the day. They provide more accurate and detailed data. (The more sensors, the more accurate and detailed the data). The most common sensors in fitness devices include accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and barometers. An accelerometer measures your steps and movements in different directions. A gyroscope helps determine your position, such as standing, sitting, lying down, swimming, cycling, etc.
A magnetometer detects certain movements and the direction you’re facing, while the barometer sensor calculates the number of stairs climbed and determines your latitude. As for connectivity, some fitness wearables also offer contactless payments with NFC connectivity. Smartwatches also offer cellular connectivity that allows you to make calls without a smartphone. Most fitness wearables have Bluetooth connectivity.
Software and Apps
Whether mobile or web-based, the app is an important component for most trackers. Here you can evaluate the data a tracker collects in detail. Before buying a wearable, make sure the app is reliable and accurate enough.
Compatibility with Other Hardware
If you not only want to run with your fitness tracker, but also keep an eye on your pulse during martial arts or gymnastics training, you should go for a model from Huawei or Garmin. With the Huawei Health app and the Forerunner watches from Garmin, you can use additional devices like chest straps with heart rate monitors.
Especially during movements, for example, if you bend your wrist or the fitness tracker slips for other reasons, errors in the measurement can occur. In addition, Garmin’s HRM Run models can also record vertical movements and ground contact time.
Conclusion
A fitness tracker can be a useful tool for monitoring heart rate, physical activity and more on a daily basis. This buying guide is sure to provide you with some useful information for your final decision. An activity tracker, also known as a fitness tracker, is a device or application for monitoring and tracking fitness-related metrics, such as distance walked or run, calorie consumption and, in some cases, heart rate. It is a type of wearable computer.
