Wishing for a more active lifestyle? Do you want to lose weight in a healthy way? There are many ways to achieve these goals. You can do it by enrolling in a fitness program, working out at a gym, eating a healthier diet, and more. But how do you keep track of your progress? This article features a wearable device and ways how to choose a fitness tracker.
Before we get into our fitness tracker buying guide, let’s identify what a fitness tracker is. A fitness tracker is a wearable device that monitors health-related activities that you do during the day. It monitors your heart rate, calorie consumption, distance run or walked, length of sleep, and others. The latest versions come as smartwatches which wirelessly sync to a smartphone or computer.
Does a fitness tracker need to be expensive? What other functions should it has? What features should you take into consideration?
How to choose a fitness tracker
When buying a fitness tracker, there are several factors to consider including your current fitness level, goals, features, functionality, and others.
Fitness level and goals
Before purchasing a fitness tracker, know your current level of fitness. Based on this, lay out your goals and list all the activities that will help you achieve your goals. Generally, people want to lose weight and live a more active lifestyle. You can set a goal for 50,000 steps a day or eat fewer calories each day.
For beginners, a basic step tracker is good because it also gives an estimated report of the calories you burned in one day. For the fitness buff who wants to intensify their workout activity, a fitness tracker with more advanced features like a heart rate monitor and auto activity recognition is suitable for them.
Features
There are different features that fitness trackers have, depending on the price and brand. The most popular feature is the optical heart rate monitor with built-in colored LED at the device’s back that transmits light via the skin to the blood vessels and then counts your heartbeat by the pulsations. For cyclists, hikers, runners, and athletes, the GPS feature is useful because it shows how much ground they have covered while running or biking.
Some fitness trackers also come with smartphone notifications that inform you about incoming calls and messages. Choosing a fitness tracker involves the consideration of the features you need for your training and workout activities.
Design
Fitness trackers come in a variety of designs; they can be wrist worn, clipped to your clothing, or smart watches with touch screen capability. The cheapest and simplest fitness trackers are those you can wear throughout the day without having to tinker with them. You can check your progress or the data on the device paired with it like a smartphone or computer.
More advanced fitness trackers have bigger screens with round faces that you can actually interact with your data through its touchscreen capability. When it comes to design, consider your budget.
Water resistance
Some fitness trackers are water resistant so you can wear them all day for any activity you do. If you are a swimmer or triathlete, this factor is very important. Fitness trackers with this feature have the capability to monitor your swimming performance or when you take an unanticipated dive.
Apps
Fitness trackers come in different apps. Consider the app you need or the apps that you think help you in monitoring your performance or activities. Apps display the synchronized data, lets you alter or log the data by yourself after you finished an activity, track your sleep quality, log the food you eat, and so on. The design of the app such as the font colors and layout is also considered in choosing a fitness tracker.
Compatibility
One factor that is often overlooked is the fitness tracker’s compatibility. All trackers sync to smartphones. depending on the handset and OS that you use. Most of them are compatible with Android and iOS devices, but the Apple Watch only syncs with iPhones.
Conclusion
Choosing a fitness tracker involves factors like your fitness level and goals, the features, design, water resistance, available apps, and compatibility. It is also important to consider your budget as the more feature a tracker has, the more expensive it is. Choose the right tracker based on your activities so you can make the most of it.