Fitness Trackers: Here’s What You Need to Know!

If you’re serious about increasing your exercise levels and getting healthier, a wearable fitness tracker is a must.

There are hundreds of brands and models to choose from, ranging in price from as little as £20 all the way up to £200+ for the more advanced ones, but these devices, which are usually worn around the wrist can be a fantastic motivational tool.

They will monitor your exercise levels, detect your sleep patterns, keep an eye on your heart rate, and even track your exercise route via GPS. I’m an advocate! I love my Garmin

So, let’s have a look at the options.

What Types of Fitness Tracker Are There?

  1. The most common types of fitness tracker are fitness watches, with popular brands including Fitbit and Garmin. These watches are essentially like wearing a mini computer on your wrist. Because they’re very rarely taken off, some of them have become fashion accessories in their own right!
  • If you’re just starting out on your fitness journey or you’re on a tight budget, then you can download a free app on your Smartphone or use the inbuilt apps that come with most of them. Although not strictly ‘wearable’ most of us always have our phones to hand! The only downside to these is that they’re less accurate than the fitness watches and it does mean having to carry your phone while exercising too.
  • The third most common fitness tracker that you’re likely to come across is a Smart ring. These tend to be more expensive than the fitness watches, but they’re also more discrete and arguably more fashionable. If you buy a top of the range model then you can expect it to have all the same features as a watch, but even the most basic models will usually monitor sleep and track activity.

The Benefits of Wearing a Fitness Tracker

There are several benefits to wearing a fitness tracker, including:

  • Increased motivation. Seeing your results at the end of each day and striving to improve them can be a big motivator when you’re looking to get fitter.
  • Better Sleep. Wearing a tracker which monitors your sleep can really help in the long-term. Recognising when and why you may have slept better or worse will help you to identify lifestyle changes to maintain a good sleeping pattern.
  • Monitor Heart Rate. Most fitness trackers allow you to keep an eye on your heart rate, which will help you push yourself that little bit further but also prevent you from overdoing it during exercise if you have a health condition or are a complete beginner. They are also great for detecting anything unusual when you’re at rest.

The Best Fitness Trackers for Each Budget

There are so many fitness trackers to choose from that it can be quite overwhelming if you’ve never looked for one before. Here, are three options to suit any budget:

Under £25 – Honor Band 5

The Honor Band 5 is ideal if you’re looking for something inexpensive and reliable. It has an excellent sleep tracker, it’s waterproof up to a depth of 50m, making it perfect for swimmers, and it has an excellent battery life of up to 14 days.

Under £60 – Huawei Band 3 Pro

This is arguably one of the best value fitness trackers, given the number of features it comes with. It comes with full GPS – so you can leave your phone at home, a bright colour screen, and it’s waterproof too, so it’s ideal for swimming.

Under £120 – Fitbit Charge 4 Advanced

When it comes to fitness trackers, Fitbit are usually the first name that springs to mind for most newbies, and for a tad over £100 this is perfect if you’re looking for a watch with lots of extras.

As well as everything that you’d expect from a fitness tracker, this model comes with built-in GPS, Spotify music control and Fitbit Pay.

Do you wear a fitness tracker? Let me know your experiences, I’m always interested to find out about your experiences!