How do w rate the Best Fitness Trackers
Staying fit used to be one of the most tedious tasks anyone could ever go through. Not only was it difficult to get affordable fitness equipment, but keeping track of your progress was also a total nightmare. Fast forward several years, we now have a host of incredible fitness equipment, some of which are compact and affordable enough for you to bring them into your home. Fitness tracking has also improved tremendously. We are seeing a new generation of fitness trackers that come with vast features tracking different aspects of your fitness journey. These gadgets have also grown extremely accurate and comprehensive, making sure that no detail is left out. With more accurate data, it becomes extremely easy for one to monitor their progress and come up with a masterplan that can boost their fitness objectives further.
Fitness Trackers Vs. Smartwatches
Do we really need fitness trackers in the age of smartwatches? Well, this will depend on your fitness goal and budget. The smartwatch technology has advanced so much, and now we see incredible watches that can not only give you access to some of the basic functions of your phone, but they can also keep track of your physical activities. Take the Samsung Gear S3, for instance; this device is packed with lots of features that pull dozens of your phone’s functions all while it is still tracking some of your vitals such as your heart rate. It’s insane just how much stuff you can do from your wrist.
The best smartwatches are incredible in many ways. They feature a big display, they give you convenient access to your phone, and they also complement your fashion either subtly or through a bold statement. However, if you are looking for a reliable gadget that gives you as many details on your fitness as possible then what you need is a fitness tracker. These devices are, after all, solely designed for this very purpose. The best fitness trackers will give you accurate and extensive details on various aspects of your body, allowing you to make informed decisions on what you need to improve to finally reach your fitness goals. Some of them will also throw in a few extras such as delivering a couple of your smartphone’s notifications to the usually small display. A big majority of the smartwatches in the market don’t come anywhere close to this sort of performance, and the ones that do are usually expensive and out of reach for many fitness enthusiasts.
1.Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband
It’s impossible to discuss fitness trackers without mentioning Fitbit products. Fitbit has mastered the ins and outs of this industry, and with their advanced technology, they consistently make some of the best fitness trackers in the market. This is evidently seen on the massive success that their trackers have had over the years, and the Fitbit Charge 2 is part of that culture.
This particular Fitbit tracker looks amazing, feels premium, and the OLED display is one that you will definitely enjoy interacting with. You will also find the tracker very comfortable to wear while going through your daily routine.
Charge 2 will keep track of your heartbeat throughout the day thanks to the PurePulse heartrate monitor. This means that you’ll be getting comprehensive data on everything that you are doing automatically. By everything we mean active minutes, stairs climbed, calories burned, distance covered, and the number of steps taken. With so much data being collected, you’ll receive comprehensive stats that can help you attain your fitness goals within a very short time.
To make it easier for you to monitor your progress, Fitbit provides the Cardio Fitness Score. This feature is integrated with a GPS which facilitates the real-time transmission of data on distance and pace.
The Fitbit Charge 2 can be connected with different devices running on different operating systems, including Android, iOS, and Windows.
Other Features
- All-day activity tracking
- Supports Fitbeat health and Fitness Apps
- Auto-exercise recognition
- Guided breathing sessions
- Guided coaching
- Personalized Insights for improved sleep quality and routine
- Connect and challenge your family and friends
2.Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker
The Fitbit Charge 3 was supposed to be an upgrade to the Charge 2, but the boots appear to be too big for this tracker to fit. This does not mean that the Charge 3 is useless though because if you are looking for a simple yet elegant fitness tracker that is capable of monitoring all the essentials of your health and fitness, then the Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker is one of your best options. This tracker monitors various essentials including your heart rate (this is done 24/7) and calories burned.
This device from Fitbit is also one of the best-selling trackers in the market, and one of the key reasons behind that is the numerous exercises modes that are included. The modes are designed by expert, and they are supposed to help you achieve specific goals. From the 15+ modes, you can easily switch between calories-burned, distance, and time-based goals. The modes provide real-time progress helping you to see how well you are faring and whether you are on track to hit your goal or if you need to up your game. These versatile options make sure that you remain healthy and fit from all fronts.
The Fitbit Charge 3 also comes with an auto-sleep tracking feature. This is tasked with helping you get better sleep by providing you with options of setting different sleep schedules. Bedtime reminders further enhance this feature. If you utilize this feature correctly, you are going to see incredible improvements with your sleep routine and overall sleep quality.
You can sync this tracker with your android smartphone and receive texts, calls, app alerts and even view a calendar through this tracker.
Other Features
- Swim-proof design
- Water resistant (up to 50m)
- GPS-enabled
- 7-day battery life
- Guided breathing sessions
- Supports Fitbit Health and Fitness App
- All-Day tracking
- Guided coaching
- Female health tracking (monitors periods, ovulation and fertility)
3.Letsfit Fitness Tracker HR
The LetsFit Fitness tracker HR is a decent option for all the budget-conscious fellas that want to get their fitness journey underway. This comes with what the manufacturer refers to as “Multi-Sport Management.” In simple terms, this feature helps to track up to 14 different exercises, and this includes outdoor exercises such as riding and running. The tracker can also be connected to your phone’s GPS thus helping to deliver real-time stats.
The LetsFit Fitness Tracker also offers all-day heartrate tracking. At night, it will remain active to monitor your sleeping. With these two sets of data, it becomes really easy to understand both your fitness and health status.
The tracker is designed to do more than just heart rate and sleep monitoring. It will also take down the data on calories burned; distance covered, active time, and steps taken.
LetsFit Fitness Tracker HR can be paired with smartphones to bring important notifications to your wrist. You should be able to access your incoming emails, text messages, and various other notifications through the device. Unfortunately, not many smartphones can be paired with this affordable fitness tracker.
Other Features
- Reminders to move
- Remote photography
- IP67 waterproof
- Supports VeryFitPro app
- 5-10 days battery life (will depend on how you use it)
- 0.96 OLED screen
Fitness Tracker Buying Guide
With so many options to choose from, it is vital that you are fully aware of what you are looking for failure to which you might end up with a tracker that is rather useless to you.
What are your fitness goals?
If you are all about doing activities like swimming and jumping rope, you’ll need to read between the fine print and get yourself a tracker that is capable of taking down this data. Also, if fitness to you is a non-stop activity and you need all the data on your vitals even when you are resting, then your best pick has to be an advanced tracker that’s capable of detecting all your activities automatically and tracking them consistently.
What’s your preferred design?
Fitness trackers come in many different designs, and this means that there is something perfectly suited for your unique preferences. If you are looking for a simple tracker with a minimalistic display, then you will have a lot of options to choose from. Likewise, guys who are looking for a tracker that draws attention with a slightly bigger LED display, a fancy look, and various other features will also have a good number of options at their disposal. You’ll also have the luxury of choosing between a tracker with a circular and square face.
It’s also under this category that you will have to ask yourself the type of tracker you’ll be comfortable wearing. Wrist-worn trackers are the most popular. These are very comfortable, and they also make it easier for you to access the data you need. Some trackers are attached to your clothing where a hook holds them. It’s also possible to get a single tracker that provides both of these options.
Which vitals do you want to be monitored?
The two main vitals that all fitness trackers monitors are calories burned and steps done. If that’s all you need in a fitness tracker, then you’ll be spoilt of affordable choices. However, we don’t recommend such trackers to anyone. It doesn’t matter whether you are a newbie or on a tight budget, but such a basic tracker will most probably become obsolete before you even know it. Do your best and get a tracker that takes down more data such as distance traveled, heart rate, sleep quality, and many others. You may also want GPS-capability, especially if you do a lot of outdoor exercises such as cycling and running. While scanning the specs for GPS, make sure that you also get some information on how long the tracker can function with the GPS turned on before the battery dies. You can also check the tracker’s ability to synchronize with your phone.
Are there any fitness tracker apps supported?
The best fitness trackers will allow you to use various fitness applications to increase the amount of data captured. This is very important as it not only increases accuracy, but it also makes it easier for you to make well-informed decisions on what you need to do to improve. They will also help you to note down your achievements, and this should motivate you to work even harder.