Benefits of Having a Fitness Tracker

Considering using a fitness tracker to help you start a new workout program or just live a healthier life?  Below we explore the benefits of wearable technology and how to go about choosing the right device for you.

Some of the benefits of using a fitness trackers include:

1. Accountability:
   1. Being able to view stats of how many calories you’re burning, how much activity you’re getting, and your quality of sleep can help you identify which areas may be lacking and where to make the necessary changes to live a healthier life.
   2. Many trackers allow you to set reminders, which will prompt you to get up and move throughout the day instead of sitting at desk for hours at a time.
2. Convenience:
   1. Instead of going between multiple apps or writing everything down to stay on top of your fitness regimen, it’s all conveniently in one place. One app linked to your fitness tracker allows you to record anything from your water intake, what you eat, your workouts, sleep, heart rate, weight, distance traveled, and more.
   2. You don’t have to remember to log your workouts, it does it automatically! You can also get more out of your workouts by knowing if your heart rate was in fat burn, cardio or peak mode, so you can see if you’re pushing yourself hard enough, or if you need to change it up to meet your personal goals.
   3. Most people wear their trackers on a daily basis, you only have to take it off to charge it.
3. Motivation:
   1. Several apps allow you to challenge your friends to who can reach the most steps, etc. This encourages many people to move around more than they usually would on a typical day.
   2. You can often link your results to your social media accounts, which provide you a platform for competition and support.
   3. Even if you aren’t competing against others, for some people it is enough to work towards reaching and surpassing their own goals.

There are many different brands of fitness trackers and smartwatches available, with some of the most popular from Fitbit, Garmin, and Apple. Each device comes with their own specific features and apps including GPS, sleep tracking, heart rate tracking, and waterproofing.

To choose the best fitness tracker for you, it is important to consider several aspects before you make your purchase. First of all decide which activities you want to track. For example, if you are a swimmer, you will want to be sure the tracker is waterproof and if you are a runner you will likely want a GPS feature to improve the accuracy of tracking the route and distance of your runs.

Some other things to consider are the battery life of the tracker, cost, and any other specific features you are looking for. These can include whether or not it displays the time, tracks your sleep patterns, records your heartrate, and if you have the option to record your nutrition/water intake.

Regardless of which fitness tracker or smartwatch you decide on, the most important thing is that you are taking steps towards leading a healthier life.