Why drag your phone around on your workouts when you can get better health data from a smart, affordable fitness band on your wrist? Worn all day (and all night too), your tracker builds a picture of your activities so you can see where and how to improve your health.
Here are a few things you need to know about these trackers:
1. Size
Sports watches have a GPS to accurately measure distance and changes in altitude, and provide detailed feedback in workouts, but are too bulky for bed. Trackers are smaller and more affordable. Without a GPS, a tracker cleverly figures out how far you’ve run based on your height and step count. But it still won’t know when you’re running uphill!
2. Heart rate
Light on the underside of your tracker is shone through the skin and the pulsating movement of the blood in your veins is measured by its sensor. Elevated heart rate is important to measure, even when you’re not moving around, for instance when holding tough yoga poses or using gym equipment.
3. Water
Very few trackers are fully waterproof, so the choice for swimmers, kite surfers and paddle boarders is very limited. Heart-rate sensors and GPS don’t work underwater either.
4. Sleep
The latest research shows that sleep is a very big factor in our overall health and wellbeing. Your tracker automatically detects when you’re sleeping, and reports on how restless you were through the night.
5. Compatibility
All trackers are compatible with both Apple and Android phones, using Bluetooth and a supporting app. Apps from the different brands have matured over time to offer a decent interface. Your app data is saved to the cloud, so it can’t be lost, but if you change your tracker brand you will lose all your historical data.
6. Rewards
Most leading medical-aid schemes offer rewards for sharing tracker data with them. However, only a few tracker models are supported, so check your scheme’s website for a list of devices, as well as the workout goals to be met.
PHOTO: iStock/Rocky89
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