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Do Fitness Trackers Really Improve Your Fitness?

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Allen Oneil
Do Fitness Trackers Really Improve Your Fitness?

Fitness activity trackers have advanced in leaps and bounds in the last decade. Are they worth the money though, and can they really help improve your fitness?

The biggest brand is Fitbit, and their line of activity watches has expanded and improved over time. They're not the only ones on the scene anymore though, with rivals such as Garmin and Huawei also heavy hitters.

They can range from somewhat affordable at $50 or so, up to greater investments at $200 plus. Naturally, at the higher price range, you're getting more advanced gadgets and features.

Useful Features of Fitness Trackers

Here are some of the common functions you may find in fitness trackers:

1) Step Count - The accelerometer is a fundamental base unit of most fitness trackers. It's a clever device that measures changes in speed and direction, allowing it to calculate how many steps you've taken.

2) Heart Rate - Many fitness trackers now contain a way to measure your pulse, but cheaper models may do without. The best heart rate monitor watches can even measure things like sweat and skin temperature and use all this data to show whether you're reaching peak performance or not.

3) Calories Burned - Of course, this will be an estimate as it cannot be measured directly, but with accurate heart rate measurements you can get a pretty good idea. You can even use companion apps to input the food you eat daily to help you lose weight.

4) GPS - While not included in all trackers, those that do allow you to track where you've been on a run, for example. It also gives a more accurate estimation of the distance you've traveled, and it's great for joggers who like to look back at the routes they've taken.

5) Sleep Patterns - Another use for the accelerometer is tracking your sleeping patterns, measuring how deeply asleep you may have had. Although not always accurate, this is an evolving area and higher-end devices are bringing exciting improvements.

6) Sports Activities - You can get specialized devices or multi-purpose trackers that allow you to track your performance across a variety of sports. These include cycling, golf, swimming, running, climbing and many others.

7) Notifications - Sync up your fitness tracker to your mobile phone and you can get notified of any emails or messages and so on. This is a non-fitness related feature, but it's great to have everything all in one place.

Can You Improve Performance with a Fitness Tracker?

Whether you dive in and get a super high-end fitness watch or just dip your toe in with a more basic unit, there is something to be gained from measuring your fitness stats.

Exercise used to be something you just did and then forgot about - you had to keep motivating yourself each time to start anew.

Now, you have concrete numbers from each session to review and spur you on. You can aim for a target, be it the number of steps taken, calories burned or reaching that specific target heart rate zone for the right length of time.

These are things that were exclusive to elite athletes for a time, but now it's available to the public, and you should definitely consider grabbing hold of this opportunity.

Many people report finding it makes exercise more fun, which is something we could all certainly do with. You even get positive reinforcement from the device itself, and you can share your positive victories with friends, or even compete with others online.

The only drawbacks are the potentially high cost of entry, some slightly inaccurate measurements and perhaps becoming too reliant on the device, rather than listening to your own body and reacting.

With how well they're booming in popularity now though, you can be sure to find a benefit and performance boost from wearing a fitness tracker, so long as you use the data it gives you in a meaningful way. 

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Allen Oneil
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