There’s an abundance of different options for fitness wearables on the market. They all provide some great information on various metrics, such as; steps taken, distance run, sleep quality and much more. As a fitness data geek myself, I love this data but it’s only useful to us if we act upon the information we get.
Types and Uses
Watches – the most common fitness wearable is the wrist watch. Apple, Garmin, Suunto are some of the most popular brands but there are many to choose from. The best use of these is for tracking distance using GPS.
Fitness Bands – the most popular version would be the Whoop band. These are worn on the wrist or up near the bicep. They have no screen on them so all the data needs to be read via an app on your phone. These mainly measure data to do with your heart rate which detects activity and rest to give you a recovery score.
Fitness Rings – very similar to the bands mentioned above, fitness rings monitor your heart rate and are obviously worn on the finger as a ring. This may be a little more subtle and unnoticeable for those who want to wear a tracker at work for instance. The Ōura Ring is the most well known in this category.
Chest Straps – These monitor your heart rate and will connect to your watch or phone to translate the data.
Phone – not really a “wearable” but your phone can track your distance covered or steps via apps that use GPS. Strava is a very popular app for this.
What can you measure?
There are hundreds of different data points that you can collect via some of these wearables. Cyclists can use power meters connected to their watches to get detailed power readings, golfers can track their strokes – the list is endless.
These are the most common uses and best devices for each:
Heart Rate – In my experience, the chest strap is the ONLY accurate measurement for HR. I’ve used Whoop bands, rings and my current Garmin watch can measure HR via the wrist but I only trust the data when I’m using a chest strap. All the other methods seem to have too much inconsistency.
Distance/Speed – Very good for running/cycling or walking. Knowing what your current pace, average pace and distance covered will help to track your progress over time. Watches are the best for this or cycling computers.
Steps – be careful with this one. Step trackers track movement of the device so every time you move your arms you’ll get steps (if using a wrist based monitor). If you go for a walk pushing a stroller, you won’t get that many steps. Remember, 10,000 steps is just the BARE MINIMUM that is required, this does not include your workout. Tracking steps is good to see what your non-workout activity levels are. Again I think watches work best for this as you always have them on.
Sleep/Recovery – many of these devices track your sleep, mostly by tracking your movement during sleep hours. They also claim to track something called Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV is where the amount of time between each heart beat fluctuates slightly. Tracking HRV can show some potential health problems if the variability is constantly changing each day. This can also show a sign of your recovery. I’m not convinced if any of the devices are 100% accurate, mainly because they aren’t using chest straps for HR.
As I mentioned, there are so many different things that these devices can track but those are probably the most common.
I’ve tried pretty much every version and brand on the market, my go to is always Garmin. The Garmin forerunner models offer pretty much everything that anyone would need. I use mine for steps, running, cycling, swimming & golf. It also tracks my sleep and HRV but I question this data as it is using wrist based HR. During activity I can connect a chest strap to get accurate HR data.
The increase in people using fitness wearables over the last 5-10 years is very noticeable. However, I question if people actually use the data they collect. It’s cool to collect the data but in order to make use of these devices you need to act upon what trends you see.
I see a lot of value in using these pieces of technology. I often look back 1-2 years to see what my progression has been or in some cases, regression! It’s nice to see trends of what I can do compared to years previous, how I’ve improved on certain routes and its all kept in an easily accessible app such as Garmin Connect or Strava.
If you need any recommendations to see if you can benefit from using a fitness wearable feel free to reach out!