Whether you are training for a marathon or just like to keep in shape, a handy fitness tracker will be one of the things you’ll be craving if you don’t have one – and if you already do, you might be itching for an upgrade.
When it comes to fitness gear, there are various features you need to look out for (which we hope will become clear over the course of this article) within the budget you can afford. They not only help us keep track of how much exercise we get done (or, for some of us, how much we don’t!), but they also act as great motivators for improving our lifestyles and point us in the direction our fitness regimes should be headed.
For your benefit, we have included not just self-proclaimed watches, but also bands and other accessories. Anything that you can basically fit on your person! So without further ado, here are our choices for some of the best gadgets out there:
Adidas miCoach
The Adidas MiCoach can be best described as being an all-in-one fitness tracker. Coming in at an enviable weight of 2.8 ounces, it features a lustrous look with its silicon strap and stainless steel design. It not only performs in terms of providing general information such as heart rate, GPS- based speed, distance, cadence and route, but also has 4 gigs of memory to store your music which it can wirelessly transmit to your earbuds. Where it truly shines is in being a tiny fitness instructor in your pocket, literally coaching you during your work out, feeding you advice and instructions as you burn away those calories.
RRP: £300.00
G-Shock Lap Memory
This is your economy watch (of sorts). For the price you pay for it, you’re getting pretty much all you need: crucial information, storing your lap times and records and logs 24 hours worth of data. This watch was made for interval training, with an internal countdown timer that alerts you every time you need to slow down or speed up. It also has the amazingly cool feature of automatically lighting up every time you bring it up to face you!
RRP: £129.00
Fitbit One
The Fitbit One is definitely not to be missed if you have budgetary concerns. It’s the tiniest piece of equipment, basically a clip-on that you won’t even feel is there. It tracks steps taken, distance traveled, stairs climbed, calories burned, and even (though we’re not quite sure how) your quality of sleep. But you do get what you pay for, so it won’t track your heart rate or other activities. It does however boast connectivity to the Fitbit website, where you can add additional activities which it can wirelessly track.
RRP: £79.99 (check out the Fitbit Flex if you prefer a band over a clipper for roughly the same price)
Garmin Forerunner 620
This one is for the stat-fanatics. This baby tells you everything and we mean literally, everything. Keeping track of time, distance, burnt calories and speed is just pre-school level stuff for this bad boy. It also records ground contact, cadence and VO2 Max (for those who don’t know what that is, it’s the optimum rate at which heart, lungs and muscles can effectively use oxygen during exercise.) It’s unique feature though, has to be the recovery tool, which lets you know when you should be working out next – we are sure you would have a hard time saying no to a disappointed smart watch if you refused.
RRP: £359.99
Nike+ SportsWatch GPS
This Nike product is powered by TomTom, the omnipresent GPS and navigation company that seems to have become eponymous with anything that tells us where to go in our cars. This one isn’t spectacular in its features (it will give you the basic details we’ve mentioned before), but it’s a thrifty choice and has the quality to go with it. It does have the added benefit of being your own personal inspirational trainer, sending you reminders and ego-boosting messages.
RRP: £129.00
Tissot Racing Touch
This one is for the serious athlete and with its price tag, consider this a long term investment, not just assets, but your body too. It has 11 touch-activated features which include dual time zones, lap info (with the ability to track someone else), compass, tide calculator for water sports and the ability to save up to 99 lap times. If your body is your temple, this beast is the prayer!
RRP: £625.00
