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Back in those dusty bygone days of yesteryear a sports watch (aka fitness tracker) performed but two functions. The first function was that of telling the time. The second function was the chronograph – aka stopwatch. And that was pretty much your lot.
But thankfully modern training watches, which we now call fitness trackers, have undergone a monumental evolutionary transformation in technological advancement. And amazingly the average, run-of-the-mill fitness tracker possesses more computing power then was used to land a man on the moon!
Today even a cheap fitness tracker features a multitude of innovative and highly useful functions. For example, Garmin’s Forerunner 45S GPS (see inset image), which is more specifically designed for runners, not only tells the time but tracks your movement to a degree of accuracy that NASA of the 1960s could only dream of. In addition, it provides the user with precise readings regarding their vital statistics: heart rate, VO2-Max, training zones and calorie consumption. And, on top of all that, if receives text messages and calls!
And here we’ve only just scratched the surface of functions that the 5 fitness trackers featured in this article come equipped with.
However, not to get carried away, before purchasing a fitness tracker it would be wise firstly to consider what you want it for and which features/functions you are likely to use. Of course, the more functions a watch possess the more it typically costs. Also, for the Luddite or technically disinclined, more features could mean more confusion.
To help out below you will find a Buyer’s Guide which outlines essential features that a training watch should possess.
Buyer’s Guide – 3 essential features that a fitness tracker must possess
Stopwatch and lap timer
A bit of a no-brainer I know but beyond telling the time the chronograph – or stopwatch – is (in my opinion) the second most important function. A stopwatch is useful for many training eventualities, most notably timing fitness tests and tracking pacing.
Heart rate monitor
Monitoring the general fluctuations of the old ticker is beneficial beyond the bounds of physical training. Resting heart rate is a physiological biomarker that is used by the medical profession to gauge a person’s cardiovascular health. A high resting heart rate is associated with the onset of hypertension and CVD – cardiovascular disease. Thus, a watch equipped with a heart rate monitor also doubles up as a home health screening device.
In addition, heart rate monitoring is a handy tool to have if you plan to exercise within a specific training zone.
Activity/exercise tracker
The fitness tracker function, which all modern sports watches should come equipped with, records steps taken, distance travelled and (estimated) calories expended. These are handy readings to know as they provide you with an insight into your daily levels of activity while also giving your something to compete against.
5 Best Fitness Trackers
1: TEMINICE Fitness Tracker (£20.00)
Watch Features (click image for availability)
All-day activity tracking records your of steps, distance, calories burned, miles walked, active minutes, sleep status and more.
Heart rate monitor tracks real-time heart rate automatically and continuously.
Sleep monitoring tracks sleep duration, consistency and offers an analysis of the quality of sleep.
Multi-sports mode connects to GPS which provides accurate data of run pace and distance; it also translates daily steps into distance.
14 sport modes for walking, running, cycling, climbing, hiking, treadmill, gym training, tennis, football and more.
Connects to your mobile phone and notifies you of text messages and calls.
High-resolution screen displays multiple functions simultaneously while allowing you to access calendar and social media.
Long battery life: 1-2 hours charge lasts for up to 15 days!
The number of features that come with this watch is staggering, especially as it costs a mere £20. In addition to the array of sports and exercise functions – such as steps, distance and pace tracking – TEMINICE’s watch also provides important biometric readings.
The TEMINICE tracks and records heart rate automatically throughout the day and readings can be displayed instantaneously.
Furthermore, it monitors sleep duration and offers an insight into the overall quality of each night’s sleep. And, thanks to the new slim, super-lightweight design, you’ll not even know that it’s on your wrist.
In addition, it provides you with an accurate estimation of the number of calories consumed throughout the day. This feature is especially handy for people trying to lose weight as the data can be used to compare calories in and calories out.
The final feature of note is the sedentary alert. In conjunction with counting steps, calories and distance travelled throughout the day, the sedentary alert vibrates to bring your attention to the fact that you have been inactive for too long. Basically, this watch would be like having a little personal trainer tethered to your wrist.
Nearly 5 stars with over 25,000 reviews!
2: Xiaomi Mi Health and Fitness Tracker (£28.00)
Watch Features (click image for availability)
All-day activity tracking records your of steps, distance, calories burned, miles walked, active minutes, sleep status and more.
Heart rate monitor tracks real-time heart rate automatically and continuously.
Sleep monitoring tracks sleep duration, consistency and offers an analysis of the quality of sleep.
Multi-sports mode connects to GPS which provides accurate data of run pace and distance; it also translates daily steps into distance.
14 sport modes for walking, running, cycling, climbing, hiking, treadmill, gym training, tennis, football and more.
Connects to your mobile phone and notifies you of text messages and calls.
High-resolution screen displays multiple functions simultaneously while allowing you to access calendar and social media.
Long battery life: 1-2 hours charge lasts for up to 15 days!
As with TEMINICE, Xiaomi’s fitness watch boasts a staggering array of apps and functions. Yes, it costs slightly more but, as well as the typical fitness functions – steps, distance, pace tracking, etc., – it also offers 11 different sport modes and apps.
It also comes with three health modes which enable you to:
Record personal activity throughout the day/week/month
Monitor stress levels
Practice breathing exercises
Monitor sleep and analyse the quality of sleep
Interpretation of sleeping patterns based on scientific advice and research
Assess health personal data – based on biometric recordings
Monitor heart rate, sport distances, sleeping issues are individually recorded
Included with all that Xiaomi’s fitness and health tracker alerts you if you are not being active enough. The sedentary function assesses your levels of activity and alerts you if you have remained in an inactive state for too long.
Nearly 5 stars with over 35,000 reviews!
3: Letsfit Smart Watch & Heart Rate Monitor (£31.00)
Watch Features (click image for availability)
All-day activity tracking records your everyday activities in detail, including steps, distance, calories burned, mileage, workout duration, heart rate, sleep, and more.
Heart rate monitor tracks real-time heart rate automatically and continuously.
Sleep monitoring tracks sleep duration, consistency and offers an analysis of the quality of sleep.
9 sport modes for walking, running, cycling, climbing, hiking, treadmill, gym training, tennis, football and more.
Connects to your mobile phone and notifies you of text messages and calls.
High-resolution 1.3-inch screen displays all your fitness data and the reinforced, scratch-resistance 2.5D glass is smooth and responsive.
Call and message notification enables you to receive and read SMS messages and SNS notifications straight to your fitness tracker (including: Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, and more).
Long battery life: 1-2 hours charge lasts for up to 15 days!
The Letsfit smart watch automatically records your everyday activities in detail, including steps, distance, calories burned, mileage, heart rate, sleep, and more. It provides you with comprehensive and accurate statistics that enable you to learn how your body responds to physical exercise.
The 24-hour heart rate monitoring function can be set to either track heart rate activity manually or automatically. But it also comes with a nifty feature that automatically monitors your heart rate during exercise.
As well as the plethora of features already outlined and listed, Letsfit’s fitness tracker also automatically records your sleep, including the relative ‘depths’ or ‘quality’ of your sleep. And what’s more, each morning you will wake to a ‘comprehensive analysis of your sleep quality’ and be provided with ‘ways you can improve it.’ How awesome is that!
Just shy of 5 stars with over 4,000 reviews
4: Tipmant Fitness Tracker (£38.00)
Watch Features (click image for availability)
All-day activity tracking records your everyday activities in detail, including steps, distance, calories burned, mileage, workout duration, heart rate, sleep, and more.
The fitness tracker’s onboard "GPS movement" mode displays the running route when synchronised with the relevant App.
Heart rate monitor tracks real-time heart rate automatically and continuously.
Sleep monitoring tracks sleep duration, consistency and offers an analysis of the quality of sleep.
9 sport modes for walking, running, cycling, climbing, hiking, treadmill, gym training, tennis, football and more.
Connects to your mobile phone and notifies you of text messages and calls.
High-resolution 1.14-inch colour screen offers excellent HD image quality and high sensitive touch sensor.
The built-in the advanced Nordic 52832 chip (the updated version) offers the lowest power consumption and highest integration.
Tipmant’s fitness tracker provides you with continuous heart rate monitoring throughout the day which can be used as a reference for your daily exercise. Also, this function enables the more scientifically-minded trainer to gauge perceived exertion against heart rate outputs.
Fully integrated software enables you to connect the GPS to your smartphone to determine speed and distance in real time. Furthermore, the "GPS movement" mode displays your running route which enables you to track performance and/or compete against PBs.
The fitness tracker automatically tracks your sleep quality with detailed data of deep sleep, light sleep and wake sleep (I don't know there was such a thing as 'wake sleep' either) and a diagram of sleep quality. This data can help you to understand your sleep better while providing methods of improving your sleep quality.
This fitness tracker also comes equipped with a high-speed Bluetooth connection that vibrates to alert you of your incoming notifications; such as calls, emails, SMS and SNS (and social media).
Also, when you’ve synced the tracker with your smart phone, which is a doddle, you have the option of refusing calls from the comfort of your wrist – which saves you having to go to all the trouble of removing your phone from your pocket. Welcome to the 21st Century!
4 stars with over 7,000 reviews
5: Fitbit Inspire 2 Health & Fitness Tracker (£89.99)
Watch Features (click image for availability)
All-day activity tracking records your everyday activities in detail, including steps, distance, calories burned, mileage, workout duration, heart rate, sleep, and more.
Active zone minutes: this feature alerts you to which heart rate zone you’re in so you can see if you’re working hard enough to reach your goals.
Heart rate monitor tracks real-time heart rate automatically and continuously.
Sleep monitoring tracks sleep duration, consistency and offers an analysis of the quality of sleep.
Connects to your mobile phone and notifies you of text messages and calls.
High-resolution 1.14-inch colour screen offers excellent HD image quality and high sensitive touch sensor.
Call and message notification enables you to receive and read SMS messages and SNS notifications straight to your fitness tracker (including: Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, and more).
Compatible with iOS 12.2 or higher & Android OS 7.0 or higher which enables you to record your fitness and activity performance on other devices.
The high-powered battery lasts, once fully charged, for up to 10 days.
Fitbit Inspire 2 has been created to aid you to live a healthier lifestyle. It enables you to track your activity, heart rate and sleep, and receive personalised insights via the Fitbit Premium app (though a subscription is required).
The Inspire 2 features an automatic tracker which not only identifies the type of workout that you are engaging in – like walks, running and bike rides – but it will then store the info in the Fitbit app. This data can be accessed and used to assess personal performance and identify fitness progression.
As we would expect from a fitness tracker, the integrated heart rate monitor provides you with instantaneous and continuous feedback, along with your estimated calorie consumption, cardiovascular output and peak heart rate zones. All to optimise your workouts with the correct amount of effort.
The sleep stage function has been designed to help improve your sleeping habits, as well as investigating the time spent in light, deep and REM sleep.
The Inspire 2 also comes with a ‘goal-based mode’ that automatically sets you targets when you are out exercising. Moreover, it saves previous records and prompts you to try and exceed them.
Nearly 5 stars with over 15,000 reviews!
Fitness Tracker FAQ
Which fitness tracker should I buy?
The fitness trackers featured in this article provide a range of innovative functions that will satisfy most needs. But, as mentioned in the introduction, prior to purchasing a product you would be wise to consider which functions you are likely to use. It is those functions that should steer your decision.
However, if you are not sure it might make sense to go for a middle-of-the-road tracker – such as the Letsfit or Tipmant – as this won’t cost the earth, but it will still feature a multitude of functions.
Are fitness trackers worth it?
For how inexpensive they are fitness trackers are certainly worth it. The wealth of data they provide can be used to enhance physical performance and to shape a healthier lifestyle. Furthermore, fitness trackers can double up as health screening devices thus enabling you to track and monitor vital biomarkers.
Are fitness trackers accurate?
Yes. The fitness trackers featured throughout this article offer an excellent degree of accuracy. And though the trackers cannot guarantee precise readings (but then no device offers perfect precision), ‘they are’ in the words of one professor of Kinesiology and Epidemiology, ‘accurate enough to be useful for most people for most purposes.’
(As we are very interested in user experience here at Hungry4Fitness, we would be very grateful if you could take a few seconds out of your day to leave a comment. Thanks in advance!)
Blog Author
Adam Priest, former Royal Marines Commando, is a personal trainer, lecturer, boxing and Thai boxing enthusiast.