How to Choose the Best Fitness Watch

How to Choose the Best Fitness Watch : Are you planning to start working out? Do you plan to invest in fitness gadgets and accessories? Would you like to monitor how you’re doing in terms of your fitness goals?

Smart gadgets such as the Polar Ignite fitness watch can help you achieve your fitness goals. Read on and find out how you can choose the best fitness watches and trackers to help you with your fitness journey.

Watch It

Fitness accessories and gadgets have gained more popularity since the pandemic started. Lockdowns and community quarantines have led people to do at-home fitness routines. Those who are serious about their fitness goals have invested in equipment and tools to make their workouts easier, more interesting, or just plain fun.

According to the Pew Research Survey conducted in June of 2019, 21% or roughly one in five American adults wear a smartwatch or wearable fitness tracker. In this report, 25% of women are more likely to wear these devices than men, with the latter only taking 18% of the pie.

These wearable devices have gained a steady following from the sports community and health and fitness enthusiasts. Smartwatches and fitness trackers are helpful tools that provide a person a tangible metric for practically any health goal.

In its early years, people used these devices to track steps. However, as technology and personal needs evolved, these smart wearables have come to include a host of features. Fitness watches these days may consist of built-in GPS, fitness coaching, heart rate and sleep monitors, music connectivity, and many more.

You can become quite overwhelmed by the wealth of choices out there. If you want to choose a fitness watch, we have put together some tips to help you out:

Type of Tracker or Watch

When you search for fitness watches on the Internet, you’d most likely come across terms such as fitness trackers and smartwatches. While most use these terms interchangeably, there are still some notable differences between them.

Fitness trackers are designed for data gathering and monitoring, while smartwatches are built to facilitate communication. You can use this to read emails, text messages, or notifications just by glancing at your wrist. Ones that are equipped with SIM cards can also allow users to make and receive phone calls. While smartwatches have health monitoring apps and fitness tracking capabilities, these are considered add-ons to the communication features they offer.

On the other hand, fitness trackers’ primary purpose is to monitor health and location and not mainly communication. So if your primary goal is to work out while making calls or receiving messages, then it’s a smartwatch that you need. If you’re going to focus on your workout stats and health metrics, go for a fitness tracker.
Available Features

When buying a fitness watch, you should also consider the features it carries. New-generation fitness watches include an advanced wrist-based heart rate monitor, integrated GPS, nightly recovery measurement, and personalized daily workout guide.

Another helpful feature that you may want your fitness watch to have is its coaching capability. Besides taking note of your fitness stats, a fitness watch can also provide a training guide based on your personal training history, readiness, and recovery. One with a smart coaching feature will also offer you feedback on how to improve your health and fitness routines.

Some fitness watches also have 24/7 activity monitoring, altimeter, compass, hill splitter, mobile connectivity, movement reminder, route guidance and planning, and weather forecast features.

You can also choose from numerous designs ranging from sleek and stylish ones to rugged and heavy-duty ones.
Sport-Specific Options

Just as fitness watches come in different colors, shapes, and sizes, these fitness watches are also designed for various purposes. There are multipurpose fitness watches, while some are specifically designed for a particular sport.

While most fitness watches now come in waterproof designs, some have additional features to help you excel in a particular sport, such as cycling, running, swimming or triathlon. It depends on what you need and how serious you are with your health and fitness plan.

Multisport fitness watches come with a more comprehensive list of features. Some come with military-level durability and strength to withstand the most grueling of terrains, extreme temperatures, drop, humidity, or the most challenging workouts. Others have ultra-long life and multiple power save options and may come in light (yet strong) materials. Others still combine all of the features above and more.
Price

These devices also vary in price. Those with power-packed features typically come at a premium compared to those with fewer features or lower specs. Others prefer branded names, while some people go for non-branded ones. Some fitness stores, both online and brick-and-mortar ones, come up with unique offers or discounted deals from time to time and put these smart devices on sale.

Tracking Your Fitness

Your fitness watch must suit your specific requirements and preferences. Take note of the type of watch and the purpose it will serve. At the same time, look into the features that you will have the most use for. Also, consider if you have a specific sport you are involved in and the budget that you have in mind.