There’s a childlike type of joy that takes over when you receive a new gadget. Images of unboxing a 3310, with whispered promises of snake and pretty limited functionality still spark that same joy.
Tech, however, has come a long way since the noughties (ily snake), and physical trackers in particular are a thing of the present, beguiling us with their stats, and bedazzling us with their sleek, minimalist look. But for all the information that so seamlessly deliver to us at the touch of a finger, it can also be overwhelming.
So, what exactly suits you best when it comes to a physical tracker? We’re here to help decode the fitness coding.
Table of Contents
Why do people use activity trackers?
The benefit of an activity tracker is how luxuriously easy it makes it to follow your physical progress, compared to the old school method of ye olde paper and pen. Not only is it a more efficient way to track your movement, but it’s also been proven to be a more precise method, too.
In terms of attitudes towards fitness, the tracker helps to spur users on to exercise more. Interesting? Absolutely. Basically, the majority of us are less active than we perceive ourselves to be, and when the data paints a sobering story for us, we ultimately spring into action. Studies have corroborated this, showing that in fact self-monitored trackers increased the level of physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviour.
Corneel Vandelanotte, Professorial Research Fellow: Physical Activity and Health at CQUniversity Australia, states that, “Research has shown that keeping track of how active your are is one of the most powerful health behaviour change techniques.”
He went on to say that, “In general, people aren’t very good at accurately keeping track of how active they are and it is burdensome too. You may have an idea of how active you have been, but it is usually not a good estimate. This is where activity trackers come in: they make it easy for you to keep track of your activity levels. They allow setting a baseline and see your progress over time.”
So, we can agree that activity trackers are both an efficient and effective way to promote a more active lifestyle. In tandem with that though, the functionality myriad of options can be confusing, as all things with tech. Questions arise like which one do I start with, or do I need all the bells and whistles? Let’s look at those extras ’bells’, or metrics, and see whether they’re relevant to everyday fitness.
Resting heart rate
This is your heart rate when, well, you’re resting and awake. The rule of thumb is that a lower resting heart rate is better, so below 40 beater per minute. Normal rates are usually between 60 and 100 beats per minute, and 100 and over is considered to to be high.
There’s evidence to suggest that the lower your resting heart rate, the lower your risk of dying. So yes, in terms of things to measure this one counts quite a bit. And that’s where trackers come in; they do this efficiently and save you having to do it with your pulse and a stopwatch.
Metric relevance: Very relevant to everyday fitness.
Heart rate during exercise
While this is usually the metric that most of us concentrate on, it can be a bit iffy in terms of value. This is because our heart rate fluctuates depending on how hard we work out. Also, regardless of the intensity or the rate, it’s beneficial to get the body moving – as we all know.
If you’re on a concerted push to improve your fitness, then this metric becomes a little more relevant. But we are talking professional athlete level. There are five heart rate zones to be aware of here; ‘Zone 5’ is exercising as hard as you could possibly go for no longer than 30 seconds or so. For regular exercise, the aim is to have your heart rate in ‘Zone 2’ most of the time. When you’re in ‘Zone 2’, your heart rate, sweating, and breathing are all up. Activity trackers can tell you what zone you’re in generally, although a dedicated heart rate monitor strapped around your chest is more effective.
Metric relevance: Only relevant if you’re seriously training.
Maximal heart rate
This is the hardest rate your heart can beat at, in Zone 5, and it can’t be sustained for very long. Interestingly, your maximal heart rate is not influenced by how fit you are, or how often you exercise. Additionally, activity trackers are not known for their accuracy when it comes to this metric.
Metric relevance: Not relevant to everyday fitness.
VO₂max
VO₂max is another measure of fitness that can teach us about how generally health we are, and therefore our ‘all-cause mortality’. The fitter you are, the lower your all-cause mortality, and this is measured by the volume of oxygen you can breathe maximally over a 1-minute interval. The more oxygen we can take in, the more our muscles can use that oxygen, the harder you can workout, the fitter you are, and this is measured at when you are exercising at your most intense point. To paint a picture, these are often the guys and girls who are running on a treadmill with an oxygen mask on their face (so, not our usual Monday workout).
Activity trackers do have methods of measuring your VO₂max, but it is consistently unreliable. It can paint a general picture of your fitness and health, but not a completely accurate one. Based on this, and the fact that most of us probably wouldn’t look at this measurement as a ‘must’, this metric isn’t as relevant.
Metric relevance: Not relevant to everyday fitness.
So, what type of activity tracker is best?
Save your dosh. Bells and whistles generally aren’t necessary for most of us. Sure, data is always interesting, but at the end of the day regular movement is the ultimate goal.
As Vandelanotte suggests, “Unless you are into serious exercise, all you need to know is how many steps a day you take or how many daily active minutes you achieve, either metric is fine, it’s just your personal preference.”
“Activity trackers these days will measure a lot of other things, they are nice to have, but not essential. Chances are you will pay little attention to things like your heart rate or Vo2Max unless you are already exercising at an elevated level. Hence, basic tracker model will do the job just fine, no need for a more expensive model with all the bells and whistles.”
Don’t we all just love basic.
Here are a few options to whet the appetite:
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