Oklahoma Stories

Top Fitness Trackers

By Joanna Mueller June 2021

Keep moving and keep motivated with the help of a fitness tracker

illustration of man running on treadmill
Graphic by Feodora – stock.adobe.com

We can all use a little nudge from time to time to help us stick to our fitness goals. Fitness trackers offer a wearable reminder to take a few extra steps each day while giving you updates on your overall wellness. Being aware of how active, or inactive, you really are is important for making lasting changes to your daily habits. Here are a few top-rated fitness trackers that promise to keep you motivated and moving toward your health goals.

Fitbit Charge 4

Fitbit made a name for itself as one of the best all-around fitness trackers on the market. The Charge 4 carries on the tradition with all the usual heart rate and activity tracking features as well as on-board GPS. The addition of GPS means you won’t need an additional app to track your runs so you can leave your smartphone at home. The slim design makes the Charge light and comfortable so you can take full advantage of the all-day heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking features. The watch can store data for up to 30 days. Older stats can be uploaded for safekeeping on the Fitbit app so you can get a full overview of how far you’ve come in your wellness journey.

Amazfit Bip

Smartwatches are a popular alternative to basic fitness band-style trackers, but they can quickly get super expensive. If you’re not ready to pay for a full feature Apple Watch, the Amazfit Bip is a decent substitute. While its software is a bit on the basic side, it does offer an easy-to-read (even in direct sunlight) always-on display. This is in addition to all the usual data tracking, GPS and basic phone notifications. Perhaps the best benefit of Amazfit’s smaller feature list is its extended battery life so you don’t have to remember to charge it every day.

Huawei Band 3 Pro

Featuring a similar design to the Fitbit, Huawei offers most of the same benefits along with a few neat little add-ons from the included health app. The built-in GPS is reported to be a little slow to connect at times, but otherwise, the performance is comparable to some of the more robust devices on the market. The app allows for an even more detailed breakdown of activity data, everything from calories burned to charts detailing heart rate zones and stride length. The band is water resistant up to 50 meters so it can even collect data while you swim to help improve your strokes.

Oura Ring

If you’re looking for a wearable device that is less focused on activity and more on overall wellness, the Oura Ring might be just the thing. The ring is far more discreet than typical trackers, but it can more accurately track a significant amount of information. The ring features two infrared LED sensors, body temperature sensors, and a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. All of these sensors work together to deliver highly detailed and accurate biometric data. The Oura excels at long-term tracking of body metrics to calculate your activity goal progress, sleep score and overall readiness each day.

Xiaomi Mi Band 4

If you’re not entirely convinced you’d benefit from a fitness tracker, the Xiaomi Mi Band is an inexpensive introduction. Rather than built-in GPS, the Mi Band utilizes your phone’s GPS to keep track of distance traveled. This is perfect for more casual walking and running workouts where you’d likely have your phone along anyway. The device syncs up to its own Mi Fit app where all the collected data can be further analyzed. Fewer built-in features also mean longer battery life (up to 20 days) so it doesn’t require much upkeep for basic data tracking. Again, if you’re undecided on if you even need or want a dedicated fitness tracker, this is a great one to try out.

Category: Oklahoma Stories
Graphic by Feodora - stock.adobe.com

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