As technology becomes smaller, smarter and integrated into everything, wearing it has become a social standard. Whether it’s smartwatches, fitness trackers, or even apparel, tech you can wear to keep tabs on your fitness levels is more popular than ever. But with so many fitness gadgets on the market, it’s hard to separate the good from the not-so-good. With that, I’ve picked out the best health and fitness gadgets you should consider adorning yourself with to help you stay fit, healthy and as techy as possible.
Updated 04/03/17
Withings Steel HR
Available for $179.95 (US) or £169.95 (UK), from Withings
Withings
The Steel HR is the ideal activity tracker for those that don’t want to wear an obvious-looking smartwatch
If you want something that looks a little classier than your bog standard smartwatch, that also doesn’t look like a smartwatch, then Withings is the company to check out. The firm specialises in smart devices that don’t necessarily look smart, but that’s the smart thing about them.
The Activité Steel HR edition is an elegant piece of wrist wear tracks steps, running, swimming, and sleep — automatically. It features an analog activity dial and synchronises with your smartphone, be it iOS or Android, for in-depth metrics that help you stay motivated. And with an up to one-month battery and water-resistance, you’ll feel like you never need to take it off to charge. A great, more sophisticated wearable for that that want a little more elegant fitness tracker.
Fitbit Alta HR
Available from $149.95 (US) and £129.95 (UK), at FitBit
FitBit
The FitBit Alta HR can not only measure your sleep but tell you what you need to do to improve it
Fitbit’s latest wrist-wear offering welcomes some impressive updates, such as a much slimmer design when compared to the Fitbit Charge 2, for example. However, the Alta HR isn’t just about measuring daily exercise. Its primary focus is measuring and improving sleep,working alongside fresh innovations called Sleep Stages and Sleep Insight, which the firm touts as “a new advance in sleep tracking tech”.
Developed with leading sleep experts from Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University and the University of Arizona, Sleep Stages is powered by Fitbit’s PurePulse heart rate technology, which analyses heart rate variability to estimate the amount of time you spend in light, deep and REM sleep, as well as time awake each night, to better understand your sleep quality. Sleep Insights then uses this data to provide personalized guidance on how to improve your sleep for better overall health.
JBL UA Sport Wireless Heart Rate Headphones
Available for $200 from JBL (US) or £169.99 from Currys (UK)
JBL Audio
The UA Sport Wireless Heart Rate Headphones connect to the company’s completely free Record platform, an app that lets you track workouts with exceptional detail
Gym apparel brand Under Armour have enlisted the help of audio experts JBL to build a set of in-ear Bluetooth headphones with a twist: they have a heart rate monitor built-in, too. And guess what, they are absolutely fantastic.
While this is not a completely unique idea (Bose and Jabra also make in-ear sports headphones with an integrated heart-rate sensors), few sports headphones offer this feature, and even fewer do it well. However, the UA Sport Wireless Heart Rate Headphones can connect to the company’s completely free Record platform, an app that lets you track workouts with exceptional detail. It also gives you audio updates for things like pace, distance, heart rate and heart-rate zones so you can improve on previous workouts. But best of all, the phones actually stay in your ear while you’re working out. Something I’ve had trouble with in the past with sports headphones. These buds are definitely worth paying the little extra for.
Myontec Mbody connected shorts
Available from €820.88 ($885, £711) at Myontech
Myontec
Mbody is designed especially cyclists, duathletes and triathletes
Okay so the price might be a bit excessive for some gym shorts, but Myontec claims to offer “the most comprehensive and advanced training system available” with its Mbody fitness-tracking hip-huggers. These shorts aren’t just a run of the mill wearable, Mbody is designed especially cyclists, duathletes and triathletes by collecting combined muscle load with heart rate data, such as cadence, speed and distance, via its MCell Smart measuring tech.Available for iOS and Android devices, the Mbody shorts connect to the Mbody Live app on your mobile device via Bluetooth to give you your vitals but at the same time help you forget you’re wearing them thanks to their 3D elastic compression textile by Carvico Revolutional, which gives athletes comfort and freedom when in use.
Myontec Mbody connected shorts
Available from €820.88 ($885, £711) at Myontech
Myontec
Mbody is designed especially cyclists, duathletes and triathletes
Okay so the price might be a bit excessive for some gym shorts, but Myontec claims to offer “the most comprehensive and advanced training system available” with its Mbody fitness-tracking hip-huggers. These shorts aren’t just a run of the mill wearable, Mbody is designed especially cyclists, duathletes and triathletes by collecting combined muscle load with heart rate data, such as cadence, speed and distance, via its MCell Smart measuring tech.Available for iOS and Android devices, the Mbody shorts connect to the Mbody Live app on your mobile device via Bluetooth to give you your vitals but at the same time help you forget you’re wearing them thanks to their 3D elastic compression textile by Carvico Revolutional, which gives athletes comfort and freedom when in use.
Coros smart bicycle helmet
Available for $200 (£180) at Coros
Coros
The Linx helmet is the One For All remote of cycling helmets
Everything that a cyclist could possibly ever want from a bicycle helmet has been built into the Coros smart helmet. No longer do you have to risk your life wearing earphones while riding the streets, this bicycle helmet has bone-conducting earphones built in so you can safely listen to music or GPS directions while on the road without not blocking out background sounds. Better yet, it tracks your mileage and if you have an accident, the built-in collision detection automatically sends a loved one a message to alert them to a possible accident. A smart helmet that looks pretty smart, too.
Zepp
Available from $99.99 at Zepp US or £99 at Zepp GB
Zepp Tech
Zepp creates wearables for your tennis racket or baseball bat
Zepp is a digital sports training device that is not worn by you but is instead worn by the sports instrument you are holding, or kicking. Each sensor specifically tracks stats in the game their playing, so for example, for the recently launched football sensor, it will track total kicks, sprints, distance, top speed and more.
The sensor also uses auto-clip technology to capture 10 second video highlights to provide overall insights into performance on the pitch. With the sensor, the user can see information about their game that was previously only available to the professionals. The sports tracker is available for tennis rackets, golf clubs, baseball bats and footballs.
As technology becomes smaller, smarter and integrated into everything, wearing it has become a social standard. Whether it’s smartwatches, fitness trackers, or even apparel, tech you can wear to keep tabs on your fitness levels is more popular than ever. But with so many fitness gadgets on the market, it’s hard to separate the good from the not-so-good. With that, I’ve picked out the best health and fitness gadgets you should consider adorning yourself with to help you stay fit, healthy and as techy as possible.
Updated 04/03/17
Withings Steel HR
Available for $179.95 (US) or £169.95 (UK), from Withings
Withings
The Steel HR is the ideal activity tracker for those that don’t want to wear an obvious-looking smartwatch
If you want something that looks a little classier than your bog standard smartwatch, that also doesn’t look like a smartwatch, then Withings is the company to check out. The firm specialises in smart devices that don’t necessarily look smart, but that’s the smart thing about them.
The Activité Steel HR edition is an elegant piece of wrist wear tracks steps, running, swimming, and sleep — automatically. It features an analog activity dial and synchronises with your smartphone, be it iOS or Android, for in-depth metrics that help you stay motivated. And with an up to one-month battery and water-resistance, you’ll feel like you never need to take it off to charge. A great, more sophisticated wearable for that that want a little more elegant fitness tracker.
[“Source-forbes”]
