Are Fitness Trackers Worth it?
Are Fitness Trackers Worth it: Intro
If you're currently on your fitness journey, this is the perfect article.
First, it's important to highlight that I'm no expert on smartwatches or fitness trackers. This short 'Are fitness trackers worth it?' article will come from a health and fitness perspective. It is based on my experiences of using fitness trackers for around eight years and the wisdom of coaching Kairos Online members worldwide.
Interested in fancy technological-related jargon? Then this isn't for you.
Interested in being guided through the pros and cons of most general smartwatch features and how they could impact your fitness goals? Perfect, keep reading.
This article will be divided into sections, covering general features like sleep technology, monitoring the heart, etc.
It's also important to highlight that even though I may mention a specific brand at times, it's more about the overall features and pros and cons—not precisely questions such as, "Are Fitbits worth it?".
Let's Get the Potential Downsides Out the Way First
Let's discuss when having a smartwatch may not be a good idea.
So, are fitness trackers worth it? Well, you perhaps shouldn't opt for one if you fall into one of the following:
You get too obsessed with precisely hitting your daily goals, negatively impacting your mental health if you miss out on targets.
You've been consistent on your fitness journey for a long time to the point it's helped transform your health, but there's no longer a need as you've built consistent habits.
The constant reminder of having it on your wrist, e.g. the Fitbit calories burned, doesn't allow you to switch off mentally.
On the Other Hand
If you're wondering are fitness trackers worth it, and you've been tempted to get one for a little while, then they could be a great idea if:
You're at the start of your fitness journey and looking to focus on more positive habits.
You need extra accountability.
Like myself, you're a bit of a nerd regarding data.
Now, with that first section out of the way, perhaps you're closer to your question of “Are fitness trackers worth it?”
So, let's dive into the rest of the information, starting with calories burnt.
Are Fitness Trackers Worth it: Exercise Rings/Calories Burnt
Using your height, weight, sex and age—smartwatches can now estimate how many calories you burn in a day, so let's expand on this further.
The Pros
It's easy to mention one pro that comes with Apple's exercise rings and the Garmin or Fitbit calories burnt, and that's accountability.
If you see your 'calories burnt' for the day are low, you may be inclined to get more movement in—and, in turn, help transform your health.
This is good, but only if you know the downsides and have a healthy relationship with your physical activity.
The Cons
The cons likely outweigh the pros here, and that's because not only are the smartwatch' calories burnt' wildly inaccurate (some studies show up to 70%), but it can also result in an 'exercise to burn calories' mindset—a slippery slope if you are aiming to transform your health.
Your workouts should focus on getting fitter, faster, stronger and better—not to "burn as many calories as possible so that you have space to eat more". This is also a perfect recipe for weight gain due to inaccuracy.
You may feel like I'm nit-picking here. Still, I'm going on my experience of online fitness coaching for Kairos Online members worldwide, which are recurring themes for the 'calories burnt' section.
You're better off paying minimal attention towards your calories burnt section or even completely removing it from the widgets.
Are Fitness Trackers Worth it: Steps
A firm favourite amongst smartwatch users, potentially you included regarding information.
The Pros:
Starting your fitness journey with simply walking more is a fantastic idea. If you've never paid much attention to your step count, having a smartwatch keeps you more accountable and is a great way to get you to that next step (pun intended).
It's also an excellent reminder for days where you're sitting at your desk for long periods and like having the recurring reminder to get some movement in.
The Cons:
Aside from the fact that it's not 100% accurate, in this case, and unlike the calories burnt section, there's no harm in having an estimation of your total step count for the day.
Aside from that, you'd have to be picky to find more wrong with a smartwatch tracking your steps—a minimum expectation for a smartwatch helping transform your health.
Are Fitness Trackers Worth It: Sleep Technology
There's no more outdated saying than "sleep is for the weak" because the health benefits of good quality sleep are almost limitless—it guarantees a better fitness journey and quality of life overall.
Fitness trackers are also getting impressive with their sleep technology—to the point you now have a mini sleep device on your wrist.
I won't delve deep into what each bit of sleep technology does, but it is easy to see why these features can only be a win/win.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker is a book that goes deep into the facts and myths surrounding sleep. Although the book perhaps gives a slight tyrannical vibe at times, in my opinion, if you want to learn about the importance of sleep, you could start here.
A lot of Smartwatches Track the Following:
REM Sleep.
Plays a vital role in mood regulation, learning and long-term memory.
Light Sleep.
Promotes mental and physical recovery.
Deep Sleep.
Promotes physical recovery (think gym workouts) and other aspects of memory and learning and helps support your immune system.
Estimated Oxygen Variation.
High variations can be linked to breathing disturbances.
With the sleep technology implemented, this 'mini sleep device' can help you monitor some of the most critical factors in your mental and physical health.
In the thousands of years civilisation has existed, it's never been as easy to track your sleep as it is today.
Having the ability to watch out for potential issues, allowing you to go to the doctor to treat it as soon as possible—is a fantastic feature to have with you.
It could also help you look out for negative sleep habits, e.g. every day you watched TV at night, it took you an hour longer to fall asleep compared to days you didn't.
The only potential downside that could be taken from this is when obsessive behaviours tend to arise. However, this is less a 'watch issue' (as it's only doing what it's made to do with its sleep technology) than a person's mental state.
If you ever feel like you get so obsessed with watching your sleep, to the point it's negatively impacting it—then it's time to take a break from having a smartwatch for a while.
Are Fitness Trackers Worth it: Resting Heart Rate/Monitoring the Heart
Most smartwatches emphasise that this monitoring the heart feature isn't included to diagnose or treat medical conditions because, just like the features mentioned previously, it's simply so that you can keep track of your information and help you transform your health.
Anyway, Let's Get Stuck into the Pros:
Resting heart rate is an essential indicator of your fitness and cardiovascular health. Generally speaking, the lower your heart rate, the better. Heart rates typically range from 60 to 100 beats per minute, varying with age and fitness levels.
Having a feature that helps in monitoring the heart can only be a good thing, as it allows you to stay on top of your resting heart rate—which many people, potentially you included, are currently ignoring. Enabling you to improve it by doing cardio at a zone 2 heart rate zone.
As for the Cons:
You could say the inaccuracy is a con, but I'd disagree.
Because unlike calories burnt being a daily report, your resting heart rate is something you can monitor over time through a long-term trend by the graph provided. This will help you with monitoring the heart. Nor is it something that'll fluctuate wildly daily, allowing you to feel more confident with the data provided.
An example of my resting heart rate from my Versa 3 Fitbit between January and mid-March.
Interesting how quickly my resting heart rate started to increase once I stopped doing cardio after the first week of January.
I then started being consistent with cardio in the last week of February.
Take from this data what you will.
Are Fitness Trackers Worth it: Ending
What do I personally think? If you're still asking are fitness trackers worth it when it comes to monitoring your heart, your sleep, steps awareness and overall helping transform your health within your entire fitness journey—then maybe a fitness tracker isn't for you.
If you're starting your fitness journey, you will do well to invest in one. Especially as you're likely to need to work on more positive daily habits and have extra accountability.
If you need accountability beyond a smartwatch, click here to enquire about working with me as a 1-2-1 online fitness member at Kairos Online.
If you've been on your fitness journey for a long time and feel the overly obsessive tendencies creeping in that hurt your mental health, maybe avoid fitness trackers for now.
Before finishing, remember that you don't want to eat back the Fitbit calories burned section or any brand, e.g. Garmin, Apple, etc.—especially if your goal is weight loss.
Speak soon,
Leo
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