5 Things to Consider Before You Buy a Fitness Tracker

A fitness tracker is a great way to track your movement while also motivating you to do more. There are many different fitness tracker brands out there with different looks, monitoring methods, and additional features, making it hard to know what to choose. This buying guide will help you learn how to choose a fitness tracker based on your needs, budget, and style.

What Is a Fitness Tracker?

A fitness tracker is a wearable device similar to a watch that monitors and tracks your movements throughout the day. Some also give you goals to aim for throughout the week, while others can provide specific workout plans. The benefits of fitness trackers are numerous: They provide motivation and accountability.

5 Features to Consider When Buying a Fitness Tracker

When buying a fitness tracker, you want to choose the one that’s right for your needs. Some key factors to consider are that different fitness trackers offer different features and ways of doing things. 

It’s also important to find the fitness tracker that suits your needs and sense of style. Here are five key areas you need to consider before you buy:

• Price
• Motivation
• Goal setting and achieving
• Tracking ability
• Style and looks

How Much Should a Fitness Tracker Cost?

A fitness tracker costs between $20 and $500. The amount you spend depends on your budget and what you need the wearable to do.

Generally, the more you spend, the more features you get, including sensors for more accurate tracking and other useful ways of keeping you active. Also, pricier fitness trackers tend to look more stylish or allow you to swap out the strap for something that suits you better.

What Kind of Motivation Should Your Fitness Tracker Provide?

If you’re wondering whether to buy a fitness tracker to help feel more keen to achieve your goals, yes, you should. Pretty much all of these devices provide motivation through challenges, awards, or badges. 

At the very minimum, by tracking your steps and calories burned, you’ve always got a record of what you’ve achieved each day. By doing so, you’re much more likely to want to try to beat your high score from the previous day and so forth. Services like Fitbit also allow you to compete in leaderboards with friends, further adding to reasons to improve each day.

What Goals Do Fitness Trackers Offer?

Depending on the fitness tracker, there are different goals you can achieve. Smartwatches like Garmin and Apple’s range all have regular challenges and badges to attain. Fitbit also has badges to unlock, as well as weekly leaderboards and coaching sessions if you use Fitbit Premium. 

Not everyone needs this side of coaching or training but that’s exactly why it’s important to think about what goal setting you need from your fitness tracker or whether basic functionality will suffice.

What Do You Need a Fitness Tracker to Track?

Think about what’s most important for you to track with your fitness wearable. All devices will monitor your steps and calories, and most will also monitor your overall activity.

Others can also provide you with a GPS so you can accurately see where you’ve traveled. This can impact battery life but is useful if you want to see exactly where you’re walking or running. Some also monitor your heart rate or blood oxygen levels.

While no fitness tracker can be as accurate as official medical tests, such sensors can still be useful as a guideline figure to help you know what works for your body.

What Should a Fitness Tracker Look Like?

Whatever fitness tracker you buy, you need to wear it on your wrist. That means you need to pick a style that looks good on you. Some fitness trackers are small and svelte, while others can be quite bulky. Take a close look at whichever one you’re considering and weigh up how you’d feel about wearing it all day long. 

You also need to consider color choice. Certain colors can be available for less, but you may not wish to wear that color all the time. Check to see if your chosen fitness tracker has changeable straps so you can find a look for any occasion.

Who Should Buy a Fitness Tracker?

A few key groups of people will benefit most from buying a fitness tracker.

• Active people. If you’re already active but want to see how busy you truly are, a fitness tracker can help you monitor your progress.
  
• Inactive people. Keen to be motivated and can’t seem to get yourself out there? The gamification elements of a fitness tracker can do wonders here.
  
• Poor sleepers. Most fitness trackers also monitor your sleeping patterns. By doing so, you can learn what might be affecting your sleep, giving you the chance to change things around.
  
• People in recovery. Recovering from surgery or dealing with chronic illness? A fitness tracker can help you monitor how active you are as well as your stress levels, helping you relearn the new you.

What Should I Do After I Buy a Fitness Tracker?

Once you’ve bought a fitness tracker, there are a few additional steps you need to take before using it.

• Charge your device. Pair your fitness tracker with your phone and charge it. Most arrive with some battery life, but it makes sense to get it to 100 percent before using it.
• Subscribe to any relevant services. Fitbit trackers have the Fitbit Premium subscription service, which provides you with additional statistics and information. It comes with a free trial with every purchase, so it's worth checking out. For other devices, see what premium services they provide.
  
• Go for a walk. Test out your fitness tracker by placing it on your wrist and going out for a walk. It's the start of a whole new adventure in exploring the world while tracking your steps.

More Tips for Buying a Fitness Tracker

Before you buy a fitness tracker, there are some key things you should consider.

• Will you use the fitness tracker? If you’re already pretty active, you may not need the encouragement of such a device. Not everyone needs constant stats telling them how they’re doing.
  
• A smartwatch may be a better option. If you want a fitness tracker with app support, a smartwatch would be a better option. However, they are generally bulkier and cost more, so it’s worth considering first.
  
• Don’t forget battery life. All fitness trackers have reasonably long battery life, but make sure to plan ahead and potentially look for a device with a longer battery life if you don’t want to maintain it so often.