Fitness
Fitness Trackers: Benefits and What To Look For
Fitness trackers seem to be everywhere — from smartwatches and rings to devices you clip to your clothes. But if you’re not a “gym person,” you might wonder whether they’re worth it.
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The short answer? They can be helpful tools for many people, but they’re not magic.
“Fitness trackers give you information about your body and your activity,” says certified personal trainer Curt Fischer, CPT. “What really matters is how you use that information to stay consistent and keep moving.”
Fischer shares advice about what to know when choosing and using a fitness tracker.
What are fitness trackers?
Fitness trackers are devices that monitor your physical activity and certain body metrics throughout the day, and even overnight. Depending on your model, they may have features like:
- Step logging
- Distance tracking
- Calorie burn estimates
- Heart rate and heart rhythm information
- Blood oxygen levels
- Minutes of exercise
- Period tracking
- Medication logging
- Noise monitoring
- Fall detection
- Sleep quality
But not every metric is equally reliable.
Some measurements — like heart rate — tend to be fairly accurate as long as you’re wearing the device properly. Others, like body composition estimates, may be less precise.
“A lot of those advanced measurements are more of an estimate,” Fischer notes. “They can be off, so it’s important not to rely on them as exact numbers.”
Benefits of fitness trackers
Fitness trackers aren’t just for athletes or gym regulars. They can offer practical benefits for just about anyone. Let’s take a look at what you can learn about your health by using one regularly.
Awareness
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages fitness trackers can offer is that they can help you understand your body better.
“You can learn a lot about yourself and your habits,” Fischer says. “Over time, you start to recognize your heart rate, your patterns and how your body responds to activity.”
That awareness can help you make more informed choices about your health and daily habits.
Motivation
Most trackers are designed to encourage movement, whether that’s through step counts, activity rings or reminders to stand up. Even small nudges from your tracker can help you maintain healthy habits.
Likewise, features like notifications when you reach a certain goal or opportunities to share your activity with friends can help you celebrate a job well done.
Feedback
Instead of guessing how hard you’re working, a tracker can help you gain insight in real time.
Heart rate monitoring, for example, can help you gauge your exercise intensity. The American Heart Association, among other groups, encourages adults to get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise.
With a fitness tracker, your heart rate is at your fingertips (or on your wrist, as the case may be). So, you can know if you’re working at the proper intensity.
“If you can see your heart rate during activity, you know whether you’re in that moderate intensity range, where you’re really getting benefits,” Fischer explains.
Safety and peace of mind
Some devices include features like fall detection, emergency alerts or GPS tracking. While not always perfect, these tools can offer reassurance. And they can be especially helpful for older adults or people with certain health concerns.
“There are features that can alert others if something happens,” Fischer shares. “That peace of mind can be valuable for a lot of people.”
Tracking progress
Seeing your data over time — whether it’s daily activity or heart rate trends — can help you spot improvements.
“If your heart rate comes down over time with the same activity, that’s a sign you’re getting fitter,” Fischer illustrates.
That kind of feedback can reinforce healthy habits and give you a sense of accomplishment.
Choosing the best fitness tracker for your needs
The market for fitness trackers is huge. Costs vary wildly, as do features. So, choosing the best fitness tracker for your needs can take some research and forethought.
Here are a few things to consider:
- Your main goal: Are you focused on tracking general activity, heart rate, sleep or something more advanced, like GPS for outdoor workouts?
- Ease of use: Some devices are simple and straightforward. Others come with steeper learning curves. If you prefer something basic, a simpler model may be a better fit. If it’s too complicated to use regularly, you’re less likely to benefit from it.
- Form factor: If you already have a favorite watch or bracelet, wearing a clip-on or ring-style tracker may be better for you. On the other hand, rings can pose a safety risk for some jobs. So, what works for you may be different from what works for other people.
- Compatibility: Most devices will send data to an app on your smartphone. And that technology may be brand-specific. Make sure your tracker will play nicely with your tech.
- Battery life: Fitness trackers need to be charged — some more than others. Consider how you’ll use your tracker to determine how long you need the batter to last.
- Accuracy: Heart rate tracking with a fitness device is generally reliable. Other features may vary. If absolute accuracy is important, focus on devices known for strong performance in the areas you care about.
- Cost: Prices can vary widely. Basic models may cost less than $50, while high-end devices can cost hundreds of dollars. And the upfront price may not be the whole story. “A lot of these devices come with subscriptions or added features that cost extra,” Fischer says.
- Lifestyle fit: Think about how you’ll actually use it day to day. If you won’t wear a watch to bed, for example, a sleep-tracking feature isn’t going to do you much good.
Fitness trackers can be useful tools — but they’re just that: tools.
“They don’t improve your health on their own,” Fischer states. “What matters is that you wear them, review your stats and stay active.”
In other words, the best fitness tracker is the one you’ll use (and keep charged). Using it regularly can help you move more, learn more about your body and stick with habits that support your health.
From the teeth-gritting clench of a bicep curl to the dip of a squat, we tend to think of upwards movements as the most beneficial part of strength training.
The “lifting” motion in which our muscles shorten – known as concentric exercise – is important. But what happens on the way down, when we lower a weight and our muscles lengthen – known as eccentric exercise – can be just as beneficial, according to a new article published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science.
Professor Ken Nosaka, director of exercise and sports science at Edith Cowan University and the article’s author, has been researching eccentric exercise, which includes movements such as chair squats, wall sit-ups and walking downhill, for decades.
What is eccentric exercise and who is it for?
There are three different ways our muscles contract: concentrically (lifting), eccentrically (lowering) and isometrically (staying static). Many common exercises combine all three.
But Nosaka believes we often overlook this second type of movement. His research suggests can be just as beneficial as concentric movement for building strength and muscle size, as well as less fatiguing.
“Eccentric movement is a more powerful stimulus for muscles to get stronger,” he says.
This includes findings that the same strength gains can be achieved with half the reps if you lower instead of lift, while a 2023 study of his found even a single, three-second eccentric arm contraction each day can improve strength.
Given that eccentric exercises require less metabolic energy and oxygen to perform, Nosaka thinks they are particularly beneficial for older and/or sedentary adults.
However, Dr Lewis Ingram, a physiotherapy lecturer at the University of South Australia says purely focusing on just one component of exercise can be a little reductionist.
“I think that the general population should just do the whole exercise. Breaking the exercise down and just doing the eccentric component is a lot more work to do in terms of the feasibility of it,” he says.
A bicep curl, for example, needs to involve an upwards movement for it to be repeated.
But Nosaka says one way to focus on eccentric movement is with the “2:1 method”, which involves using both limbs to lift a weight, and just one to lower it.
He adds that this style of exercise can be just as beneficial for bone density.
“When you are doing eccentric contractions, the tendon is more stretched. The stretch signal is going to the bone, which is getting stronger,” he says. “When you are descending stairs, you have put more weight on one leg, right? So then that can increase bone mineral density.”
While Ingram points out many studies referenced in the paper don’t rely on robust enough evidence – small sample sizes, for example – he says it is important to slow down and focus on eccentric movement to build muscle (around three seconds, according to Nosaka).
He says solely focusing on eccentric movement can be beneficial for elite athletes, and exercises in which someone is not strong enough to perform an “upwards” concentric movement, such as a pull-up.
What muscle soreness after exercise means
Another common belief about exercise is “no pain, no gain”, the idea that muscle soreness correlates to effort and results.
“Eccentric contraction can cause muscle soreness, especially the first time you do it or after a long time without exercising,” says Nosaka.
“But the important thing is that muscle damage or muscle soreness is not necessary if you want to get strong or get a bigger muscle size.”
To prevent the muscle soreness that can come from eccentric exercise, he recommends performing fewer reps at lower loads to start with.
However, hypertrophy or skeletal muscle building does require increasing load over time, says Nosaka.
Ingram agrees that soreness is generally most attributed to eccentric contractions, but is not necessarily an indicator of a good workout, and tends to dissipate with repetition over time.
Keep it simple
One of Nosaka’s favourite eccentric exercises is one we do daily.
“We normally sit down on the chair maybe 20 times a day – at mealtimes, for example, and when you watch TV or you go to the toilet. So whenever you sit down, try to lower yourself more slowly,” he says.
Ultimately, Ingram says the general population should just keep it simple, particularly given most adults fail to meet benchmarks for physical activity.
He says most people should aim to follow the World Health Organisation’s guidelines, which recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity throughout the week, and at least two strength training sessions per week.
“If we can just get people to do the basics right, then that’s a lot more effective.”
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Christine Lampard swears by one low-pressure and realistic approach to staying fit: NEAT exercise. Standing for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, NEAT exercise refers to any movement you do that isn’t planned. For Christine, that means being on her feet doing chores around the house, walking her children to school, or dog walking – it keeps her active, without the pressure of a formal routine.
‘I don’t go to the gym but I’m always moving and I think that keeps me fit,’ she explained in an interview with Woman and Home magazine. ‘Frank is very good with gym stuff but I find that general activeness and not sitting around for too long is pretty good for me. I was up at 5.45 this morning preparing breakfast, making lunches and getting the kids ready.
‘I walked my daughter to school while she rode along on her little scooter and then I took our dog out. I’m also active around the house and it gets my steps up without trying.’
The 47-year-old Loose Women host strongly believes you don’t need a gym membership – or formal workouts – to stay healthy, but walking (a form of NEAT exercise) is a big part of her routine.
In a separate TikTok video for Woman and Home magazine, she explained how it can be so effective: ‘I can be very lazy when it comes to exercise. But actually, I’ve always said this, I walk. I walk and I walk. I don’t do any classes or anything like that. I’d love to get into Pilates but that’s something I’ve talked about for about 20 years and never acted on it. But walking for me, I get the dog and the children out, we go to the park, no matter what the weather is. And I’ve found walking the absolute perfect exercise for me, it gets the heart pumping, keeps everything together, keeps you just generally fit.’
Why is NEAT exercise so effective?
Non-intentional exercise like this makes up significantly more of your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure – how many calories you burn across each day), compared to the time you spend exercising in a gym doing a planned workout. NEAT makes up 50% of your TDEE, while a planned workout typically counts for roughly 10%. The more you fit movement into your day, whether that be doing household chores, walking instead of taking public transport, using a standing desk instead of sitting down, or carrying shopping instead of using a trolley, the more energy you expend and the bigger the fitness benefits.
Examples of NEAT exercise
Some other examples of NEAT include:
- Walking upstairs
- Walking the dog
- Carry grocery shopping
- Washing the car
- Fidgeting
- Playing with children or pets
- Using a standing desk
- Walking to the gym, shops, office instead of taking public or private transport
- Gardening
Christine’s underlying value is consistency over intensity – you don’t need formal workouts for results if that doesn’t work for you. Research consistently shows that regular, moderate exercise delivers meaningful health and fitness benefits, and sometimes the equivalent of fewer but more intense workout sessions. What matters most is showing up repeatedly.
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
Regular exercise can help to manage blood pressure, because it makes our hearts stronger.
But according to a huge 2023 study, which looked at 270 trials from 1990-2023, “isometric” exercises might be the most effective at the job, with “wall sits” the best performer among these.
Researchers found that isometric exercise was more likely, on average, to lower blood pressure than aerobic exercise training, dynamic resistance training, combined training, and high-intensity interval training, though all forms were still immensely helpful.
What is isometric exercise?
It involves keeping your body still while you tense specific muscles for a set period of time. You don’t move your joints during the movement.
“Isometric exercise” is sometimes called “static” exercise.
It is the opposite of “dynamic,” or “isotonic” exercise, which involves little load and consistent pressure on various muscles. For example, running and swimming.
Most forms of exercise involve a combination of isometric and isotonic exercise, though some are 100% one or the other.
What are some examples of isometric exercises?
- Wall sits
- Planks
- Glute bridges
- Side planks
- V-holds
- Calf raises
- Hollow holds
- Copenhagen planks.
In the 2023 study we mentioned earlier, published in the BMJ, wall sits (placing your back against a wall with your thighs parallel to the ground) were the most effective of the isometric exercises for lowering blood pressure.
Does that mean I should only do isometric exercises?
The best approach to exercise seems to be a mixture of weight training and aerobic training. This has been linked to increased longevity compared to sticking to one or the other.
Speaking to the British Heart Foundation, senior cardiac nurse, Joanne Whitmore, said: “Exercise is good for your heart health and health in general. It can reduce the risk of heart and circulatory diseases by up to a third.
“Aerobic exercise in particular can help the heart and circulatory system work better through lowering blood pressure. Current guidelines also encourage muscle-strengthening exercises, like yoga or Pilates.
“It’s encouraging to see other forms of exercise explored in this research as we know that those who take on exercise they enjoy, tend to carry on for longer, which is key in maintaining lower blood pressure.
“However, there are other lifestyle choices that can benefit your blood pressure. These include keeping to a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, cutting down on salt, not drinking too much alcohol and taking any prescribed medication”.
Speak to your doctor if you have a heart condition and want to take up new exercise, she added.
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