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Whether you want to keep an eye on daily activities, improve sleep hygiene, or level up workouts, a fitness tracker can help you achieve your health goals, even while traveling. Fitness trackers are “a great way to keep yourself accountable since you can see how you’re making progress towards your goal over the course of the day,” says Milica McDowell, a physical therapist and vice president of operations at Gait Happens, a health clinic in Colorado. “It’s a helpful reminder to stay connected to your health promises.”
There are dozens of fitness trackers out there, from watches to rings and bracelets—each with their pros and cons. We did the work to find the best fitness trackers for different needs. We’ve concluded that the best overall is the Garmin Vivoactive 5. We like this fitness tracker because it works for a wide variety of needs and has thousands of positive reviews for accuracy, versatility, and battery life. Here are all our top picks.
Our picks for the best fitness trackers
The best fitness trackers
Scroll on for all the details on our favorites.
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Why we like it: The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a versatile workhorse with comprehensive health and fitness tracking options in a sleek package. Not only does it track basics (heart rate, respiration rate, cardio minutes), it also tracks sleep, assigns a sleep score, and offers personalizedsleep coaching for a well-rounded health routine.
Serious athletes (or anyone wanting more data) will appreciate the advanced functions, such as interval training options and the more-than 30 built-in sports apps, including one that tracks pushes for wheelchair users.
The long battery life (up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 21 days in battery-saving mode)—means you don’t have to charge it every day. Conveniently, the Vivoactive 5 also displays texts, emails, and alerts when paired with a smartphone.
Keep in mind: This fitness tracker can store some music, but not enough to hold a large library.
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Product details:Battery life: 11 days in smartwatch mode (21 days in battery-saving smartwatch mode) | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi | Water resistance: Yes, 5 ATM | GPS: Built-in
(Do you really need 10,000 steps a day? Here’s what the science says.)
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Why we like it: The Apple Watch Series 9 pairs seamlessly with iPhones and offers a detailed health and fitness view. In addition to measuring basic metrics like heart rate, body temperature, and sleep insights, the Series 9 simplifies tracking indoor and outdoor workouts—you simply tap the Workout app and select the type of exercise you’re about to start.
The new S9 chip also helps the Apple Watch Series 9 run faster and improves battery efficiency over its predecessors. We also like the new double tap feature, which lets you pick up calls, see texts, and other actions when your hands are full or you’re in the middle of an intense workout.
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“I find it is accurate in terms of step counts, heart rate, and sleep tracking,” says Sarah Pelc Garca, a certified personal trainer and founder of Strong With Sarah, a weight loss coaching program based in Michigan. “Plus, it’s a fun challenge to try to close my activity rings most days of the week.”
Keep in mind: Due to an ongoing patent lawsuit, Apple Watch Series 9 smartwatches no longer come with a blood oxygen sensor.
Product details:Battery life: Up to 18 hours per charge | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-fi, LTE | Water resistance: Yes, 50 m. | GPS: Built-in
Photograph Courtesy Oura Ring
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Why we like it: This discreet ring packs a ton of advanced fitness tracking features into a stylish, compact package. The Oura Ring’s sensors are constantly monitoring over 20 biometrics (including menstrual cycle tracking) to provide a comprehensive overview of your health. Daily reports are delivered via the app and include customized feedback, such as advice on when to start winding down and when you tend to be most stressed.
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The long battery life means you can wear the ring up to a week without charging. Reviewers say they love the seamless design of the Horizon model, which is ideal for people who find it uncomfortable to sleep while wearing a fitness tracking watch. Bonus: The Oura Ring is FSA/HSA eligible.
Keep in mind: The Oura Ring comes with a subscription. The company says the first month is free, then costs $5.99 per month. Reviewers suggest ordering the ring sizing kit to get the right fit. But don’t worry, as of reporting time, the company says it offsets the cost of the sizing kit by taking $10 off your Oura Ring order.
Product details:Battery life: Up to 7 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth | Water resistance: Yes, up to 328 ft. | GPS: None
(6 of the best sleep trackers, from rings to smart watches)
Best fitness tracker bracelet: Whoop 4.0
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Why we like it: Sleek and discreet, the Whoop 4.0 bracelet providesdetailed cardiovascular reports that are aimed at the more serious cardio athlete. The bracelet gives both a strain and recovery score to give deeper insights into when someone should push harder during a workout and when they should rest to achieve optimal results.
The same goes forsleep tracking—it takes your workout data from the day or week, along with your sleep data, and suggests things like the ideal bedtime for muscle recovery and how many hours you need for peak training.
While the Whoop 4.0 can be worn on the wrist, you can also wear it on your upper arm, knee, and even specially designed sports bras. McDowell says the Whoop system “gives phenomenal data that’s very actionable and excellent recordkeeping and tracking,” making it a fantastic option for elite athletes.
Keep in mind: The Whoop 4.0 comes with a subscription, but the company offers a free one-month trial. Alternatively, if you purchase from third-party sites like Amazon, the 12-month subscription is baked into the price. After that, it costs $239 for 12 months, or $399 for 24 months, if you pay in advance (prices accurate at time of reporting).
Product details:Battery life: 4-5 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth | Water resistance: Yes, up to 10 m. | GPS: None
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(Walking is the sixth vital sign. Here’s how to do it right.)
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Why we like it: At just under $100, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is affordable, user-friendly, and tracks the basic health information that most casual users are looking for. It tracks calories burned, distance walked/ran, heart rate, and other common biometrics, and can send irregular heart rate notifications.
We like the slim profile and that it’s water-resistant, so you can wear it in the shower or while swimming. The long battery lifeis also notable—the company says it lasts up to 10 days on a single charge.
Keep in mind: If you want to access more advanced insights, such as daily readiness (how well rested you are for physical activity) and stress management scores or FitBit workouts, you’ll need to purchase the FitBit Premium membership, which was $9.99 per month, at press time.
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Product details:Battery life: Up to 10 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Water resistance: Yes, up to 50 m. | GPS: Yes, only when synced to a smartphone
Best splurge fitness tracker: Garmin Fenix 7s
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Why we like it: The luxe Garmin Fenix 7s offers a robust and versatile set of tracking tools for serious athletes and data tracking enthusiasts. The military-grade construction is designed to withstand extreme heat, cold, and atmospheric pressure, according to the company. Built-in sports apps, multi-sports tracking, a built-in GPS, and “PacePro” technology are just some of the advanced features you can find on this comprehensive fitness tracker. There’s even a solar-chargingoption.
We also love that this fitness tracker comes with downloadable maps from around the world. McDowell notes that the Garmin Fenix line even tracks specific sports like cross-country skiing and yoga. It’s compatible with both iPhone and Android (with help from an app), so you can receive text notifications and stream your music library.
Keep in mind: The Fenix 7s feels bulky on the wrist. Some reviewers also mention that the interface takes some getting used to, since it’s loaded with so many features and options.
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Product details:Battery life: Up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, 37 hours in GPS mode, and up to 38 days in battery saver mode | Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT, Wi-Fi | Water resistance: Yes, 10 ATM | GPS: Built-in
(How walking can prevent lower back pain)
How we chose the best fitness trackers
With dozens of popular fitness trackers out there, it’s hard to know which one is the best for you. To help narrow down our list, we considered the following factors:
Third-party reviews: We read through customer reviews on each brand’s websites, honing in on notes from shoppers who used the fitness tracker in a variety of settings (daily life, intense workouts, for sharing health data with loved ones, and more).
Expert advice: We consulted with Milica McDowell, a physical therapist and vice president of operations at Colorado-based Gait Happens, and Sarah Plec Garca, a health coach and founder of Michigan-based Strong with Sarah, about what features to look for in fitness trackers and their personal recommendations.
Range of features: Fitness trackers offer a gamut of features; some are incredibly useful, while others are filler. We narrowed down the options to trackers that offer practical tools that appeal to both average people and serious athletes plus extras designed to level up your fitness.
Style: A great fitness tracker only works if you use it every day so that it can collect and compile data. Fitness trackers should be comfortable and aesthetically flexible enough to wear to work, the gym, and everywhere in between.
Tips for buying fitness trackers
Battery life
Battery life on fitness trackers can vary widely. If you don’t want to charge a fitness tracker often, then look for models that can last a week or more on a single charge.
Compatibility
Make sure that the fitness tracker you’re considering is compatible with your smartphone, whether it’s an iPhone or Android. This will make the pairing process seamless, and you’ll be able to access apps that come with the tracker.
Comfort and style
The best fitness tracker is the one you’ll wear daily. If it’s a watch or bracelet style tracker, consider the fabric and material for comfort. Pay close attention to the weight and dimensions. If you have small wrists, for instance, you may feel weighed down by an extra-large watch face. If design is important, look for a style that works for both professional and casual settings.
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Fitness data tracking
Seeing your daily step count or sleep insights are great, but that data should be stored somewhere. “Historical data can help you see trends if you fell off the wagon while you were on vacation, and if you are seeing progress as far as activity levels, [such as] how much you’re sleeping or if you’re resting heart rate is decreasing,” says McDowell. This type of at-a-glance recordkeeping is essential for meeting your health goals.
Price
Fitness trackers can run the gamut in price. If you’re paying more, make sure you’re getting additional features you’ll use often. Consider your lifestyle and personal habits, so you’re only paying for the data you really need.
Frequently asked questions
Which fitness tracker is most accurate?
A 2020 study reviewing nine popular fitness trackers found Apple Watch and Garmin were the most accurate for measuring biometrics like heart rate, while Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Samsung were the most accurate for counting steps.
How long do fitness tracker batteries last?
This really depends on the fitness tracker. Most basic models can last two to three days on a full charge. However, that can vary depending on a wide range of factors such as GPS use and smartphone connection. Some fitness trackers can last a couple weeks or longer thanks to long-lasting batteries.
Which fitness tracker is most accurate for calories burned?
While fitness trackers give you a fairly good estimate of calories burned, they’re not as foolproof as you might think. The same 2020 study mentioned above found that none of the nine popular fitness trackers included in the study “for energy expenditure” was accurate.
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References
Uddin, M.; Roni, M. A.; Siddiqi, U. R.; Hasan, M.; Hossain, M. A.; and Sultana, A. (2020). Role of wearable devices in healthcare, its impact and future challenges. Journal of Medical Systems, 44(10), 1-19. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-020-01689-5.
Esther Carlstone is an editor and writer based in Los Angeles, California. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Tripadvisor, Parents, People, U.S. News & World Report, Travel Age West, and more.
*Although we are sharing our personal opinions of these experiences or products with you, National Geographic is not endorsing these experiences or products on behalf of anyone. It has not performed product safety testing on any of these products, did not manufacture them, and is not selling, or distributing them and is not making any representations about the safety or caliber of these products or experiences for individual consumers. Prices and availability are subject to change from the date of publication.
You might know Chris Pontius as ‘Party Boy’ from the Jackass films and TV series that defined the early 2000s. Now 51, he’s back on our screens for Jackass: Best and Last, the fifth and final instalment in the franchise. Away from the stunts, though, Pontius has also become an unlikely source of practical fitness advice, regularly sharing workouts from his home gym.
In a recent Instagram Reel, he shared: ‘I have a very simple exercise tip for people who are having trouble getting motivated to exercise. Just lift the weight one time, do one rep, one push-up, whatever it is, and once you’ve started you kind of go, “Well, I might as well just keep going”.’
‘So try it, it’s worked for me every time and it’ll probably work for you,’ he says.
The advice is grounded in behavioural science. By taking one small step towards your workout, you’re more likely to overcome the initial mental resistance because the task feels more achievable. Once you’ve started, it’s far easier to build momentum and complete the rest of your session.
Our Fitness Director Explains Why This Method Works
‘There’s a bit of science behind this, too,’ says Andrew Tracey. ‘Behaviour-change researchers have looked at “all-or-nothing thinking” around exercise – basically, the idea that if you can’t do the full session, exactly as planned, you may as well sack it off completely. Giving yourself permission to do the smallest possible version of the workout is a way around that.
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‘Tell yourself you’re only doing the warm-up. Or one round. Or five minutes. You’re allowed to stop there. But often, once you’ve started, you realise the hard part wasn’t the workout itself. It was getting going. Research also shows that the way a workout feels can affect whether you come back for more. So a small win that feels doable is almost always better than the perfect session you never start. So while the “minimum dose” might feel like a cop-out, it could actually be a way in.’
If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.
Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.
“Forget living longer, exercise can make life easier right now”—a 72-year-old fitness influencer and marathon runner shares two accessible ways to start moving
Retirement is often a time when people slow down, but in Christine Hobson’s case, she’s speeding up. When her daughter persuaded her to join a running club so she wouldn’t get bored, she had no idea she’d get the fitness bug and run 125 marathons in total, visiting all seven continents.
And the 72-year-old former teacher has plans to run the North Pole marathon in 2027.
Hobson, who believes that exercise is the best anti-aging hack, tells Fit&Well: “I think what makes you old is not doing anything and just being sedentary, sitting around watching TV all the time. I really believe the less you move, the less you’re able to move, so when I retired at almost 61, I decided that my new job was to get fit.
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“Aging isn’t just about age—if you make life easier now, the future will look after itself,” she says.
Hobson, who strength trains too, has since become a fitness influencer, amassing over 132,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares workouts and her thoughts on exercise.
“I get loads of messages from people who are scared to exercise because they don’t want to fall over and get injured,” she says. “But getting stronger builds your confidence and means that you can do the things you want without needing help. It’s not about living forever. And it’s never too late to start. You’ve got to start from where you are.”
Here shares her two best tips for getting started with fitness, whatever your age.
Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.
1. Perform the sit-to-stand exercise
Hobson says an essential exercise to incorporate into your day is the sit-to-stand—a move that involves sitting and standing up from a chair without using your hands.
To build your strength, Hobson suggests doing the sit-to-stand 10 times each time you walk past a chair in your house. Once you’ve got the technique, she recommends trying it from a lower chair or couch to make it more challenging.
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“The sit-to-stand is critical,” says Hobson. “If you can do that, that’s the thing that’s going to keep you independent in your own home. Because if you live alone and you can’t get up, then how are you going to look after yourself independently? The next thing will be that you can’t get out of your bed, and then you’re in trouble.”
Hobson began with the sit-to-stand exercise, and has progressed to squat with a 35kg barbell and deadlift 75kg.
Many people think motivation will just appear, says Hobson, but she says: “There’s no such thing as motivation really. It’s discipline. It’s building a habit. You’ve got to book your workouts in like a meeting at work, which is what I did when I retired. I prioritized fitness like a job.
“I also have my workout clothes ready to make sure I exercise—even if I’m planning to do it later in the day. I get dressed so I can’t talk myself out of it.”
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2. Walk a mile a day
If you’re totally new to exercise, or returning after a long break, Hobson says walking is an excellent place to start.
“We are a species that is supposed to move, and even a short 20-minute walk will support your heart, your ability to control your blood sugar levels, and help you mentally and physically,” she says.
Her trick is to listen to audiobooks while she walks to encourage her to go further.
“This is how I started before I ran my first marathon,” she says. “I walked a mile a day and I really forced myself to do it come rain or shine. After about five or six weeks I found that I wanted to go more.
“And one of the things that helped was listening to audiobooks. If I got home and I had got to an exciting bit in the book I would have to go back out again to hear the next chapter so it would make me walk a bit further.”
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Hobson describes herself as a run-walker, saying she has completed all her marathons that way. “I started exercising for something to do when I retired. Now I do it because it makes life easier.”
CrossFit means a lot of things to a lot of people – because it’s made up of a lot of things.
Since the rise of the fitness giant, countless brands, events and training methods have sprung up around it – not claiming to be CrossFit, but looking suspiciously CrossFit-esque.
There are, however, a handful of things that are uniquely CrossFit: the ‘Girls’ benchmark workouts. The Hero WODs and, of course, its signature rep schemes.
Chief among them is ’21-15-9′.
The 21-15-9 rep scheme may just be the single most CrossFit thing in existence. But what exactly is it? Where did it come from? And why might it actually be better at building muscle in a hurry than its conditioning roots would have you believe?
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Let’s have a look.
What Is 21-15-9?
If you’ve never encountered it before, the format couldn’t be simpler. Choose two exercises (occasionally more) and perform 21 reps of each, then 15 reps of each, then nine reps of each, completing the entire workout as quickly as possible – with good form.
Probably the best-known example is ‘Fran’: 21 thrusters and pull-ups, followed by 15 of each, then nine. On paper it doesn’t look especially intimidating. In practice, it’s one of the most feared benchmark workouts in fitness.
Where Did it Come From?
Unlike many modern training methods, 21-15-9 didn’t come out of a study. It came from the gym floor.
CrossFit founder Greg Glassman has explained that the format emerged through years of coaching and experimentation in the 1990s. Rather than chasing a perfect sets-and-reps prescription, he was looking for a workout that allowed athletes to maintain a high power output from start to finish.
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The thinking is surprisingly elegant. You begin with 21 reps while fresh. By the time you reach the set of 15, your ability to produce force has already fallen. By the final nine, you’re significantly more fatigued – but the workload has dropped by almost the same amount.
Instead of grinding through increasingly miserable sets of the same length, the workout ‘meets you where you are’, reducing the work required as your capacity declines. The result is a workout that encourages you to keep moving instead of standing around trying to recover.
The numbers themselves are also remarkably practical. Forty-five total reps per movement provides plenty of training volume without turning the session into an endurance slog, while every set divides neatly into thirds if you need to break it up.
(Although I’ve got to be honest, I’m a 20-15-10-5 man myself, just for the sake of round numbers.)
Why Does it Work So Well?
Although there isn’t research showing that 21-15-9 is somehow the magic formula, there are obvious reasons why it consistently produces brutally effective workouts.
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Descending reps help maintain intensity. As fatigue accumulates, reducing the target allows movement quality, bar speed and overall work rate to stay higher than they would if you simply repeated the same number of reps over and over.
It also tends to land in a physiological sweet spot. Most 21-15-9 workouts take between three and eight minutes, depending on the movements and the athlete. That’s long enough to create a serious cardiovascular challenge while still requiring meaningful force production throughout. You’re taxing your anaerobic systems hard while relying on your aerobic system to help you recover just enough to keep going.
Finally, there’s the psychological trick. The hardest-looking part comes first. Once you’ve survived the opening 21, every remaining round appears more manageable. ‘Only 15 left.’ Then, ‘Just nine.’ In reality, you’re becoming more fatigued with every rep, but the shrinking target keeps you attacking the workout instead of pacing too conservatively.
Why it Might be Surprisingly Good for Building Muscle
Perhaps the biggest misconception about 21-15-9 is that it’s ‘just cardio with weights’.
Choose the right load and something interesting happens. Very few athletes complete every round unbroken. Instead, the workout naturally evolves into a series of short, broken sets separated by only a few seconds of rest.
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Your 21 might become 11-5-5. Your 15 becomes 8-4-3. Your final nine might stay unbroken – or become 5-4.
In effect, you’ve accidentally turned the workout into a form of rest-pause training.
Those brief pauses allow just enough recovery to squeeze out more high-quality repetitions before fatigue catches up again. By the latter stages of each mini-set, you’re repeatedly working very close to failure, recruiting the high-threshold motor units with the greatest potential for muscle growth.
It’s a similar principle to rest-pause training, myo-reps and cluster sets: all methods used to accumulate hypertrophy-friendly volume while keeping the load relatively heavy and the rest periods brutally short.
You’re basically speed-running a large number of hard, growth-stimulating reps in a very small window of time. Could this help explain why elite CrossFit athletes often carry an impressive amount of muscle despite spending relatively little time performing traditional bodybuilding splits?
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It’s certainly plausible, although the ‘elite’ part often selects for athletes with the greatest muscle-building potential.
Much of their training isn’t simply conditioning. It’s high-density resistance training performed under accumulating fatigue, with only fleeting recovery between efforts. In other words, they’re often doing something bodybuilders have deliberately programmed for decades: packing a lot of hard work into a very short period of time.
That’s not to say 21-15-9 is superior to a well-designed hypertrophy programme. If your sole goal is building muscle, there are more efficient ways to do it.
But if you’re looking for a workout that develops fitness, tests your mettle and still provides a meaningful stimulus for strength and size, it’s easy to see why this deceptively simple rep scheme has remained one of CrossFit’s defining fingerprints for more than 20 years.
Best Bodyweight 21-15-9 Workout: ‘JT’
If you’re looking for an interesting twist on the 21-15-9 format, look no further than Hero WOD ‘JT’, which concentrates the muscle-building potential of the format into a brutal upper-body workout.
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Created in honour of Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Taylor, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2006, the workout strips away barbells altogether and relies solely on three bodyweight movements:
21-15-9 reps of:
Don’t let the lack of equipment fool you. The volume – 45 reps of each movement, 135 reps in total – combined with the descending rep scheme makes this a brutal upper-body test, hammering the shoulders, chest and triceps while demanding serious muscular endurance.
Better still, it perfectly demonstrates one of the biggest strengths of 21-15-9. As fatigue mounts and the sets naturally fragment, the workout begins to resemble one giant rest-pause set, allowing you to accumulate a huge number of hard, near-failure reps in less than 10 minutes.
If your goal is building an impressive upper body while developing serious work capacity, there are few bodyweight workouts that deliver quite so much bang for your buck, making ‘JT’ one of my personal favourites.
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If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.
Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.
