When it comes to working out and staying fit, a fitness band is a great tech accessory that will help you stay on track. Fitness bands are specifically designed to keep a track on a person’s fitness and physical activities. It is truly one of the best ways to measure and keep a track on your fitness goals. Your fitness band will keep a check on the number of steps walks, the number of floors climbed, calories burned, your heart rate and so much more. So, if you don’t already own a fitness band, it’s time to get one. Nevertheless, with so many available options, it’s easy to get confused. To avoid this confusion take a look at our fitness band buying guide.
In our fitness band buying guide, we will talk about the various points you need to consider before making a final choice. Interestingly, various fitness bands are designed for specific activities. So, if you want a band for specific workouts like swimming, running or an exercise regime – we can help you figure it out.
Fitness Band Basics
Most of the latest fitness bands these days can be connected to your smartphone wirelessly. Depending on your day-to-day activity, data is automatically synced and stored on your smartphone. This will make it easier for you to see your everyday progress. Additionally, some of the high-end call function fitness bands also come with smartwatch-like features. These features include notifications for incoming calls, messages and e-mails. Secondly, fitness bands come built-in with certain sensors. These sensors analyze and monitor your movements. Sensors that most fitness bands come with are:
- Accelerometer: Fitness bands with accelerometer sensor keeps a watch on the movements and calculated the number of steps taken by the wearer in a day
- Gyroscope: Gyroscope sensor fitness bands keep a track on the various activities such as running, swimming, biking, standing, sitting performed by the wearer
- Heart Rate: The heart rate sensor is there to keep a constant watch on the wearer’s pulse rate during workouts and the rest of the day
- GPS: Not all trackers are equipped with GPS. However, the ones that do come with this sensor, can track your location
- Barometer: If you enjoy trekking, hiking or climbing stairs, this is the sensor that keeps a track of such activities. The barometer is used for tracking activities on an altitude
- Magnetometer: Just like a magnet, this sensor can detect the direction that the wearer is moving in
Types of Fitness Bands & Specs
The most important point in our fitness band buying guide is the type of fitness band that you will choose. These bands are mainly segregated into 2 categories namely – all day fitness trackers and training trackers. First, let’s take a look at what makes them different.
Features All-Day Trackers Support:
- Number of steps walked
- Number of floors climbed
- Quality of sleep
- Active minutes throughout the day
- Duration per workout
Features Training Trackers Support:
- Number of steps walked
- Number of floors climbed
- Quality of sleep
- Active minutes throughout the day
- Duration per workout
- Distance walked
- Heart rate
- GPS
- Changes in altitude
- Tracking speed, pace and route
- Calculating pace and laps in the pool (waterproof fitness bands)
So, if you are looking for a fitness band that can perform basic functions like calculating your steps and calories, it is better to opt for an all-day band. On the other end, if you love indulging in activities like hiking, skiing, trekking, and swimming choosing a training tracker will bode well. As these trackers come with GPS and will provide you with the pace, speed and stroke.
Design
The entire concept of a fitness band is that it needs to be worn constantly on the wrist. So pick a band with a design that you will not mind sporting on your wrist all day. The design is mainly dependent on the type of display that you pick. A major number of fitness bands come with a small or big watch face-like display that shows the data on the screen.
Other fitness trackers just come with small LED lights without any display. The data is automatically transferred to your smartphone. Make sure to give the design a thought as it plays an important role in how much time the band spends on your wrist.
Features to Consider
Next on our fitness band buying guide is features. Once you have decided on the type and design, it is time to consider the features that you will be requiring the most. Some of the features on fitness bands include:
Waterproof
Do you enjoy swimming or like indulging in water-related activities? And not just that, we tend to get sweaty during intense workouts. So, if you are going to have any kind of encounter with water during your workout, it is better to buy a splashproof or waterproof fitness band. You can take you waterproof fitness band along with you in the shower or even in the pool without a worry.
Battery
Battery is the one thing you must not miss out deciding on. You will find a lot of options when it comes to 1-day battery fitness bands and 7-day battery fitness bands. Some fitness bands can also last for a month. However, it is important to remember that the more number of sensors your fitness band has, the faster the battery drains.
Compatibility
If you are looking for a fitness band that will sync with your smartphone, you need to consider the compatibility. Whether you own an Android smartphone, an Apple iPhone or a windows smartphone, make sure to check that the fitness band will be compatible with your smartwatch.
Apps
Most of the fitness bands come with compatible apps that display your workout data. These apps store the data, making it easier for you to keep a track on your improvement. To keep a count on your calorie intake, these apps let you input all the food and drinks that you consume during the day and gives you the total number of calories you have consumed. This is a really helpful feature if you are trying to maintain a healthy diet.
Price Range
And finally coming down to the price. Fitness bands are available in a varying price range. You will get fitness bands below Rs 1000 and also fitness bands above Rs 10000. If you are looking for a low-budget fitness band, then you will have to compromise on a lot of features. Similarly, if budget is not a restraint, you can go for a high-end model with more features. The lesser the price, the less features and the higher the price, you get more features.
With this, we come to the end of our fitness band buying guide. If you are ready to make a choice, you can also take a look at our list of popular fitness bands in 2018.