Fitness gadgets
Wearable Tech
Kieran Alger, Editor in Chief, T3
From run-tracking GPS watches to motion-sensing activity bands, whether you’re looking to shed pounds, or train for a marathon, there’s a tool to help you achieve your goals. Take a deep lunge this way for 6 great fitness wearables to get you motivated and moving. Our expert reviewer is Kieran Alger, Editor in Chief of T3. If you like this, check out his guide to the best headphones for fitness fans.
JAWBONE UP, RRP £99.99
Another wrist-worn tracker, the Jawbone UP tracks how active you are during the day, what you eat and how well you’re sleeping at night.
eBay likes: the companion app offers handy daily insights to health and wellbeing. Plus it has a great battery life.
Watch out for: there’s no display so you’ll need to view all of your information via the app on your smartphone.
Key features
Tracks steps and calories burned but also breaks it down to give you your time spent active, longest period spent idle and your resting calorie burn.Sleep Tracking uses the UP’s accelerometer to monitor movement and is smart enough to know whether you’re in light sleep or deep sleep. It’ll also spot periods where you wake up during the night and how long it takes you to nod off. You can also set the band to vibrate gently to wake you when you’re coming to the end of the sleep cycle that’s closest to your wake up time. The UP’s partner Android and iOS smartphone apps also offer food and drink tracking so you can keep tabs on your diet simply by scanning the barcodes of whatever you eat.
Weight & fit
The Jawbone Up weighs in at just 2.2g and comes in 3 sizes: small, medium and large.
GARMIN FORERUNNER 620, RRP £329.99
Garmin’s lightest and thinnest running watch ever, the Forerunner 620 takes run tracking to a new level. Serious runners now get all of Garmin’s GPS smarts plus a dose of technique-improving insights like cadence, ground contact time and even the ultimate fitness measurements like VO2 max estimates.
eBay likes: the Forerunner 620 is fantastically easy to set up and use. Single click Wi-Fi syncing with the online tools.
Watch out for: the 620’s touchscreen display can be a bit fiddly, particularly on the move.
Key features
The Garmin 620 isn’t just a distance tracker. The Recovery Advisor feature scans your data to estimate how long it’ll take for your body to bounce back from your latest run.
Race Predictor uses your recent running history to predict your race times over key distances from 5k to full marathon so you can see if you’re on course for your personal best. The VO2 Max estimate gives you a rough indication of your overall fitness level and lets you chart your progress.
Weight & fit
The Garmin Forerunner weighs in at 44g slightly heavier than the TomTom Runner but then it’s twice as smart.
POLAR RC3 GPS WITH HEART RATE CHEST STRAP, RRP £250
If you’re a bit more serious about your fitness the RC3 GPS tracking watch and heart rate monitor is a fantastic tool for runners, cyclists and gym goers. It’ll track speed, pace and distance but also help you make sure you’re training at the right intensity to achieve your goals.
eBay likes: it looks like an old-school Casio watch and boasts rapid GPS hook-up and a battery life.
Watch out for: if you’re looking for something that just tells you how far you’ve run then you should probably jog on.
Key features
Built-in GPS tracks your mileage whether you’re on foot or pedal powered with maps, splits and heart rate data all synched to an extensive web-based stats centre.
The Fitness Test mode lets you complete set training sessions to keep tabs on your progress. Training Zones lets you keep a close eye on the type of training you’re doing whether that’s fat burning aerobic or speed building tempo training.
Weight & fit
The Polar’s weighs in at 58g but feels perfectly lightweight on the wrist.
FITBIT, RRP £100.00
Turn your fitness regime into a lifestyle with the Fitbit One. By day, it’ll track your steps, distance, calories burned and stairs climbed. By night, it morphs into a sleep tracker, measuring your sleep cycle and gently waking you in the morning.
It’s tuned into other apps and can log your activities and meals. On the Fitbit website you can track the activities that Fitbit can’t track, such as swimming or riding a bike.
eBay likes: claims to help you learn how to sleep better.
Watch out for: it can get lost at night if it becomes detached from the armband.
FUELBAND SE, RRP £129
The new Fuelband SE is an upgrade to the original activity-tracking wristband. It tracks how much, how often and how intensely you move throughout the day.
eBay likes: we love the retro futuristic LED screen.
Watch out for: it’s not waterproof.
Key features
An improved algorithm delivers more accurate tracking. So chopping an onion no longer earns you more credit than walking to work. The addition of Sessions lets you tell your band when you’re doing, something like yoga, so it can more accurately calculate your true effort.
The SE now pairs automatically and wirelessly with your smartphone iPhone app using Bluetooth low energy.
Weight & fit
The Fuelband is unisex and comes in 4 sizes ranging from 5.79 to 7.76 inches. Additional extenders links are included in the box so you can resize to fit.
TOMTOM RUNNER, RRP £149.99
A pleasantly clean and simple entry-level GPS run tracker that caters more for the couch to half marathon runner than those looking to shave seconds off a personal best.
eBay likes: this is a sports watch with simplicity at its heart. Your stats display in easy-to-read clarity.
Watch out for: there are different versions of the TomTom Runner depending on your chosen sport.
Key features
The Runner has all the basics covered with duration, distance, average page and calories on display while you run. Track indoor runs via the built in accelerometer, although these are not always 100% accurate.
There are 4 training modes: Zone, Race, Goal and Laps. The Zone function alerts you if you’re going too fast or too slow or if your heart rate goes above or below a desired level. Race pits your current run against previous outings so you can see if you’re ahead or behind a previous time. Goal lets you take on distance targets. Finally, Laps mode lets you set automatic or manual laps based on time and distance.
Weight & fit
The TomTom Runner weighs in at 40g. The face and strap are separate which makes for a less comfortable ride.
