It seems no one can just workout anymore without some technology to tell them if they’re doing it right. Or, a lot of us are putting tech to work to tell us whether we’re making progress on our fitness goals.
Some clamp around our wrists. Some hang around the neck. Some merely count our steps. Others monitor our heart rates or how hard our muscles are working. But, what devices are adequate for individual fitness needs? Which are too elaborate or too simple? We tested out a handful of current models to assign them to dedicated classes of fitness seekers.
Misfit Shine: The Shine (top) sells for about $99, with an extensive collection of accessories enabling the wearer to apply the tiny sensor desk to the wrist, the chest, the arm, the ankle, etc.
Once activated, a circle of lights around the edge of the disc indicate you how active you’ve been throughout the day. The Shine tracks “walking, running, swimming, cycling, soccer, tennis, basketball,” etc. The related, free smartphone app works with the Shine to organize the collected data into digestible reports.
In practice, this is a solid entry level fitness tracker for the cross trainer or average fitness seeker looking for some feedback on what their body is doing and managing.
Pear Training Intelligence: Also selling for $99, the Pear uses a sensor, headphones and an audio link to coach the wearer in various workouts in real time.
Linking to your smartphone, the Pear sends Interactive audio workouts from professional athletes and trainers. The device tracks the wearer’s heart rate to determine how hard the audio coach needs to push to reach a preset fitness goal. The user sets the “fitness level, activity, calories, pace, distance, time, heart rate and elevation.”
This takes the idea of a passive fitness tracker that reports after the fact and makes it an active training participant. It’s a good choice for the workout seeker needing a little more motivation and a real time push.
Related: Jawbone Up Bracelet Gets Bling’d by Brilliance
BSX Insight: Easily the most elaborate device here, the BSX sells for about $420 and comes prepackaged for runners or multi-sport athletes. By applying the device directly to your muscles via specially designed sleeves, the BSX monitors “the power of lactate threshold training.”
BSXinsight uses its technology to sense inside the working of muscle groups to measures lactate threshold to generate personalized training zones reports. By reading the body’s fuel burning and muscle efficiency, the BSX is intended directly for the more advanced, longterm, endurance athletes. It’s not for the casual jogger.
Up by Jawbone: A simpler device along the same lines as the Shine, the $99 Up is a flexible bracelet to be worn throughout the day. Once charged, it’s supposed to stay active for about 10 days. It measures activity (steps, distance, calories and time) and sleep (total hours, light versus deep, length of time to fall asleep and quality). The interrelated smartphone app reports all of that data back to you. It’s on you to log your nutrition.
The Up is more of a lifestyle monitor. There are more advanced fitness trackers, but this device is for the user who wants to get a sense of how healthy each day’s behavior proves to be.
