Tired of the “health is wealth” advice from well-meaning elders and finally decided to do something about your fitness? Beyond the new running shoes and a gym membership, what you really need to take your fitness game up a notch is the right tech. Gadgets and apps that can let you start seeing how much activity and exercise you get on a daily basis, how many calories you burn, so you can optimize and track your performance, no matter how big or small your goals (or your budget) is! Here are our top picks for the fitness tech to, quite literally, transform your life and take your workouts to the next level.

FOR THE MASSES

Goqii

If motivation (or lack thereof) is the real issue, consider Goqii (3, 999). Sure, the fitness tracker does the usual step/distance/ calorie/sleep tracking, is water resistant and syncs with your smartphone over Bluetooth…but you’re not really paying for the band. Instead, you’re paying for a 3/6/12 month coaching subscription service using real, live personal trainers based out of Mumbai, who monitor your workout and what you eat, and give you tips via daily text-based chats and monthly audio/video calls. Also consider: Fitbit Flex (Rs.6, 990) and Fitbit Charge HR (Rs.12, 990).

Xiaomi Mi Band

If you’re new to fitness wearable and want to start small as you figure out which one to pick up, the Mi Band (Rs.999) is a great place to start. You wear the water-resistant Mi Band on your wrist and the built-in pedometer tracks your activity levels and your sleep cycles, showing you data on the Mi Fit app (Android/iOS). It’s got a phenomenal 30-40 day battery life, and can double as an alarm clock and an incoming call notifier when paired with your smartphone. Another great alternative is Micromax's Yu YuFit (Rs.999) which adds in a display, making it more convenient to check your activity, as opposed to checking stats on your smartphone if you're using the Mi Band. Of course, the trade-off is the shorter battery life.

FOR THE SERIOUS FITNESS ENTHUSIAST

TomTom Multi Sport Cardio

The brand synonymous with in-car GPS systems has come out with a surprisingly competent fitness wearable in the form of Multi Sport Cardio (Rs.23, 499). Its large strap and dual-color finish means you’re likely to only want to wear this while you’re working out, but when it’s on, it does a great job of tracking your workouts accurately. Whether it’s laps in the pool, running a jogging route, a session on the treadmill or a breezy ride on the bike, the Multi Sport Cardio uses the accurate GPS tracker to calculate the distance you’ve run or the altitude you’ve climbed, not to mention how your heart’s been doing with its integrate heart rate monitor.

Fitbit Surge

With continuous heart rate monitoring and built-in GPS, the Fitbit Surge (Rs.19, 990) is one of the most feature-rich fitness bands you will find, and the level of functionality and price puts it squarely in the market for a power user. Step/distance tracking, calorie counts and sleep quality are a given, and the Surge is able to track different types of exercise such as running (outdoors routes via GPS as well as on a treadmill), yoga, strength training, hiking, weight lifting, and more. The always-on monochrome touch-screen LCD shows you the stats on your wrist, and it can handle music controls and call and text notifications from your phone as well, allowing it to double as your everyday watch.

FOR THE DATA OBSESSED

Jawbone UP3

Jawbone’s latest in its family of fitness trackers packs in a handful of sensors—a new tri-axis accelerometer,
bioimpedance sensors, and skin and ambient temperature sensors. Put simply, the stylish UP3 (Rs.14, 999) can measure your sleep levels, resting heart rate, perspiration, BMI and hydration levels, providing new insight and data that hasn’t been seen in a fitness tracker yet. The band lacks a display, but Jawbone compensates via an excellent app for coaching and lifestyle tracking.

Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale

The weighing scale generally doesn’t win any popularity contests given the truth it reveals, but Fitbit’s Aria (Rs.9, 990) may change your perspective. Aria tells you more than just what you weigh—it can track body fat percentage and Body Mass Index (BMI) for up to eight members of the family, and transfer the data wirelessly to your phone or PC to manage progress. Best of all, it automatically recognises you every time you step on the scale and syncs with any other Fitbit devices you own!

TOP FITNESS APPS

Activity trackers are great, but if you’re still in two minds about picking one up, you can use one of these to go from fat to fit easily.

FirstRun

Designed for folks who’ve never run before, FirstRun coaches you to get up and get going towards running a few kilometers. Users can select from two running programs—5 km or 10 km. And, to ensure motivation levels don’t drop, actress and fitness icon Gul Panag serves as an in-app personal trainer to keep you on track!

Endomondo

A long-time favorite, the Endomondo app urges you to 'free your endorphins' and lets you track duration, distance and calorie burn along with route maps. You can set up your own training programs to monitor your daily or weekly progress, and set goals, which the app reminds you to follow via an audio coach.

Strava

Ideal for cyclists and runners, Strava tracks your ride/run via GPS, including helpful stats like changes in elevation and your pace each day. Up for some competition? The app allows you to compare against friends or others on the same route, and even measures your performance against people in your age/weight/height group. If you are on vacation, Strava helps map popular running and biking trails, too!

Fitbit

Fitbit’s user-friendly companion app can pull in a host of data from your smartphone’s sensors. You get both pedometer (step tracking) and route tracking capabilities, and there’s food logging should you want to track what you’re eating and how much you need to burn as a result. Social features abound as well, so you can compete in leaderboards and challenges against your friends.

Runtastic

Another one for running enthusiasts, Runtastic works with your phone GPS to track speed and your running route, and the aerial maps and graphs are an excellent way to visualise your daily runs and show off your running accomplishments on the social network of your choosing.

olmdesk@outlookindia.com