If you got a brand new fitness tracker for Christmas or made a wonderful New Year’s resolution to get fitter, then you’ll want to know how you can use technology to achieve this goal. I’ve been using and reporting on the gadgets for many years and have gathered some useful advice to keep in mind.
A fitness tracker is a smaller and cheaper version of a smartwatch that is designed for elegance and ease of use while keeping an eye on your body’s pulse, literally and metaphorically. They make great gifts or a promise to yourself so you can get fitter than ever and take care of your body without having to buy something top-end like the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
So if your goal for 2026 is to get fitter than ever, whether because you have a big goal you want to achieve or because you want to be more in tune with your body, here are five pieces of advice to help you stay healthy and informed.
Wear it for life, not just for sports
A simple mistake many people make with fitness trackers is that they only put them on when they want to track their fitness. They wear it while running or on a long walk, but take it off when they’re finished.
In fact, your fitness tracker can record much more, and you should keep it on your wrist for as long as possible. Most track sleep when you wear them at night, heart rate at certain times of day, and the calories you burn doing smaller tasks that you would never call exercise.
Of course, the fitness tracker must be worn on the wrist at all times (except when charging, of course). So try wearing it all the time and you’ll be surprised at how much your new wearable can monitor.
Make sure you explore all the features
If you want your fitness wearable to inspire your fitness, just browse the menus to see what types of activities it can track. Maybe you bought it just to count your steps or monitor your sleep, but most models on the market can do much, much more.
Most modern fitness trackers can collect information on well over 100 different types of activity and some have unique additional modes such as exercise training, running guidance or HIIT. These might inspire you to take up an exercise or activity you had never thought of before, or to train something you already do more seriously.
Use your data instead of just collecting it
By using your sleep tracker, you can collect a large amount of information: running times, sleep schedule, heart rate over time, and so on. But all this data is meaningless if you don’t actually use it.
Remember to use your fitness tracker’s phone app as it collects information on every metric it examines. In most cases, you will receive breakdowns of individual workouts or sleep sessions, such as: B. Route and pace for a run or REM phases during a nap. These can be helpful in understanding what factors you can change or how you can train differently to improve your fitness.
Additionally, most fitness trackers show you the data in graphs over time, either for individual activities or for some sort of virtual fitness currency. This can be very helpful in identifying general fitness trends: Are you getting fitter or are you stagnating? And if you use the fitness tracker long enough, you may notice other trends: Maybe you sleep worse in warmer weather or run slower in the winter. With this information you can better understand your body.
Don’t be afraid to accessorize
As with any gadget, a fitness tracker can benefit from spending a little more money on accessories. You can purchase these from the company itself or from a third-party accessory manufacturer.
The most common purchase many make is buying a new band. The ones included in the inbox are often functional, but rather basic. Luckily, most brands sell alternatives in different designs, materials and colors, so you can choose a figure that suits both your body and your outfit. Perfect for fashionistas who require a specific color, those with sensitive skin who require a specific material, or wearers who find that the standard bracelet doesn’t fit well on their wrist.
There are a few other things to buy that might help. Some fitness trackers offer cases to protect the body from hard impacts when engaging in endurance sports, and a charging dock can allow the tracker to be charged quickly and easily. If you have one that can store music, wireless workout headphones will also help you appreciate this feature.
Don’t sweat too much
The most important thing to remember when trying to stay fit is that you always need to listen to your body, not just a fitness tracker (although it may provide useful insights that you don’t get from your body).
If your tracker tells you that it’s time for a run, that you need to push yourself through a workout, or that you’ve had enough sleep, it’s all helpful to hear. But technology is not omniscient and your body can report its condition: just see how you feel.
Many people rely too heavily on fitness trackers and forget to check themselves from time to time, but the healthiest people know that they need to maintain a… well, a healthy relationship with their technology.
