Feeling Stuck in Place? A Fitness Tracker Might Help Get You Moving.

Turns out the discombobulation of sheltering in place for a couple months can erode a daily step count, a running plan, a strength-training regimen—you get the idea. Working from home, social isolation, family responsibilities, and general stress can make achieving fitness goals more challenging right now. While turning to tech isn’t always the answer, a fitness tracker could help you get back on track toward moving as much as you’d like (which can, in turn, positively impact your mental health).

“Trackers can help a user learn about themselves, their active patterns, and what affects them,” said Heather Milton, an exercise physiologist supervisor at NYU Langone’s Sports Performance Center.

They aren’t, however, a magical solution. Most users will stick with their device, at least for awhile. Eddie Hold, president of connected intelligence at market-research firm NPD Group, shared in an email that “overall churn for activity trackers—stopped using within six months—is 24 percent.” But while there is evidence that fitness trackers can increase daily activity, the direct health outcomes have yet to be fully determined.

Whether you’re considering buying one for the first time or already wearing one regularly, here’s some advice and insight into fitness-tracker features that might help bolster motivation and put you back in command of your fitness plan.

Before you buy, know yourself

If you’re sold on a fitness tracker, know yourself, your goals, and what you want out of the device. “When you first get [a tracker], you need to take it with a grain of salt,” said Albert Titus, a professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Buffalo. He recommends initially paying attention to how accurately a tracker performs for what you hope to keep tabs on. “In a sense,” he said, “you’re calibrating it to yourself.”

After that, resist the tendency to obsess over the numbers. Most trackers sync to a companion app that organizes and displays data (like your average heart rate, hours slept, and steps taken) for review. But consider that data a loose framework of patterns and estimates, not a rigid outline. “The absolute number that you’re seeing shouldn’t be what you’re always looking at,” Titus said.

If you’re unsure whether a wearable is a worthwhile buy, try a stand-alone activity-tracking app first, such as MapMyRun, MapMyWalk, or Pacer. A few-frills pedometer—which, unlike most fitness trackers, cannot wirelessly communicate with an app—will also work (we like this one).

Fitness trackers collect a lot of personal data. If privacy is a concern, there are ways to protect what you put out there. To begin with, Titus recommends reading the fine print of user agreements and privacy policies for both trackers and apps. Expectations vary: He points out that certain social-based fitness apps may require sharing data, but “another app you are using to count steps might also be tracking where you go.”

If privacy worries you significantly, Titus’s advice is simple: Don’t get a tracker. Untoward usage of your data is not a given, but questions surrounding where it goes and how it’s applied are valid.

Understanding fitness-tracker features

With routines upended, you may find some common fitness-tracker features especially useful right now.

Step counts

Ten thousand steps a day has long been considered a gold standard, but there is little evidence to suggest that it’s a worthwhile benchmark. That said, working in an extra few thousand steps every day has few drawbacks. It’s prudent, however, to question the accuracy of your tracker’s step-tallying ability. We’ve found that step counts vary widely by brand and model. Most trackers use an accelerometer to assess movement (steps included). Some trackers also log elevation—floors climbed—with an altimeter. Wrist-worn trackers base step counts on arm swings, which is why an activity like folding laundry can result in inflated totals, while pushing a shopping cart or a stroller can shortchange your count.

Move reminders

When working from home, hours can evaporate before you realize you’ve barely left your seat. To get you moving, some trackers will prompt you with a note on the screen (“Time to stand up!”) and an accompanying buzz. Fitbit trackers, for instance, want you to take 250 steps an hour; at 10 minutes to the hour, a reminder will note how many steps you have left to complete the hourly mark.

But even if a step goal or workout isn’t your primary objective, any movement is positive. “[It] doesn’t mean you have to exercise,” said NYU’s Milton. “Just the act of standing and moving around can have a profound effect on your metabolism.” She also points out that reminders can help you determine what actually gets you out of your chair during the day. “Maybe playing dinosaurs with the kids gives you a boost, or doing laundry, or pacing on calls,” Milton said. “This can be a motivator to choose more of those activities.”

Activity tracking

The American College of Sports Medicine (PDF) recommends adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise a week. Not everyone gets there. But some movement is better than none; don’t underestimate the power of a gradual buildup.

To help keep tabs, many fitness trackers are programmed to automatically sense and record a specific activity after roughly 10 or 15 minutes. (You can also initiate an activity manually.) “Fitness trackers are a great way to quantify your active time,” Milton said. They don’t always get it right, though: Nearly every tracker Wirecutter tested in 2019 registered pushing a stroller as riding a bike. But many come with multiple exercise modes—from the expected (running, walking, biking, swimming) to the niche (snowboarding, golf, stand-up paddleboarding)—which you can use to customize your tracker’s menu to reflect the activities you do the most.

Having the ability to log your favorites with ease might help keep things routine—and your momentum steady. “There’s a new level of excitement [for exercise] for some people” when they start using a fitness tracker, said elite performance expert Michelle Cleere. “They have more time. They’re able to do a little bit more, and see a little bit more of the impact.”

But if a daily deluge of data will rattle you, keep it simple. “Some more deluxe trackers give, in my opinion, too much information,” said Milton. “A watch that tells you a run was not productive because the heart rate was too high can leave a runner feeling more defeated than proud of their workout.”

Motivational details

Badges, challenges, rewards, and virtual communities are some of the ways fitness trackers provide motivation. One size, however, does not fit all. How you respond to an activity tracker depends largely on your preferred style of encouragement. Extrinsic motivation is the promise of a reward in exchange for completing an action; intrinsic motivation is the internal satisfaction an action brings. “There are some studies that suggest individuals who are highly extrinsically motivated by nature are most likely to become more dependent on activity trackers to stay motivated,” Milton said. (This study illustrates the point.)

Along with rewards, some fitness trackers offer onboard workouts (our upgrade pick, the Garmin Vívoactive 4S, features animated figures demonstrating different movements) or guided breathing exercises to help you relax. Their apps often offer advice on exercise, sleep, nutrition, and social opportunities (like the premium version of the Fitbit app, which is currently free for the first 90 days and costs $10 a month thereafter).

Jump-starting healthy exercise habits that will benefit both body and mind takes some work. Even a small push to move—like a buzz on your wrist—can unlock a larger commitment to consistent physical activity. A fitness tracker can help you establish baselines and learn from patterns over time, but it shouldn’t become an obsession or a drain. If it’s the right fit, it could be just the nudge you need.

Sources

1. Michelle Cleere, elite performance expert, phone interview, April 22, 2020

2. Dr. Susheel Patil, clinical director, Johns Hopkins Sleep Medicine, email interview, May 24, 2020

3. Heather Milton, exercise physiologist supervisor, NYU Langone’s Sports Performance Center, email interview, May 27, 2020

4. Albert Titus, professor and chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Buffalo, phone interview, June 1, 2020

5. Eddie Hold, president of connected intelligence, NPD Group, email interview, May 29, 2020