Wearable Fitness Tech – How to Use Gadgets to Optimize Your Workouts

Ever worn one of those fancy, gigantic watches or wristbands and wondered whether you were actually getting fitter? Maybe you’re thinking about buying one of these devices, but you’re not quite sure whether the money would be well-spent.

This guide will show you how today’s wearable technology can boost your workouts and help you get fitter faster.

Keeping Tabs on Your Progress

The most fundamental function of any wearable technology is to record what you do. Step counters count how many steps you take in any given day. Today’s GPS watches will map out your run, and heart rate monitors measure how hard you work when exercising.

Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals with regard to how many steps you want to take, and do your best to achieve them.

Pushing Yourself Further

Wearables monitor how you’re doing when you work out, helping to remind you whether your heart is beating fast enough to be torching fat or whether you’re slacking off on those last few reps.

Use this data to inspire you to dig deeper. When your watch sounds an alert because your heart rate fell too low, pick up the pace; if activity rings didn’t close at the end of the day, do an extra circuit or two. The gadgets are there to give you the data, but it’s up to you to determine what you do with it and step out of your comfort zone.

Tracking Your Recovery

Exercise is only half the equation. The other half is figuring out how to recover—which these gadgets promise to help you with.

Dozens of devices now help to monitor the quality and quantity of your sleep. Pay attention to your nightly sleep score. If you find it chronically low, shift your bedtime earlier or limit media device usage in the evening.

Finally, check your resting heart rate in the morning. It will tell you just how recovered you are. A higher-than-usual heart rate in the morning for a few days straight means your body is sending up an “I need a break” flag. Heed its call and ease back on the intensity a bit—it’s time to take care of yourself.

Putting All That Data to Use

Even the most advanced wearable tech will be useless if you never bother to look at the results. Checking your stats and logs has to become a regular part of your daily rhythm.

Check your heart rate variability in the morning to see how recovered you are from the previous day’s training; track your training logs to see when it’s time to bump up the distance or time; and sample your step count throughout the day to see whether you’re on track to meet your goal.

Think of your wearable as a mobile digital coach that works to guide, motivate, and record your fitness progress—if you engage and listen to it.

Optimizing Your Workout Routine

Eventually, sifting through all that data from your device will help you discern your sweet spot—just what in your routine is working, and what might not be. Once you identify those things, fine-tune your workouts accordingly.

If your running distances stall at three miles with splits that slow down, your machine is telling you to change things up. Adding some speed work, hill repeats, and strength training will help you raise your training capacity and break through.

Meanwhile, if you’re PR-obsessed and your resting heart rate has crept up, you might need more recovery. Pay attention to your body’s messages before you overtrain, and back off.

Over time, you can let your wearable help identify the optimal weekly training loads. Getting this balance of training stress and rest is the key to fitness.