Tech Tools For a Healthier More Productive You

From tracking your sleep cycles to counting how many steps you take, tracking your activity during everything you do is all the rage these days.

Activity tracking is only worthwhile if you’re tracking the right things and know how to put your numbers to use. Here’s a quick look at some of the devices out there, what they do, and what they can do for you—and where they drop the ball.

The Original Activity Tracker: FitBit Flex

FitBit launched one of the first widely-available easy-to-use fitness activity trackers on the market, and they’ve kept it simple, straightforward, and surprisingly accurate with the latest incarnation of the FitBit Flex. It works as a bracelet or slipped into your pocket—anywhere it can register your movement as you walk around—and uses nothing but a series of LED lights to show you your progress, with a small vibration when you meet your goal.

For more detailed reports, you have to check in using a smartphone app or web-based software; plug the supplied USB dongle into your computer and the FitBit Flex will automatically sync up whenever it’s in range. The buttonless design makes it water-resistant, though this simplicity is offset by its…well, simplicity. For folks who always have their smartphone on hand there isn’t much a of a drawback, but the device itself doesn’t tell you much. It’s also relatively limited in what it tracks, responding only to movement, so exercises that don’t set it swinging won’t register all of your calorie burning.

Steps, Sleep, and More: Jawbone Up24

It tracks you when you’re sleeping, it knows when you’re awake, it knows when you’ve been sedentary too long and it beeps for fitness’ sake…

So, the jingle might need a bit of work. Jawbone’s revamped fitness tracking bracelet, the Up24, fixed all the problems with its predecessor, though, and amped up the capabilities of its associated app, making this one of the sleekest and simplest yet most comprehensive activity trackers out there. Wrap it around your wrist and you’re all set—it counts steps, tracks your sleep cycle, tracks your time during specific activities you plug into the app, and even vibrates to let you know you’ve been sitting still too long.

The no-clip wrist wraparound might not feel secure enough for all users in all situations, though, and it also means the ends of the Up24 can be prone to catching on clothes and keyboard edges. Like the FitBit, a lot of Jawbone’s activity tracking power comes from the smartphone app rather than the wristband/bracelet itself, too, so if you’re looking for something with lot’s of standalone power this probably isn’t the right device for you.

Not Just an Activity Tracker: Garmin VivoSmart

One of the newest activity trackers on the market, the VivoSmart by Garmin does a whole lot more than count your steps. In addition to delivering a more accurate heart rate reading via a Bluetooth-connected chest-strap monitor, this wristband connects to your smartphone and allows you to locate it with directional and distance tracking, lets you check incoming messages, and more.

The downside: some reviewers have found the calorie estimator to be less accurate than competing brands. And the smartphone connections can serve as a distraction when you’re trying to get your crossfit training in, so if you’re not looking for the added functionality you might want to choose a more stripped-down model.

Heres what the Wall Street Journal had to say about these activity trackers:

 

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