How To Get Fit With A Smartwatch

One of the most popular New Year resolutions, if getting fit is top of your to-do list for 2019, it’s important to make sure you have strategies in place to ensure you achieve your goals.

Whether it’s a new gym membership, a set of free weights or a pair of running shoes, there’s no doubt that having a personal trainer strapped to your wrist can help make all of these much more effective.

When it comes to winning at the New Year, New You transformation, here are the top five smartwatch features which will help you get fit in 2019.

1. One Step Closer

Whether you’re currently a couch potato or you’re already a pro at hitting the gym, taking more steps is always going to be good news if you’re trying to boost your fitness levels.

Using the pedometer feature on your smartwatch will help you track the amount of steps you take each day, and help you learn how to increase them if you need to.

With the average person only taking 4,000 steps a day (much less than the recommended 10,000), seeing how much you’ve moved each day can be a really great motivational tool.

If your steps are normally low, things like going for a walk at lunch time, parking further from work, or simply jogging on the spot can help you get your step count up to (and beyond) that magic number.

2. Listen To Your Heart

Tracking your heart rate can be a great tool to increase your fitness levels for both novices and seasoned fitness-pros alike.

Putting your cardiovascular health at the heart (groan!) of your workout, training in heart rate zones can help you get the max out of your training. Measuring your heart rate continuously will also provide an objective way to measure how much you’re exerting yourself during exercise - and tell you whether you should be working harder!

To figure out the ideal heart rate to train at, a rough guide is to subtract your age from 220 to give your maximum heart rate. You can then set a target heart rate of anywhere between 50 to 85% of this number depending on your goals and your existing level of fitness.

Looking at your heart rate over time is key to checking on your progress; your resting heart rate will give a great indication as to whether your fitness levels are increasing. The general rule of thumb is that people who are physically fit will find that they have lower resting heart rates.

3. Get A Move On

Almost an extension of tracking your steps, sometimes we all need a bit of extra motivation to get up and move more.

Setting reminders to move on your smartwatch will challenge you to get up and move around when you’ve been sitting still for too long.

Perfect for those of us who work at a desk, it can encourage you to move away from your screen for a bit, helping you to add a few more steps to your daily total and giving your eyes a well-deserved rest.

4. Just Add Water

One of the most effective ways to burn calories, swimming is a full-body workout that can see you torch over 200 calories in just half an hour - more than double that of walking.

With a waterproof smartwatch, you can ensure that your aquatic workouts are tracked and logged along with everything else.

As well as being able to see how you’ve challenged your heart rate and how many calories you’ve burned in the pool, why not fire up your inner competitive streak by setting some lap timers and see how much quicker you can get week on week?

After all, there’s no better motivation than beating your own personal best.

5. Run To The Beat

Perfect for inspiring you to dig deeper when the going gets tough, listening to your favourite music whilst you work out can help you take your mind off endless miles of pounding the pavement or a hard session at the gym.

A smartwatch with external storage will let you store as much music as you need, and opting for bluetooth headphones will avoid you getting tangled in unnecessary wires.

All you need to do now is put your music on, get moving and get your heart rate in the zone to make 2019 your fittest year yet.

For more help on choosing the perfect smartwatch for you, read our Smartwatch Buying Guide for even more tips.