00:00I've worn 18 different fitness trackers
00:02over the last few years,
00:03and today I'll share what I've learned
00:04and my thoughts on every single one.
00:05But first, why fitness trackers?
00:07I initially got interested
00:08in fitness trackers when
I got the Apple Watch.
00:10I wanted to see my heart rate.
00:11How many calories am I burning?
00:12How long are my workouts?
00:13How fast and far am I going?
00:14And ever since then,
00:15there's been a whole bunch
of different fitness trackers
00:17that I have explored
and experimented with.
00:18The biggest thing I've learned
is every wearable is wrong
00:21but some can be helpful.
00:22So I won't talk about data accuracy
00:23'cause most of these wearables
are going to be inaccurate.
00:25But their data can be helpful
00:27in terms of understanding
00:27your trends and behaviors over time.
00:29And as long as this fitness tracker
00:31is driving positive
lifestyle behavior change,
00:33then I think it's worth it.
00:34But if, at any point,
it starts to increase
00:36your stress and anxiety about life,
00:37take it off, stop wearing it, sell it.
00:39I'll start with my favorite.
00:40I'm wearing the Apple Watch Ultra
00:41on a day-to-day basis right now,
00:43but I do have the Apple Watch SE
00:45and the Apple Watch Series 8.
00:47The thing I love about Apple Watch
00:48is it feels like an iPhone on your wrist.
00:50Yes, it has a screen notifications
00:51and you can customize all these features,
00:53but it allows me, especially
with the cellular,
00:54to disconnect from my
phone and go about my day
00:56whether it's to the
grocery store or on a run
00:58and still feel like I'm safe
00:59and connected to the outside world.
01:00The Apple Watch Ultra has dual GPS,
01:02so distance and pacing is more accurate
01:04than these other two,
01:05but for the most part they
have great heart rate monitors
01:07and having a display to show
what your heart rate is,
01:09your time and distance is very valuable
01:11when you're working out.
01:12If you've never had an Apple Watch,
01:13I highly recommend the Apple Watch SE.
01:15If you're a power user, go with the Ultra.
01:16I think the dual GPS,
01:17the battery life and the Action button
01:19are extremely valuable
01:20when it comes to the Apple Watch Ultra.
01:21The thing I don't love
about the Apple Watch
01:23is having to charge it every single day,
01:24but it's become part of my habit.
01:25I try to charge it when
I wake up after I sleep
01:27and I try to charge it
right before I go to bed.
01:29In terms of power and use cases,
01:30the Apple Watch covers
the most amount of things.
01:32My next favorite is Garmin.
01:33I recently got into Garmin watches
01:34when I started running more.
01:36I guess most runners
typically wear a Garmin.
01:38But I do love the Garmin,
01:39the insane battery life on this watch.
01:42I think it's like 25 days
01:43on the standard mode that I got it with
01:44is absolutely insane.
01:45I don't have to charge it.
01:46This little flashlight on the
Garmin watch is super valuable
01:48but the GPS is really good.
01:50The distance, the
pacing, the large screen,
01:52and having solid buttons,
especially for running,
01:54there's multiple buttons of
being able to maneuver the watch
01:56without having to look at
it is extremely valuable.
01:58If I had an Android phone,
01:59I would probably go with a Garmin watch,
02:00and if I had an iPhone,
I'd go with the Apple.
02:02But if you're someone
who doesn't like screens,
02:04there are some better options.
02:05For example, the WHOOP Strap.
02:06So this is a device I've been wearing
02:07for a couple years now and I do love it.
02:09I love the fitness tracking,
02:10as well as the sleep
and recovery features.
02:12If this is your only fitness tracker,
02:14you do have to start and stop
your workouts on your iPhone
02:17This is probably the best
02:18set-it-and-forget-it fitness tracker
02:19'cause I can just put it on
02:20and it's always sampling my heart rate
02:23The battery lasts around four days
02:24and the charger just slides
right on and it charges
02:26and it has a lot of
sleep and recovery tools
02:28that I also like using.
02:29That video's coming out soon.
02:30But having it kind of hidden on my armband
02:31or wearing in my shirt or underwear
02:33makes this a great fitness tracker
02:34that's pretty much invisible.
02:35The second no-screen
option is the Oura Ring.
02:37This is a decent fitness tracker.
02:38It'll do outdoor runs, cycling, walks,
02:41and it'll get your basic heart rate data.
02:42You do need to start
and stop on your phone
02:44as well as have your phone
nearby for the GPS information.
02:46But if you're someone
who's just an average user
02:48and wants to just start
tracking your workouts,
02:50the Oura Ring is a great option,
02:51which provides a whole bunch
02:52of other sleep features as well.
02:53But if you're not a land creature,
more of a water creature,
02:56these are the FORM Swim Goggles.
02:57Yes, most of these watches
will track your swimming,
03:00but this is probably the best one
03:01'cause it's built exclusively for swimming
03:02and it has a little heads-up display.
03:04So when I put these goggles on,
03:05I can see my time, my heart rate zones,
03:07and it even has a little slot right here
03:08where I can put a Polar heart rate monitor
03:10right on my forehead.
03:11And having visual data and
tracking all of my swims,
03:13as well as the different
strokes that I'm swimming
03:15is so powerful when it's built
into these smart goggles.
03:17But to be honest, I don't
swim as often as I used to,
03:19but I do use them every
time I'm in the water.
03:21Next are the ones that I'm
not the biggest fans of,
03:23but they can be really
valuable for some of you:
03:25If you just wanna focus purely on running,
03:27this is a great watch.
03:28The heart rate and the distance and pacing
03:30are somewhat okay, but
it's extremely cheap.
03:32It's extremely light and
the battery lasts forever.
03:34So if you're looking for
something to just track your runs,
03:36this is probably one of
the best watches out there.
03:38And then if you wanna upgrade
03:39the accuracy of distance and pacing,
03:41you can get the Coros
Pod that goes with it.
03:43These in combination are great
03:44if you just want like a running watch.
03:45It does have some other smart features
03:47but it's specifically built
for running and it's so light.
03:49And also Kipchoge uses this watch.
03:51So if you wanna feel
cool, that's another fact.
03:52Next is the Google Pixel Watch.
03:54This is neat because it's
always tracking your heart rate.
03:56It's very similar to the WHOOP Strap
03:57and this has cellular built in
03:59which a lot of watches do not.
04:00And if you use Google
Fi, my link is below,
04:02you'll get a free cellular plan
04:03on your phone and your watch.
04:04But that's exclusive to
having a Google Pixel phone
04:06and a Google Pixel Watch.
04:08I've also tried a Fitbit,
04:09and I think both of these
devices are very similar.
04:11If you're trying to find
04:12the Google Pixel version of Apple Watch,
04:13this is probably the closest thing.
04:14It looks like a nice watch.
04:15It's clean, it's pristine,
04:16it gets the basic features of running,
04:18but it doesn't have dual GPS
04:19or as many of the workouts as
some of the other watches do.
04:21I'm hoping maybe in generation two,
04:23they'll improve this watch greatly.
04:24But if you are an Android user,
04:25I'd probably go Garmin if
you don't need the cellular.
04:28This is the Amazon Halo.
04:30It's very similar to the WHOOP Strap
04:31in terms of not having a screen.
04:34They also have a Halo View
that does have a screen.
04:36I think this is a relatively
interesting option
04:37because of the price and
there are microphones on it.
04:39So there is like a tone feature
04:41which I thought was
interesting to understand
04:42like how are you speaking in
your tone throughout the day.
04:44Some might view that as creepy
04:45and some might view that as interesting
04:47but it does give you kind
of like a fitness score.
04:48It tracks your heart rate
04:49and if you are someone who
gets distracted by screens,
04:51it's always nice to have a
tracker that has no screen.
04:53So if you don't wanna pay
the high price of WHOOP,
04:55this is probably your
next best alternative.
04:56Just note, Jeff Bezos
is on the other line.
04:58Jeff? Jeff Bezos, we still
on for coffee tomorrow?
05:01The Samsung Galaxy Watch.
05:02I actually haven't ever worn this watch.
05:04Samsung, do you wanna send it to me?
05:05But if you're in that ecosystem,
05:06I think it could be interesting.
05:07They do have a new body fat scanning tool
05:09which has been shown to
be somewhat accurate.
05:10Seems intriguing, but I'm an iPhone user,
05:12so it's very hard to switch.
05:13Next is the Polar chest strap.
05:15This can integrate with your phone
05:17to get probably the most accurate data,
05:18but even then, this is a consumer device,
05:20so everything is probably inaccurate,
05:22but it'll get you the closest thing.
05:23I love having this when I
connect it to my Apple Watch,
05:25but you can also have this
purely with just your iPhone.
05:28It is bigger and it can get uncomfortable.
05:29I do have a weird shaped body,
05:31so sometimes when I get really sweaty,
05:32this will start to slide down,
05:34but for most people, this
should fit really well.
05:35Just make sure it's tight,
05:36and it's a great way to get
really accurate heart rate data.
05:38And Garmin has an alternative.
05:39This is their version of it.
05:40For both devices, you can
start it on your phone
05:42and then it'll track your heart rate
05:43when you disconnect from your phone
05:45and then it pulls and
downloads that data later on.
05:47Garmin does have some extra features,
05:48so when this is connected
to your Garmin watch,
05:50it'll get like cadence,
vertical oscillation,
05:52and a whole bunch of other data points.
05:54So recently I've been wearing this
05:55connecting it to my Garmin watch,
05:56whereas before I used
to connect the Polar one
05:59And it also has a feature
06:00where you could wear this all day
06:01to track your data or your steps,
06:02but I don't know if you wanna be wearing
06:03a chest strap all day but
that is also an option.
06:06Now, the chest strap heart rate monitors
06:07aren't the only ones that you can buy.
06:08If you want something
06:09that's a little more
simple and easy to put on,
06:10there are ones that you can
wear on your forearms and bicep.
06:12This is the Polar OH1+ I think.
06:14And you can connect these heart
rate monitors to your phone
06:16and be able to just get
your heart rate data
06:17into your phone if
that's valuable for you.
06:19I found the best fitness trackers
06:20are the ones that have a screen
06:21so I can see my live heart
rate while I'm working out.
06:23So if I'm trying to do zone 2 training,
06:25I wanna make sure I'm staying
within that heart rate zone.
06:27Or if I'm doing any kind
of VO2 max training,
06:29I wanna make sure I'm hitting
those peak heart rate zones.
06:31Next is the Garmin Running Pod.
06:32This is another tool that
connects to your Garmin watch,
06:34and it will get you some more data
06:36that you might not get on the Garmin.
06:37It adds like vertical
oscillation, cadence.
06:39Some of the information
that you get just raw
06:41from the Apple Watch itself.
06:42Probably not interesting or
valuable enough for most people
06:44but that's not the only pod.
06:45There are some running pods
that you can put on your shoes.
06:47This one's by Stryd. This is Coros.
06:49This only works with Coros.
06:50This works with any other watch,
06:52as well as just with your iPhone.
06:53These are very interesting
06:54because they use accelerometers
to get increased accuracy
06:56of your distance and pacing.
06:58The Stryd one has some
really neat features
07:00I'm recently just starting to use it,
07:02but I think if you're
willing to invest the time
07:03of putting this on your shoe
right before you go out to run,
07:06it can be valuable to get
07:07more accurate distance pacing data,
07:09as well as doing better zone 2 training.
07:10A lot of the watches do
provide very similar data
07:12but I think what these can
do is provide more accuracy
07:14in terms of distance and pacing.
07:15Now, this is all the hardware.
07:16There are some software pieces
07:17that I really love about fitness tracking.
07:19If you have the Apple Watch,
there's an app called YouRace.
07:21When you're doing a running race,
07:22you can actually use this
07:23to be able to set your mile marker.
07:24So in case the Apple
Watch is a little bit off,
07:26it'll readjust your pacing as you go.
07:27Google Fit, Google actually provides
07:29a really interesting app
07:30that pulls data from Apple Health
07:31and just makes that information
look absolutely gorgeous.
07:33It's probably the best
fitness app on iPhone,
07:35even though it's made by Google.
07:36Zones, this is a great way
to see your heart rate zones
07:38based on how much training
you've done in that zone.
07:41this allows you to take
your health information
07:42from one app and push it into another.
07:44Next are like personal training apps.
07:46I love Future Fit and CoPilot.
07:47Those are great for Apple
Watch personal training apps.
07:49If you wanna have a coach
that's gonna give you a program,
07:51program pops upon your watch,
07:52you just follow the instruction
and then you work out.
07:54These are two great apps that I love,
07:55but overall, buying a fitness tracker
07:57isn't going to make you fit.
07:58The most important thing is
lifestyle behavior change.
08:00Are you working out?
08:01Are you being consistent?
08:02My biggest recommendation is start easy.
08:03Make it as easy as possible.
08:04Do like five-minute walks every day.
08:06Whatever it is that's easy for you,
08:08be consistent with it and
show up every single day.
08:10There's no reason to
push it and go all out.
08:12You wanna minimize injury
08:13and just build a consistent
habit for the rest of your life.
08:15The value that I see in fitness trackers
08:17are seeing the data and trends over time.
08:18So if I have a very specific
thing I'm working on,
08:20the fitness tracker can help
guide me in that direction.
08:23And I love the rings on the Apple Watch
08:24and having this slight sense of dopamine
08:25when I'm trying to achieve a certain goal.
08:27So if I need to break
certain number of calories
08:29or stand for certain hours in the day,
08:31having a fitness tracker,
08:32an app that kind of visually guides you
08:33and maybe inspires you to
get closer to that goal
08:36can be really helpful.
08:37You don't want it to be overwhelming
08:38and you don't want it to be too easy,
08:39but you want it to be
just a little bit ahead
08:41so that way it kind of nudges you
08:42and gets you excited
about achieving that goal.
08:43If you haven't yet, go watch my video
08:45where I bought 22 sleep
trackers linked right here.
