Best Fitness Smartwatches for Women

What exactly do fitness watches do?

There are many different types of fitness watches on the market today, and they’re offering increasingly more functions. At the basic level, fitness watches will usually count your total daily steps, calories burnt and track your sleeping habits. They will also track the distance that you walked throughout the day.

Many of them also have goal functions. You’re able to set particular goals for yourself which will gradually increase over time as you become more active.

Many fitness watches will now have heart rate monitors included. This is helpful for measuring fluctuations in your heart rate throughout the day, and an excellent insight into your cardiovascular health.

As you get into the no-so-basic fitness watches you’ll find that they can also track your location using GPS. Fancier ones can even play music and connect to your phone.

How are calories calculated on a fitness watch?

The watches are engineered with an algorithm that’s designed to do this. It will take into account certain factors like your height, weight, age and overall physical activity to determine how many calories your body has burned.

Newer, more hi-tech watches that have heart rate monitors will also take your heart rate into consideration when making these calculations.

Should I get a watch what connects to my phone? 

Depending on the specific functions and features that you’re wanting, it’s completely up to you. Some fitness watches that connect to your smartphone will allow you to make calls and even payments from the phone. This will take some time to get used and figure out how to use everything.

It’s worth it if you’re willing to put in the time to learn how to properly use all of the advanced featured.

What to Consider

With so many brands and models, it can be difficult to decide which fitness watch is going to best meet your needs. The prices can vary quite a bit so you want to be sure that you’re getting the most for your money, or not spending too much on something more advanced than you’re needing.

Here are some important factors to consider when deciding:

What features do you want for everyday use?

Are you just wanting to simply track your steps or will you be working out vigorously or hiking? If you just want to track general stats for yourself (such as steps and calories) a basic fitness watch should fine for you. If you’re more active, want GPS capabilities or want more in-depth info, something a little higher-end and more advanced will be what you’re wanting.

Another thing to consider with features is water resistance. If you are a swimmer or even if you’re job requires you to get wet regularly, water resistance is something that you’ll want to look into for sure.

What do the reviews say? 

You can read the product descriptions, but its best to see what real women like you who have used them are saying. They’ll be able to tell you about what’s impressed them and what’s been disappointing. This can really help you if you’re torn between a few different options.

How it’s designed

Especially shopping as a woman, you want to make sure to find a watch that isn’t too big or bulky. If it is, it can be quite uncomfortable and ill-fitting, which could lead to it reading inaccurate. Aside from how it fits, you also want to pick one that will fit your style and that you would be happy to where everyday. There are many different styles available - from subtle and sleek to colorful and standout pieces.

Price

Price is obviously going to a big factor in your decision. Fitness watches with more basic features will be more inexpensive options, usually $100 or less. While more advanced fitness watches that track things like location, running, etc., can cost anywhere from $100 to over $250. Keep in mind that you will get what you pay for, and the pricier ones are generally going to give more accurate readings.

How’s the Battery Life?

Some watches will have longer life between charges. It’s generally a good a idea to look for one that has a decent life span so that you won’t have to charge it all the time or worry about itt dying in the middle of your day.

How do Fitness Smartwatches Work?

It’s quite interesting how such a tiny device can collect so much information. Ever wondered how it’s able to such things? The simple answer is sensors. The more sensors the device has will give you more accurate information.

Generally, most fitness watches feature a 3-axis accelerometer. This type of sensor is able to detect motion from every direction. Some more advanced models will feature a gyroscope, which is able to track rotation and orientation. The watch then converts these measurements into certain activities, such as steps, running, sleep, etc. Most of it is speculation made by the watch, but it generally is pretty accurate.

Higher-end watches will also use an altimeter to measure altitude, which is great if you climb, hike or even just walk up and down stairs throughout the day. Sensors are very smart and can even measure your speed, acceleration, patterns and intensity. This helps the watch determine between simple movements like scratching your nose or intense ones like jogging on a treadmill.

All of this collected data is then put into the algorithm and measured again your personal information, to show your daily totals, trends and progress.