When seniority comes knocking, you may discover that you have lots of time on your hands. You can use this time to travel and also spend some time with your family. It is also a great time to actually better your happiness and health in general. If you are the kind of person who enjoys spending time outdoors, then you should consider doing some extra exercise.
So as to ensure you make the most of it, you should consider investing in a fitness tracker for seniors. These devices are great since they help calculate the number of calories that you have been able to burn during a workout. There are also fitness trackers without a smartphone.
With so many gadgets available today, one may not be sure about what they should or should not buy. There are some features and characteristics that can help you to select the most ideal fitness tracker that can be used by seniors.
A fitness tracker is a device which is designed in such a way that it helps the people who use it to stay healthy and fit at all times. This is achieved by simply displaying metrics that are related to fitness.
This includes things such as the steps taken, heart rate, and even the quality of sleep among others. In yet other cases, the devices can be used so as to motivate people to work at achieving some set threshold.
The tracker is worn on the wrist. Sometimes he or she can wear it on their person too, depending on the design. Simple fitness trackers are also available today.
Who uses fitness trackers?
Anyone who is health conscious can use a fitness tracker. It is a great addition for all age groups. If you want to watch your weight, your workouts, the quality of your sleep, the calories burnt and so on, a fitness tracker is a must have. This is something that can help you set health goals and then work at achieving them every day.
It also alerts you when you need to rest or when you have been dormant for too long. When you are constantly reminded of the important metrics every day, you can make some adjustments to your lifestyle so as to have a pattern that is healthier. This helps you to avoid some serious health challenges that have to do with a lifestyle that is sedentary.
Do fitness trackers actually improve health?
There are many options when it comes to fitness trackers and new brands are released from time to time. These gadgets measure a lot of things with some including the measure of stress levels. However, we still have issues of cardiovascular and obesity diseases being reported.
According to research, it all depends on the wearer. It is one thing to know where you are going wrong in your fitness regime, and yet another thing to actually work on correcting the mistake.
As much as the data is recorded and delivered to you, it has to be a personal thing to actually make the necessary behaviour changes so as to help you achieve the ultimate goal.
Advantages of the fitness tracker for seniors:
Activity trackers are ideal for achieving fitness goals. Some of the advantages include:
- You can know how you are progressing
- You get free workout tips
- You can set goals that you can aim at achieving
- The elderly can monitor their health easily
- By constantly using the tracker, you are able to form habits easily
- The tracker is also a great way for the seniors to remain motivated
- They can improve their eating habits
What is the best fitness tracker?
There are a lot of things that you have to consider when you are picking the best fitness tracker. Of course, you need to consider the way it looks. The visual appeal is also a part of the selection. There is also a need to evaluate how long the battery lasts depending on the kind of activities that you have planned out.
There is also the water resistant aspect that you will need to consider as well. These are the basics, but you can also consider other more advanced specs as well.
Having an integrated heart rate sensor is definitely an added advantage. This is something that is usually found on the more expensive brands. The best fitness tracker usually depends on your personal health issues and health needs.
How I Selected the Best 8 fitness tracker for seniors:
1. Battery life
1. Battery lifeMany of the gadgets that we have today use a lot of power and some don’t have a capacity that corresponds to this need so as to support the users to the maximum. This is one consideration that people need to make, especially when choosing a tracker for the elderly who love the convenience.
2. Portability
The gadget should be very easy to carry around. The best devices are actually very easy to use and to carry. This is why you find so many of these gadgets are worn on the wrist.
3. Water resistance
This was not a primary consideration, especially when you think of the fact that the trackers are meant for the elderly. However, it is still important to get a tracker that is water resistant. Seniors may forget to remove the trackers as they step into a shower or tab.
4. Durability
The seniors are usually careful with things they love but accidents can happen when there are other people are around including grandchildren. It helps to have a gadget made in such a way that it lasts long Regardless of what happens.
5. Ease of use
Seniors don’t like to struggle and so I selected gadgets that can be used easily even among the seniors.
The best 8 fitness tracker for seniors
1. Fitbit Charge HR Wireless Activity Wristband ↓
2. Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband, Black, Large (US Version) ↓
3. Fitbit Alta Smart Fitness Activity Tracker ↓
4. Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker, Magenta ↓
5. Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch, Black, Silver, Large ↓
6. Garmin vívofit Fitness Band – Black ↓
7. Samsung Gear Fit2 Smartwatch Large, Black ↓
8. Withings Go – Activity and Sleep Tracker, Black ↓
1. Fitbit Charge HR Wireless Activity Wristband
This is a tracker that you can use so as to track all your workouts and be aware of your heart rate at all times. You can know the calories that you burned as well as the floors that you have climbed.
You can also know the number of minutes that you have been active and the steps you have taken. This is a gadget that also monitors your sleep. This means that you can monitor the sleep patterns. It will also wake you up with an alarm that is silent.
When you are on the go, you do not need to keep on looking at your smartphone since you will get all notifications, the time, and all daily stats on the display that is OLED.
You can also sync all those stats automatically and wirelessly to the computer or different kinds of smartphones as you please. There is the sizing tool which allows you to get that perfect fit at all times.
Fitbit for seniors is amazing because of the heart rate monitor. You can continuously get the heart rate throughout the day that is wrist-based. There are also simplified zones for the same.
This is an ideal monitor that will keep you on your toes and encourage you to challenge yourself even more so that you can achieve the goals you have set for yourself. You need to pick the best Fitbit for seniors.
2. Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband, Black, Large (US Version)
This is another great choice for the elderly. It monitors your pulse continuously and it is wrist-based so as to show the number of calories burned on a daily basis. You can maximize the workouts by making use of the heart zones that are simplified.
The heart zones are the peak, cardio, and the fat burn. This allows the elderly person to be in control of their health at all times and to know all the areas where there is a need for improvement.
Even though the fitness tracker is splash proof, it is not recommended that you submerge it or even go to the shower with it. You will need to remove the tracker when you are doing such activities or any other that actually has to do with water.
With the gadget on your hand, you can easily get your calendar notifications, your texts and any calls on the display. This means that you do not have to keep on looking at your phone for these things.
You can easily track the quality of sleep by knowing just how long you stay asleep and how long you are awake. You can also take advantage of the vibrating alarm. This is the best device that can help you be in step with your fitness level and that can encourage you to actually improve. This is one of the best Fitbit heart monitors.
3. Fitbit Alta Smart Fitness Activity Tracker
This is one of the gadgets that you can use with so many types of smartphones and your computers as well. It connects wirelessly on Android and window devices as long as you have the Bluetooth 4.09 version installed.
So as to sync to the computers, you will require an internet connection and a USB port. To sync to the mobile phones, you will need an internet and also Bluetooth connection. So as to sync well, you will need to be at a range of 20 feet.
One of the nice things about this tracker is the fact that it is water resistant. It is splash, rain and sweat proof. The elderly have the habit of forgetting some things and this could include taking the tracker of as they step in the shower.
This should not worry you as you use this fitness tracker. However, if you happen to use it in the shower, it is highly recommended that you dry it after rinsing it afterwards. This is for the sake of your skin’s health. You should always make sure that the band is clean and dry at all times.
The other thing that makes this one of the best Fitbit like devices for the elderly is the battery life that can go up to 5 days. This means that the elderly person will not have to worry about charging all the time. This, therefore, offers more convenience.
4. Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker, Magenta
This is yet another amazing gadget that is ideal for the elderly. It keeps track of the distance, the steps, and calories that you have been able to burn. This is a tracker that can be synced automatically to the computer and selected Bluetooth devices such as tablets and smartphones.
You can set all the goals you have and then view your own progress. The fact that you can earn badgers motivates you to work even harder at achieving all those goals at all times.
This is a gadget that can keep the elderly active all through the day. This is because it is possible to share your activities with your friends, making it much easier for you to compete with them and get even more motivated all through.
The gadget can be used on Android and iPhone so there are no limitations here. There is also the possibility of connecting to the computer and well over 150 types of smartphones that are available in the market today.
You get the chance to get fit and have as much fun as possible while at the same time getting to know your physical condition.
5. Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch, Black, Silver, Large
This is a gadget that comes with heart zones that are greatly simplified so that you can check the intensity if your workouts easily. This is a wrist-based monitor which is a great choice for the elderly.
It also comes with a multi-sport tracking feature so that you can track your runs and also cross training and cardio health. You can also easily monitor biking even more effectively.
There is no limit to the things that can be monitored using this device. You get the chance to record all your workouts so that you remain as fit and healthy as you possibly can.
You can also enable GPS on the map so that you can see your routes and an also so that you can monitor your stats such as duration and pace as you do your workouts. This can only be achieved when the phone is at close range.
You also get the chance to track those steps, the distance covered, the calories burned, the active minutes, and also the floors that have been covered during a particular time.
This is the ideal gadget to help you remain connected to your friends and family, you can see your notifications, calendar alerts, texts and even calls from favourite apps such as Facebook and Gmail without necessarily having to take out your phone.
The elderly can also receive graphics and instructions so that they can complete their moves in the correct way.
6. Garmin vívofit Fitness Band – Black
This is yet another amazing gadget for the elderly. It has a move bar which is used to motivate the user to remain active all through the day. It displays the moving bar which is red in colour that tells you that you have been inactive for over one hour.
There are also some additional segments which usually lights up after every 15 minutes when you have been inactive. So as to reset this gadget, you will have to at least walk for a couple of minutes.
This is a tracker that you can actually have in for 24 hours every day. It is very stylish, it is comfortable, it also has a water-resistant wristband which is you can always have on.
The elderly live convenience and this gadget spell that out since the display is very easy to read. This means that the senior person can actually see the time, and also keep track of their stats all through the day from their wrist.
If there are some goals that you want to achieve, this is definitely the device to have. You can set goals and then work at achieving them. This gadget also interacts with you by looking at your activity levels and then assigning goals on a daily basis.
It will count your calories and also include a metabolic rate. All these things help you to make the best changes in your life for better health.
7. Samsung Gear Fit2 Smartwatch Large, Black
This is yet another awesome product that can be used by elderly people. It is one of the best fitness trackers that can help you with your fitness regime. This fitness tracker comes recommended by fitness expert Ben Breda, from BestHealthGear.com. You can count your steps, see the calories that you have been able to burn, monitor your heart rate, and also monitor the quality of your sleep.
This is also a great device since it will map out all your activities in a very accurate manner by making use of the GPS that is inbuilt. There is also the auto tracking which easily recognizes and also tracks different exercises as you move.
When on, you can receive and also respond to texts, calls, and notifications, that you receive on your phone right from your wrist.
You can also get entertained since it is possible to store music on the gadget. You can also easily connect with spottily so that you can access so many other songs.
The Samsung gear fit 2 is also water-resistant and it features a screen display, which is full colour and it also has a screen display that is super amoled. From here, you get to see your stats all day long.
You also receive your notifications from your Android or Android smartphone. The bands are also large, but there are also smaller sizes for the same.
8. Withings Go – Activity and Sleep Tracker, Black
This is another great gadget for the elderly, especially those who are interested in water sports. This gadget will monitor your swim, running as well as steps taken.
For purposes of swimming, the gadget is water resistant up to 50m. It also calculates the distance you have covered as well as the calories that you have burned so far.
The other area that the elderly struggle with is their sleep cycles. This gadget is the best since it will monitor all your sleep cycles. It can tell you when you are in a light sleep, deep sleep, as well as the awake cycles.
It is very easy to use too and the readability is high since there is the E Ink. This is something that definitely attracts the seniors. The battery life is around 8 months and you may not need to replace it until that duration has lapsed.
The other thing that makes this tracker stand out is the fact that you can wear it just the way you like. You can have it on your wrist, have it in your pocket, or just clip it on your person.
This is a tracker that coaches you as well. There is synchronization that comes automatically. It tracks the progress you make while on the track and tracks all the progress.
Conclusion:
It is no secret that people need to change their lifestyle so that they can avoid some issues that are related to bad habits. The elderly are no exception. Being a senior does not mean the end of the world. One can still remain as active as possible so as to remain fit and avoid some issues.
The best inexpensive fitness tracker motivates and helps track the health of the elderly and it is, therefore, a great advantage to have one. When the devices are used appropriately and the necessary adjustments that are pointed out made, then the elderly people can run a better and healthier lifestyle that motivates them to keep on moving.
