It seems as though everyone has one and that’s because long gone are the days where a simple pedometer was enough. The fitness trackers of today will not only tell you how many steps you’ve taken, but also how many calories you’ve consumed, how many calories you’ve burnt, how many hours you’ve slept, your heart rate and fitness level.

But which tracker should you go for?

It all depends on what you want to get out of it. If you want one that helps you track your nutrition intake for when you’re making protein recipes or a protein shake, then you’ll need a tracker that can keep up with that but, if you’re more focused on using your tracker to achieve that swimming PB, then water resistance is going to be the most important factor.

Here, in this guide we break it down so you can make an informed decision about the tracker that could work best for you.

Withings Fitness Tracker

Steel HR Sport Features:

Price - £189.95

• Heart rate


• GPS


• Fitness level assessment


• Sleep tracking


• Smartphone notifications


• 25-day battery life


• 30 sports built in


• Water resistant up to 50m


• Made in France

The Steel HR Sport watch from Withings marks not only their most advanced watch to date but also a new start for the company as it’s the first watch launch since its reacquisition from Nokia Technologies. To celebrate such a landmark, the Steel HR Sport really shows us what the company is made of, with Withings CEO Eric Carreel saying, “With its advanced sport and health tracking capabilities, Steel HR Sport is a perfect example of how Withings is delivering against its original mission to help better manage health”.

The watch’s design is smart and clean, you wouldn’t even immediately notice it was a fitness tracker and, with 30 different sports built in to its tracking functionality you can really tailor the experience to fit with your lifestyle and goals.

Motiv Fitness Tracker

Features:

Price - £199.99

• Fitness tracking ring


• Waterproof up to 165ft/50 m


• 3-day battery life, 90 min charge


• Fitness tracker


• Sleep tracker


• Heart rate


• GPS


• Less than 0.1inches thick (2.54 mm)


• Available in 7 sizes

If you’re looking for something different from your fitness tracker, you might have found it with Motiv. For those who don’t want to wear two watches or choose between their watch and fitness tracker, the Motiv ring is a real breakthrough. At only 2.54mm it’s about the same thickness as a heavy weight wedding band but will still track all of the standard fitness metrics.

It’s available in 7 sizes and three colours; silver, rose gold and onyx black. To get the right fit, Motiv will send you a sizing set so you can try them on and wear them during your regular activities to make sure you have the fit just right.

Polar Fitness Tracker

Polar Ignite Features

Price - £174.50

• FitSpark training guide


• Heart rate


• Activity tracker


• GPS


• Sleep tracking


• Breathing exercise


• Recovery tracker


• Compatible with any 20 mm watch strap


• Calorie tracker


• Fitness test


• Smartphone notifications


• Water resistant to 30m


• Battery life in training time 17hrs

The Polar Ignite fitness tracker has a sleek digital display whilst also offering activity tracking across more than 100 different sports. It’s one of the only trackers to also incorporate breathing exercises with its Serene feature, which is designed to calm the mind and body through mindful breathing.

The strap is interchangeable with any 20mm watch strap so you can pick a style that suits you. This Polar tracker also gives personalized and adaptive training advice so it keeps up with you and your goals whether that’s training for an event or just maintaining your fitness levels.

Coros Fitness Tracker

Pace Features:

Price - $199.99

• 50 hours battery in ultramax GPS mode, 25 hours in full GPS mode and 30 days for regular use


• 50m water resistant


• Optical Heart Rate Monitor


• Barometric Altimeter


• Accelerometer


• Gyroscope


• Compass


• Run, indoor run, Bike, Indoor Bike, Pool Swim, Open Water, Triathlon

Looking for more from your fitness tracker? Preparing for a big race? The Coros Pace will be your best friend. It boasts an extremely reliable location system where GPS, GLONASS and BDS satellites track your moves so you’ll always have a precise reading. What’s more, the Coros Intelligent Stride Algorithm learns your running habits so it can predict your stride even when GPS is weak or lost, like through tunnels.

Derek Call, Runner’s World, said of the PACE, “Simply put, the Coros Pace Multisport is the long-lasting, simple GPS watch I didn't know I was missing. Functional and practical, with built-in barometer and heart rate monitor, it delivers any running metric I'll ever need right there on my wrist.”

Fitbit Fitness Tracker

Fitbit Versa Lite

Price - £149.99

• Automatic activity


• PurePulse 24/7 heart rate


• Sleep tracking


• 15+ goal-based exercise modes


• GPS


• Smartphone notifications


• Apps


• 4+ day battery life


• SpO2 sensor

Perhaps one of the most popular fitness tracker brands on the market, Fitbit has a huge range of trackers for a variety of needs and goals.

The Fibit Versa Lite is one of the latest additions and boasts a wealth of useful features. What’s more, the Fitbit app is also getting a redesign to make it even easier to view and understand your health and fitness data. Speaking of the update, Fitbit’s VP of design, Jonaj Becker said, “This flexible mobile platform will allow us to offer more personalized services in the future, including coaching, guidance and insights based on personal data, making our app more valuable to consumers.”

Fitness Plans

There are other options for tracking fitness besides wearables. Online fitness classes can give you a great way of managing your fitness if you’re not too particular about tracking your live metrics. Many of them are personalized to the way you like to work out and will track your progress as you work towards your goals.

Fiit TV

Fiit is an interactive online platform that gives you access to hundreds of studio fitness classes that you can do from the comfort of your own home.

Fiit co-founder Daniel Shellard said, ‘Fiit combines the motivation of the world’s best boutique fitness studios with the convenience of a home workout. Time and money are huge barriers to fitness for many people but with Fiit you get access to the most in demand trainers, any time, for a fraction of the cost. Real-time stats, challenges and progress tracking create a personalised and addictive experience, and most importantly — gets results!’

Premium subscription

Includes Fiit device worth £65, live leaderboard classes in the Fiit Club, personalised training plans, 350+ workouts on demand and live stats and progress tracking.

Monthly: £20

Quarterly: £45 (£15 p/m)

Annually: £120 (£10 p/m)

Or download the Fiit app only and get 75 classes for free (available on iOS, coming to android soon). They also have a range of high-profile instructors including Cat Meffan, Chessie King and Lily Sabri, giving you access to some of the best workouts without even having to leave your front door. The platform works through an app that connects to your TV and, when you sign up for a premium subscription you also get a Fiit device that tracks your performance with real-time statistics that are displayed right there on your TV.

Sworkit

Sworkit is a digital fitness app that helps people get (and stay) in the best shape of their life anytime and anywhere. All workouts are customizable and designed to fit into your schedule. Whether all you have time for is a 2-minute stretch or you\'re in the mood for a 60-minute full body workout, you\'re set. Choose from strength training, cardio, flexibility, and yoga/pilates. If you have fitness or nutrition questions they have an Ask a Trainer program where you can get one-on-one guidance from a certified fitness trainer. Sworkit\'s goal is to make it simple to live well.

7-day free trial.

Monthly: $14.99

Annually: $89.99 ($7.50 p/m)

Designed to be as simple as choosing and skipping through a playlist, it’s one of the easiest and convenient fitness solutions out there. Just pick the kind of workout you want based on your goals, the length of time you have to complete it in and you’re ready to go. Don’t like a particularly exercise or not feeling it that day? Just skip it and move on top the next one, as simple as skipping a song.

So which fitness tracker should I choose?

With so much variety now in terms of fitness trackers and platforms, it’s all dependent on what you want to get out of it.

Whether you’re massively into mountaineering or looking to tone up with some strength training and yoga in your own home, there’s a solution for you.