As we slowly move into the technological revolution, companies like Fitbit and Garmin are leading the way in how exercising and technology go hand in hand in leading a healthier, and more active life.

One of the leading, and best, examples of how technology is having a positive effect on how we exercise is the aforementioned Fitbit, and other wearable technology. With Fitbit, owners can track their activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep. They can compare weeks or months, looking at whether they were more or less active, the level and type of exercise they are doing, and just overall track their progress to getting fitter and healthier. As this is all digital, in all Fitbits, and other products similar, you can sync all of your statistics to your phone and computer, meaning you can have access to everything you have done going back years. A perfect way to monitor your fitness.

All the information and data is presented in a graph or table form, which gives us no excuse not to be monitoring our journey to a healthier way of living. The whole layout is done in an easy, and aesthetically pleasing way. Basically, as seen opposite, it doesn’t look like you are staring at a never ending stream of numbers and statistics like the sport scientists are subjected to, but you have every bit of relevant information to see your progress. You can even get access to leader boards with people in your area, a little bit of friendly competitiveness to keep you fired up and be the most active person in your area.

Although Fitbit is an increasingly popular example of wearable technology, there are a few other options out there that offer the same services. With the likes of Garmin and Apple Watch, there really isn’t any excuse not to be in control of your fitness. Of course, when looking at Apple Watch, one would have the added benefit of being able to sync your phone to your watch, enabling to take and receive calls from it, but, just like Fitbit, it acts as a platform where you can measure and track your fitness and health.

Garmin, an American company, are considered to be the biggest rival to Fitbit, specialising in technology that helps monitor and track exercises from cycling to swimming. Because Garmin also feed the satellite navigation sector and photography, they have come up with the Vivo range, and every member in the Vivo family is designed to help monitor different sports at different levels. In this new range, Garmin have produced the Vivoactive, Vivosmart and Vivofit, all tailored to fit the need of those of us who want to follow who have embraced technology and all it can do for us in becoming fitter. 

As to what is better, that depends on your own individual requirements and price range, but I have included a guide that shows what the best wearable technology in regards to pricing.

Now, the Fitbits and the Garmin’s are an incredible technological tool to help with sport and fitness, but technology doesn’t stop there. With the introduction of smart phones, there also came nearly countless apps, all designed, much like the wearable technology, to help track your journey to become physically fit. Yes, the Fitbit and Garmin are the fore front of technology merging with the world of fitness, and the applications that can be used are impressive, making it easier than ever to track a person’s fitness, weight etc, but with health and fitness applications from the likes of the apple and google play store, they encourage fitness by making it as fun and engaging as possible. I don’t know many people that love to work out, or go for jogs and runs when its raining or snowing, but with the right combination of apps downloaded, you can get fitter without ever having to leave your house. From circuit training to yoga poses, you can download and use an arrangement of applications that monitor your progress. 

So far, I have only spoken about the most popular forms of how technology has aided and boosted health and fitness. Although they give tribute to how far technology has advanced, it is important to note that there are so many other tools available that help a person improve their quality of life. NHS launched SmokeFree, an app which is designed to help a person quit smoking over a period of 28 days. It has daily tips and support to prevent a person stop smoking, adopting the slogan that if you don’t have a cigarette in 28 days, you are 5 times more likely to quit completely. Drinkaware introduced an app which helped you regulate how many units of alcohol you have in a week. Again, it provides users advice on how to stop, but also information on the negative toll that drinking too much has on the human body. From Podcasts to websites, there are an unlimited number of tools that you can use to help improve your quality of life and standard of living. NHS choices have written an article about some of the services that they provide, not only focusing on the exercise side of fitness, but also addressing smoking, drinking and calorie counting.

Technology has hugely improved so many lives for the better in communication, leisure and fitness, and, especially with the new technology age that we are in, it can be safely assumed that these devices are only going to increase and be developed further to meet an ever growing audience.