The cold winter month of February tests even the most determined amongst us as we struggle to keep the resolutions made in January. In honor of Groundhog Day, we’ve curated a list of health and fitness gadgets and wearables to help us all stay on the figurative and literal treadmill.
Sleep Sensors
If you lead the startuplife, you’re probably familiar with the sporadic sleep schedule that accompanies a hectic work schedule. Rest easier with a sleep sensor tool which tracks your sleep activity and sends the data back to your phone.
Beddit via Men’s Fitness
Best Brands: Basis Peak is a sleek watch that collects your sleep data and additionally functions as a heart rate monitor and a really great fitness tracker during the day.
If you’re not interested in wearing all the clunky gear to bed, consider the Withings Aura mattress pad or Beddit, non-wearable alternatives that monitor your breathing cycle and movements throughout the night. For those trying to get real comfortable, there’s always the ReST Bed, which has a pressure sensing fabric that adapts to your comfort levels and has air chambers that fluctuate to give you the most customized sleep. Who doesn’t love a smart bed?
The More Affordable App Option: Check out the .99 cent SleepCycle App that logs your time in bed and the stages of sleep.
Fitness Trackers
Without accountability, staying in shape can be tough. Here are some of the better activity trackers that record and analyze your data so you can see the progress you’ve made and even provide some motivation to help you get up from your desk and move.
Kwan-woo Kim via Flickr
Best Brands: Check out the waterproof Misfit Flash to keep count of your calories, steps and distance. It can be donned as a clip-on or on your wrist, and even integrates with other fitness apps like RunKeeper. Or you can opt for the more popular Fitbit Charge, which has the same capabilities as the Misfit Flash but which also sends call notifications from your smartphone to its small OLED screen. If you’re a runner, consider the Polar M400, a hybrid fitness tracker and running watch.
The More Affordable App Option: From cycling to running the $1.99 LogYourRun app tracks a variety of different activities, giving you voice feedback, training programs and the ability to listen to music without leaving the app.
Cycling Sensors
Do you enjoy pedaling more than running? Now you can track all your rides with biking sensors that stores all your biking info in one place.
Blue SC Speed And Cadence Sensor via Wahoo Fitness
Best Brands: Atlanta-based Wahoo Fitness, gives you the Blue SC Cadence Sensor that helps you track your cycling speed, cadence and distance. Compatible with both the Android and iPhone, its real plus is the absence of the bulky adaptor that most cycling sensors are designed with. For just $60, all biking enthusiasts can benefit from this Bluetooth, weatherproof gadget.
The More Affordable App Option: If you’re a little tight for cash but still want to revamp your cycling game, check out Strava. This free app records your stats as you ride, including distance, speed and time. The app simultaneously tracks where you’ve been and even gives you feedback on any personal records you may have hit, letting you know how you’ve progressed in your training.
Weight Loss Tools
Be smarter about your eating habits next time you and your team go out to lunch with these devices that keep your weight loss goals in check.
Fitbug WoW Scale via TrustedNerd
Best Brands: Take a look at the Fitbug WoW, a Bluetooth smart scale that measure weight, body mass index and body composition and uploads the information wirelessly for your progress managament. If you want to take it one step further, try the HAPIfork, a gadget that helps you manage your eating speed by vibrating if you’re eating too fast. This “smart fork” also records your eating duration and the amount servings per minute to reduce your eating pace.
The More Affordable App Option: One of the most popular diet and weight loss apps for both Android and iPhone, the MyFitnessPal calorie counter is an easy way to track everyday food decisions, recipes and access over 4 millions health food options — all for free.
Miscellaneous Smart Trackers
Trying to improve on other habits – like your bad tendency to slouch over your Mac? Or find out how to avoid getting sunburned like you did at last year’s company cookout? Check these nifty gizmos out.
Lumo Lift via Techhive
Best Brands: Sit taller at that next quarterly meeting with a clip-on Lumo Lift chip that stops slouching and improves posture. Named one of Time Magazines 25 Best Inventions of 2014, this little device lets you know when you need to straighten up. Now if you’re looking to protect your skin, consider the Netatmo June Bracelet, which monitors your exposure to harmful rays and warns you when you’re at risk for a sunburn.
Featured Image Photo Credit: Rafiq Sarlie via Flickr
