10 Latest Technologies to Improve Your Health and Fitness

Wearables, body hacking, fitness apps, self-tracking – you may have heard these terms being thrown around quite a lot these days. With people becoming more obsessed with technology, wearables, fitness apps etc. have become quite popular and de rigueur.

As per statistics, the number of wearables worldwide is expected to jump from 526 million in 2016 to more than 1.1 billion in 2022. Medical professionals, military forces and businesses have used wearable and fitness technology for decades, but now it has reached private consumer market too. From smart glasses to smart clothing, the wearable and fitness technology is here to make you fitter than ever before.

If you too are planning to get fitter this year, here are some amazing healthcare technologies that can give you a jump-start.

The 10 Best Health and Fitness Technologies

FitBit Aria 2

FitBit Aria 2 makes your weight-loss journey a lot easier. Although it is a scale that measures your weight, thinking of it as a mere scale is woefully inaccurate. While its primary function is to record body weight, it measures other parameters as well, such as – Body Mass Index (BMI) and body fat percentage.

It allows you to transfer your health data wirelessly to your Fitbit account so that you can keep a track of your progress. You can even download some of the available apps which work well with the health data collected. T    o receive notifications directly on your Smartphone, all you need to do is sync it wirelessly with your Fitbit dashboard and mobile apps.

Fitbit Aria 2 Review: As per a popular review website, although Fitbit Aria 2 is a fantastic option for the fitness lovers who appreciate maximum connectivity and compatibility, it has a maximum weight limit of just 350 pounds. So, if you weigh more than 350 pounds, you may want to consider other smart scales, such as-iHealth Core which can handle weights of 400 pounds or more.

Suunto 3 Fitness

This smartwatch is more than just an ordinary smartwatch. With exclusive features such as sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring and step counting, this smartwatch is surely a gadget that fitness lovers cannot miss. What makes this smartwatch stand out from the rest is its training plan feature.

After considering fitness level and your exercise history, this smartwatch comes up with a week – long training plan for you while also giving you suggestions on challenge level and workout length that would be the best for you according to your fitness and activity level.

Suunto 3 Fitness Review: According to techradar.com, this device is more than a fitness tracker. With features such as optical heart rate-powered adaptive training and recovery advice make it a great tool for improving your fitness. Some flaws that go against this device are – No GPS, occasional failure of app sync and its strap that often pinches. Overall, it can be said that it is an everyday motivational tool rather mountain conquering aid.

Peloton Treadmill

If you are one of those people who hate treadmills then Peloton Treadmill can make you rethink your thoughts. From streaming upto 10 live classes a day to strength workouts incorporated into each, this treadmill will make you fall in love with exercising. Peloton is world renowned for the outstanding stationary bikes they make.

This low impact treadmill offered by the company makes it easier for anyone to complete their cardio workout by giving the users the ability to control the incline and speed. The workout videos can be streamed on a 32-inch screen which will make you want to hop on and start exercising.

It is designed to be cushiony and smooth, which reduces the pressure on your knees so that you don’t feel pain in your feet or knees during and after work outs.

Peloton Treadmill Review: Peloton treadmill is an easy-to-use and well designed tread mill that makes exercising fun with a wide variety of live and on-demand classes but this smart treadmill comes with a hefty price tag.

Priced at $4000, plus monthly subscription fee of $39 for training classes, it could be a major investment. Go for it if you are looking for fun workouts at home with extra dose of motivation from classes.

Soul Electronics Pro Bio headphones

The Soul Electronics Pro Bio headphones – the wireless headphones with voice coaching is a hi-tech device designed for avid runners. The built-in voice coach tracks your gait and coaches you while correcting your posture and running stance.

It also provides the users with quick tips on correcting their running stance and posture. This pair of headphones fits very well, are sweat proof and supports Bluetooth 4.0.The sound quality is amazing and the music energizes you instantly when you here it using these cool headphones.

Soul Electronics Pro Bio Headphones Review: Although, the voice coaching feature that comes with it is quite informative, it can be very distracting too as it constantly interrupts music. Pro bio’s earbuds come with a lot of padding for your earlobe which doesn’t let it fall out of your ears during running or exercising.

Also, it comes in varying sizes to ensure these earphone have a snug, comfortable fit at all times. Go for it if you are fine with a little distraction from its voice coaching feature.

Under Armour HOVR smart shoes

These smart shoes come equipped with an embedded chip and MapMyRun app to give the users real-time data and post-workout stats to keep them updated on their progress. It then curates the data in a meaningful and easy to interpret way to help even the amateur runners. The cushioned performance shoes are designed to keep the users comfortable at all times, reduce the gravity feel and boost the energy return.

There are two varieties to choose from – the HOVR Sonics and the HOVR Phantom.

Under Armour HOVR smart shoes review: These smart shoes can track your pace, time, distance, cadence and stride length, with or without a paired Smartphone, which means you don’t need any extra gear for your fitness. Although the shoes are comfortable for most of the people, the fit may vary from person to person.

The shoes require a certain amount of consistent force to track your steps, so they may or may not track your steps. The coaching feature that comes with the paired app is presently very simple but Under Armour says a better coaching feature is coming soon.

Finis Neptune

Good and peppy music can be an excellent motivation for fitness enthusiasts to cycle or run that extra mile but when it comes to swimming, there was no such option available – until now! Thanks to a device called Finis Neptune that allows even the swimmers to enjoy their favorite music while indulging in their favorite sport.

Finis Neptune is secured onto the swimmer’s swimming goggles. Then using bone conduction audio, it relays music to the swimmer’s ears, without the need for ear buds.

Finis Neptune Review:

Finis Neptune makes underwater audio possible via technologies that send music through a ‘speaker’ set against your upper jaw. The audio quality is not affected by submersion in water which keeps you motivated and entertained during your swimming workouts. It transmits audio via bone conduction and works amazingly well.

The sound quality is pretty clear underwater but one should avoid using it in open areas where there are boats. With this device, it’s hard to hear what’s going on around you and you risk getting hit by a boat if you are not careful.

Misfit Shine 2

Misfit Shine 2 is a wearable that comes in the form of  a bracelet, pendant, and can even be kept inside the pocket. It is an activity tracker that lets you track your activities and movements to help you achieve your fitness targets set on your iPhone. It is one of the most accurate fitness trackers out there which can be strapped on your arm and – it is waterproof!

One can easily monitor their progress by tapping the LED-lit face. It even doubles up as a watch, making it your everyday necessity.

Misfit Shine Review: With features such as calorie counter, pedometer, swimming and cycling tracker, Misfit Shine is more than just an accessory. This stylish lifestyle watch can be worn in a traditional way or can be clipped to your clothes with a magnetic accessory.

No matter how you choose to wear it, it works amazingly well. This fitness tracker lets you keep a daily graph of your activities, like walking, running and even dancing in an iOS app, which is also one of its drawbacks as Misfit Shine is only available for iOS phones and tablets.

iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter

It is a pulse oximeter that can be plugged to older iOS devices using the 30-pin connector. It helps the users to measure their blood hemoglobin, blood oxygenation levels, perfusion Index, and pulse rate. This is very useful particularly if you are a sportsperson. It is more for sports and aviation tracking and is not suggested for medical use.

There are many pulse oximeters available but this is the only device that can be paired with iOS devices. The data from the device can even be exported to keep a track of the athlete’s fitness.

iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter Review: This device lets you determine your pulse strength, blood oxygen saturation levels, and pulse rate, which makes helth management easy for anyone with respiratory health or COPD issues. This device performs accurate measurements even when the blood flow is low.

With Bluetooth connectivity you can easily share your data for data analysis. The device is compact and offers an amazing built quality but due to its premium price it might not be in everybody’s range.

HAPIfork

If you are one of those people who find it difficult to manage your portions by your sheer willpower then this smart ‘fork’ can help you control your nagging urges. It prevents overeating by reducing your eating pace. The sensors notify the users through tiny vibrations when they eat too fast. It also tracks the time taken to eat, the amount of food intake and intervals of ‘fork servings’ per minute. The body can be washed for reuse.

HAPIfork Review: This smart fork aims to control your eating patterns and subsequently help you lose weight. It might look like any other ordinary fork but it’s far from being ordinary. The ‘magic’ lies in its handle which contains a detachable piece of technology.

It tracks how fast you are eating and vibrates if you start eating to fast. It does a decent job at monitoring the user’s food bites and also lets you view your data for easy weight management. However, some food servings often go unregistered. Overall, it is a good device if you are looking to control your weight but factors like food content and exercise also have to be considered.

Sensoria Smart Sock

It is a smart sock that gives feedback from your ankles. It’s from the ankles where the pressure signals are sent to this fitness tracker. Designed for runners, this smart Sock updates you on your progress and even gives suggestions for improvements. Despite having sensors, it is as washable and as comfortable as any other pair of socks.

By tracking your daily movements, it also gives you tips on how fast your pace should be or how should you land your feet correctly.

Sensoria Smart Sock Review: At first look, these may look like any other low-top running sock but this smart sock will amaze you with the technology it comes equipped with. It is embedded with textile pressure sensors on the sole and has magnetically attached anklets that capture running performance metrics.

The data can be transmitted to a connected Smartphone via Bluetooth, which makes it easy for users to track their progress. The socks are super comfortable and once you wear them you wouldn’t even know they are there. Overall, it is an amazing wearable for runners who wish to learn a proper stride, and with the virtual coach in the ear it makes everyday training quite convenient.

Wrap Up

All these gadgets and apps listed in the article are built for people focused on health and fitness, which is very important in today’s highly competitive world. These devices and apps help you track your fitness regime, make the best of your workout sessions, and have fun at the same time.