Getting healthy and staying healthy requires consistent work. Wearable technology provides us with a variety of health metrics to measure our overall well being and keep us on track. Our steps, heart rate, sleep, and calories burned are measured by fitness trackers and smartwatches. This data tracks our progress over weeks, months, and years. On top of that, you get a coach on your wrist. Brands such as Samsung, Fitbit, Garmin, and Apple all offer personal coaching features. Let’s explore how fitness coaches work on wearables, what they offer, and how they can help you reach your health and fitness goals.
Garmin Coach
If you’re a runner, then you definitely should consider getting a Garmin smartwatch like the vivoactive 5. It supports Garmin Coach, a personalized training plan based on your running goals. Here’s how it works. First, you select your running distance and goal. Then you select how many weeks and how many days per week you want to train. Garmin Coach will then create a personalized training plan and sync it to your Garmin smartwatch. These workouts are adaptive—they adjust to get harder or easier based on your performance. As you get closer to the race date, the training plans tapers down to keep you fresh for race day. Throughout your training, you’ll receive videos and running tips from your personal coach.
Garmin Coach offers three coaches to choose from. First is Olympian and best-selling author, coach Jeff Galloway. He wants to prevent injuries by mixing both running and walking. Second is physiologist and online running coach Greg McMillan. He focuses on the connection between physiology and performance prediction to help create pace-based plans. The third coach is physical therapist and running expert Amy Pakerson-Mitchell. She suggests building up to a running distance with an emphasis on cross training. Choose the coach that aligns with your needs for personalized workout plans that you can follow from your wrist.
Apple Watch: A smartwatch for iPhone users
The Apple Watch is a popular smartwatch with endless coaching options through the App Store. I recommend people use the free one-month trial of Fitness+. This is an official Apple app that works across iPhone, iPads, and the Apple Watch. It contains a wide range of workouts like strength training, HIIT sessions, and yoga. It even provides workouts for cardio equipment like treadmills and exercise bikes. With the Apple Watch, heart rate and other stats are shown on a corresponding iPhone app during workouts. Users can monitor their health metrics in real-time.
Just like a coach, Fitness+ creates a custom plan based on your lifestyle. Choose your personal preference, including workout days, duration, workout types etc. Fitness+ will generate a custom plan for you. To keep you motivated, Fitness+ provides coaching and reminders to stick with your plan.
Outside of personalized coaching, the Apple Watch provides a wealth of health metrics. The watch tracks blood oxygen, ECG, heart tracker, and sleep analysis. There are a wide variety of models to choose from including Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Fitbit Premium
Fitbit has free and premium versions available for all Fitbit devices. Users receive metrics such as steps, heart rate, sleep, and activity level. For personal coaching, there are introductory programs, workouts, and mindfulness sessions Users can watch a full library of workouts and listen to audio sessions. Fitbit Premium members also receive a daily Wellness Report. It analyzes your health metrics to show how activity, sleep, and stress impact your body.
The Fitbit Sense 2 smartwatch is a great choice to keep tabs on all your health metrics. Monitor your heart rate, sleep, and stress throughout the day. There are even advanced activity tracking for running, strength training, or playing sports. Premium members get access to a Daily Readiness Score. This score compares your recent activity, sleep, and heart rate variability against your personal baseline. Each morning, a score lets you know if you’re ready for another workout, or if you need to prioritize recovery. A high score means you’re ready for higher intensity workouts. A low score means your body is fatigued and you need more rest. This helps to personalize your workouts based on your rest and recovery.
Samsung Health
Samsung Health works alongside smartwatches such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch6. It’s a great solution for data-minded people looking to track their workouts. It provides in-depth workout analysis and personalized heart rate zones. One great feature is automatic workout detection. You don’t have to start and stop workouts on the watch. It detects your movements to determine if you’re walking, running or standing still.
The Galaxy Watch 6 also provides Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). This provides readings on body fat, skeletal muscle, body water, and body mass index (BMI). Users also receive irregular heart rhythm notifications. The Watch6 continuously scans your heart for irregular rhythms. It even tracks your heart health with Blood Pressure and ECG Monitoring in real time. It’s like having a coach who measures your performance based on your medical readings.
Samsung Health provides personalized fitness programs like stretching, weight loss, running, endurance training and more. Another great feature is advanced sleep coaching. It tracks your sleep and analyzes your sleep patterns. From there, users just need to follow the daily goals provided by the coaching program to achieve better sleeping habits.
A personal coach on your wrist
Wearables can change your life. Users have many options to choose from. To get started, check out all the different types of fitness trackers and smartwatches available at Best Buy. Outdoor runners might want to consider getting a dedicated GPS watch. Fitness coaches in the app can help you design personalized programs. Not only will this keep you motivated, it will tailor workouts based on your health metrics. Seeing your workout data captured will push you to work out harder each and every session. Plus, sleep coaches ensure you get enough rest and recovery before your next workout.
If you’re new to smartwatches, read this buying guide. If you’re instead looking for a fitness and activity tracker, this buying guide will help. Both guides teach you all about the advanced wearable tech features available in wearables today. From there, decide which smartwatch and brand is right for you. If you’re looking for a coach to help reach your fitness goals, now is the time to embrace wearable technology.
