Now that we've hopefully emerged from lockdown for good, life is getting back to some sort of normal. Now is not the time though to hit the pause button on the excellent exercise regime you may have built up while life was all a bit quieter. If you're keen to maintain an exercise routine, (30 mins of moderate activity five days a week is the recommendation for adults), wearable fitness trackers are a great way to monitor your activity. 

What are Wearables?

For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, fitness wearables are ‘smart’ electronic devices worn on the body (most commonly, as watches). They’re smart because they track your activity – counting how many steps you take in a day and measuring your heart rate via your pulse. There are lots of brands on the market, all offering a personalised analysis of your current health level, allowing you to set goals in order to get fitter. As technology continues to advance, wearables in turn are becoming more sophisticated, offering all manner of innovative health solutions, many of which will come in handy during lockdown. Here’s an overview of the top two contenders: wearables in turn are becoming more sophisticated, offering all manner of innovative health solutions.

Multi-Functional Fitbit

Fitbit is probably one of the most well-known activity trackers. Founded back in 2007, this American company has released several iterations of its famous wearable, the latest being the sleek Fitbit Sense. Lightweight, durable and water resistant to 50m, the Sense lets you tune into your body with features for stress management (particularly relevant these days), heart health and a built-in GPS system for those evening runs. Women can use it to chart their ovulation cycle (when used with the Fitbit app), and the Pay function even lets you make contactless payments if you’d rather not handle cash.

A Bite of the Apple

The tech giant’s latest wearable is the Apple Watch 6. Boasting a 44mm screen, 6’s interface is very user-friendly. What’s more, it comes with lots of health bonuses, like a blood oxygen monitor and irregular heart rhythm notification, each of which could potentially flag an underlying condition. Like Apple’s previous two iterations, 6 also has fall detection. Particularly useful for older users who may see family less due to lockdown, this function analyses wrist trajectory and impact acceleration, determining if a hard fall has occurred. This delivers an alert to the watch, allowing the user to easily call emergency services.

MyLife App

The MyLife* app by Irish Life connects to fitness trackers and apps feature. You can download the MyLife app by searching MyLife by Irish Life in the App Store or Google Play. Then add your fitness tracker by tapping Track > Add Tracking Devices/Apps. Irish Life customers can redeem their MyLife points against a range of Fitbits in the MyLife Reward Store. Tap the Rewards tab to find out more.

*MyLife is provided by Irish Life Financial Services. MyLife is not a regulated financial product

With our BeneFit plans, you can claim €50 back on selected fitness wearables. Find out more here.