Can I Use Wearable Tech Without Being on a Fitness Plan?

Wearable tech, while the market is definitely being geared towards health and fitness plans, is usable for a lot of other reasons too. It’s absolutely not just for people who are on a fitness plan.
Not only are there different types of wearable tech available for different things, but they’re incredibly adaptable depending on what you need them for.
Just because they boast a particular feature, too, doesn’t mean that’s all that they’re capable of when it comes down to it. They tend to have more than one and while it might not be primary, it’s still there and still available for use by everyday people and not just those who hit the gym five nights a week and then jog on their weekends.

They can be used for:
Communication
Wellbeing (not fitness)
Gaming
Awareness
Smartwatches

You can definitely wear a smartwatch without being on a fitness plan – these give you a way to stay in the loop without having to have your phone in your hand at all times. You can see messages, know when your phone is ringing, get reminders and even view your gallery on some of them. You don’t need to be exercising for them, you just need to own a smartphone that you can link it to and a wrist that you can strap it to and you’re ready to go.

Virtual Headsets
This is a newer addition into the market, but not a new concept. Many people would say that gaming is an opposite to being on a fitness plan, considering most of it is spent sat down and fiddling with q controller or mouse, so you can definitely use this without the need to go jogging. It might make you a little more active, but you don’t need to be exercising to get the most out of it. It’s definitely designed for fun more than anything else.

Stress Trackers
These are more likely to take off in the start of 2016, but there are a few littering around on the market place at the moment. They aren’t geared towards fitness alone, but can be used in conjuncture with other plans – if you’re at risk of high blood pressure, or you don’t get enough oxygen, these can help you monitor it during your everyday life with reminders on when to breath properly or when to try and lower the stress that you’re feeling.

Wearable tech is not just for people who are active and trying to get fit and healthy but they can be adapted for everyone. They’re very diverse and the market is always expanding, adding in a new type of device that does something.
There is definitely something that is available for everyone without the need to worry that you’re misusing it or that you can’t join in on the hype because you don’t feel the need to work out more than three times a year (which is definitely acceptable when there’s things like virtual headsets on the market).

What To Look For In Wearable Tech

Wearable tech is taking off more and more as time goes on, and it’s no longer a new idea – it’s undeniable however that it’s continuously improving with new features becoming available. Just because they all have great ideas, though, doesn’t mean that they’re going to be a hit in the market with people or that they’re going to go flying off the shelves.
It’s important for the manufactures to know that it’s more than just features that people buy for.

So, What Do We Look For
As well as features, there are other things to consider before you spend your money on a device. Not all wearable tech is cheap and easy to afford so you want to make sure that you’re making the right investment.

Style
While it’s not always the most important feature to look for, if you’re spending money on a device then it’s important that you’re going to be comfortable wearing it outside of the house – or even inside – and that you’re not constantly going to be trying to hide it or never wearing it because you don’t think it looks good on you. Why buy a chunky smartwatch that feels uncomfortable, restricts movement and looks a little silly when you can have a slim, sleek one with all the same features?

Usability
If you want to buy a piece of tech, there’s a good chance that you don’t want to spend hours trying to learn how to use it and how to access the features and functions that you want. It’s much better when you can just turn on a device, and understand roughly what you’re doing with it within a few minutes without having to look up countless manuals or instructions to figure it out. Tech is supposed to make life easier and quicker, not slow it down.

Need
Even though you might be guilty of buying things that you don’t need, that doesn’t always extend into your tech habits. Devices can cost a lot of money and they’re sometimes a commitment. Make sure that what you’re buying can cover most of your needs in its area – if it’s a fitness watch, think about what you’d want to be able to see on it and then make your decision based on that. Don’t just buy the first one you see, you want to make sure that you don’t need to buy a new device in a few months’ time because you’re not getting what you need from it.

Price
If something is too cheap, we tend to judge how efficiently it just might work – after all, you get what you pay for. That being said, just because a product is a hundred per cent higher than another one does not always make it better. Going for a device that is reasonably priced can still bring you good results and have similar features to the more expensive model. Always look into what you’re going to buy and make sure that you make the right choice depending on your needs, and what you can afford to spend.

Click Here To Discover The New Life-Sensing
Wearable Technology

Wearable Tech V Smartphone App

Smartphones have been around for a while and have become more and more advanced as time goes on, and will only continue to include better, faster and stronger features and technology to keep them a top competitor in the market place. Wearable tech is considerably newer than the average smartphone, but both of them face competition from the other due to the range of features they boast and the tricks they hold up their metaphorical sleeves.

Smartphones
Smartphones really have started to live up to their name with more and more features to make them smart. They’re no longer just a phone. They’ve become so much more than that and most people don’t want to be away from them for long. The devices are able to hold your life thanks to the applications that can be downloaded to them. They’ve become minicomputers that you can call and text on, rather than just being a device used to keep in touch with people when you’re out and about.

The Downsides
Even with all the applications that are available on a phone, there’s still room for improvement. They might be good when they’re by your side or even in your hand but they’re still not completely accurate, especially if you’re using them for tracking fitness or wellbeing. It’s not a strength of theirs, but it’s not their main feature either.

Advantages
They don’t tend to ever be far from the owner, which means they have ample opportunities to track and sense what is happening around you. They’re also easy to look at with most of them boasting larger screens than what we might have been used to in the past, meaning viewing the data is a lot easier.
Wearable Tech

Compared to smartphones, this is much newer but it’s already taking off with most people being able to say that they own something that falls into this category, regardless of its feature or the reason for its use.

The Downsides
They can add a considerable amount to what you already pay for your phone, and other gadgets. They’re also usually specific – a fitness watch can be a watch, a smartphone tracker and a fitness tracker, but you won’t be able to make it multipurpose. You can’t add your online banking to it or send a message while you’re working out.

The Advantages
Because they’re usually flush against your skin, they’re much more accurate when it comes to tracking your movements and such. They can give you a more realistic estimate of just how much you’re doing and where you need to improve. They’re also able to upload your data most often so that you can store it.

Disadvantages
They’re another thing to remember to grab in a morning and require charge throughout the usage. They’re also often not able to add additional apps, meaning if you want a new feature, you might have to fork out for a new, updated model.

Each has their strengths and weaknesses, depending on what you need them for. If you want to focus entirely on fitness then wearable tech is definitely the route to look into.

The Need to Monitor Fitness Levels to Improve

Being fit and healthy is a great way to spend free time – not just because it’s what the media is pushing on us, but it strengths you from the inside out and gives you a much better shot at a longer life compared to those who aren’t active and don’t do much moving around or pushing their bodies.

There’s also a reason fitness trackers have become such a big hit with things like Jawbone, FitBit and MyZone storming the markets at the moment. It’s not just because people want to see how much they’ve been running, or pushing themselves. For the ones who wear them, it’s because they need to monitor and keep track.

The Benefits

Monitoring your fitness has a range of benefits:

Motivational
Seeing what you’ve managed to do can push you to do more, or do better, and have you continuously working to surpass yourself. This isn’t a bad thing, as long as you listen to your body’s limits and know when it’s had enough and that you’re not pushing it too hard, which can end up with you doing more damage than by just exercising and can even put a stop to your activities if you need to have time to heal.

Improvement
A sure fire way to see that you’re strengthening up and that you’re getting fitter is when you can see that you’ve pushed yourself further than you’ve managed before. If you keep working out at the same intensity, you’re only ever going to get so fit, you’re never going to get past that stage. Being able to see that you’ve run further, faster, or lifted stronger and hiked your BPM means that  you can track these changes.

Competitive
Some people do very well if they’re faced with a challenge. Monitoring yourself, with friends, means that you can all work together to try and get past one another. This stops it from just being about getting fit but also makes it more about winning and gives you a whole new reason to push yourself.

Humans tend to be very results driven – we like to see that it’s making a difference, and see the tangible evidence before we’re happy. Even if we don’t see a change in our body, we can see it on the tracker that we’re doing something, we’re making a difference and we can see where we’re improving.

The reason the market has done so well in a short number of years is because there was a space for it to create its own niche, because it’s something that people – while they can live without it – didn’t know they needed it until it was available to them and there. They’re only going to improve, too, and get better as the years go on with more and more features becoming available to the individual to make sure that they’re getting the most out of each and every one of their workouts and can see exactly where they’ve improved.