Best Tech For Helping Achieve Those New Year Fitness Goals

12 January 2016

Sticking to those New Year fitness goals is always a challenge, but technology can make it easier by providing clear targets, ongoing tracking of progress and plenty of useful data to help guide your activities.

Achieve Your New Year Fitness Goals

Here's some of the best tech out there for hitting your New Year fitness goals.

- Fitbit Flex

This no-nonsense activity tracker helps you stay on top of fitness goals by counting steps and syncing the data with the Fitbit mobile app or other compatible software. It's got a lightweight and unfussy design, and with just a single row OLED display to show daily step goals its battery can last all week.

Fitbit hardware is well supported by third parties so the data it records can be shared with a wide variety of health devices and apps.

- MyFitnessPal

Healthy eating habits are essential for weight loss and the MyFitnessPal app (available for Android and Apple iOS) makes this as painless as possible.

Input your current weight and goal weight and the software will advise how many calories you should be eating each day to achieve the target. It then allows you to constantly track progress by inputting all meals and snacks, aided by an enormous crowd-sourced database of foods and recipes.

This is particularly helpful for creating daily menus to help keep you on a steady course, and as it breaks down foods by sugar, fat, carbs, salt and vitamins it's great for anyone who is trying to build healthier eating habits.

MyFitnessPal is also compatible with a wide range of other software and hardware so data from a fitness tracker (like the Fitbit, above) or smartwatch can be integrated and taken into account when adjusting calorie intake.

- Withings WS-50

If you want to take your high tech fitness regime to the next level, consider investing in a smart scale like the Withings WS-50.

Not only does the WS-50 give weight readings it can also measure body fat percentage, heart rate and even air quality. This data is wirelessly shared with the Withings mobile app, and can also be synchronised with MyFitnessPal.

Handily, the scale also supports eight different profiles so the whole family can make use of it, automatically identifying each person when they step on. And it'll give you a weather report every morning too.

- Garmin Forerunner 225

This sports focused smartwatch combines a GPS unit and heart rate monitor designed by Mio to provide accurate and instant data on your performance.

It can monitor distance, pace and heart rate and makes this information clearly available at a glance. The Forerunner also tracks steps throughout the day, and can be used on indoor running machines with no additional accessories thanks to the built in accelerometer.

Performance data can be synched to the Garmin mobile app, where you can view detailed statistics as well as maps of your route.

- Elite Crono Fluid ElastoGel Trainer

This isn't as high tech as some of the other gear, but a turbo trainer like the Elite Crono Fluid is a great accessory for keen cyclists or anyone wants to stay active throughout the winter months without braving the changeable British weather.

The trainer recreates various road conditions by regulating the effort of cycling through an oil-filled rotor. Unlike a traditional indoor cycling machine it uses your own bike so you're pedalling on something that's familiar, comfortable and easily adjustable. And it takes less space than a cycling machine when packed up.

This model is a great entry level trainer that's exceptionally quiet for the price (helpful if you're in a flat and don't want to annoy the neighbours) but at the higher end you'll find advanced digital features such as wireless activity tracking and power output information.