Fitness tech has improved immensely over the last few years
Decades ago, you'd have to use a different device to monitor your sleep, body fat and activity level. Now, you can download all this data through a watch on your wrist.
Daily Activity Level
Samsung's Galaxy Watch Active recognises all levels of activity, not just the step counter that other smart watches have previously been associated with.
Every run, walk, cycle, swim and gym session is picked up and fed back to you. Results are achieved when you adhere to a workout, so it doesn't necessarily matter what your preferred style of training is.
Stress & Sleep
You might be surprised to learn that you don't actually build muscle when you're hammering away at the bicep curls. What you're doing there is causing micro-tears in your muscle fibres.
You grow when you recover. Sleep (and reducing your stress levels) are responsible for repairing muscle tissue and lowering cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that you need when training, but too much can impair your recovery.
One Japanese study found that reducing your sleep below six hours actually promotes weight gain and fat storage. Sleeping between 6-8 hours is an ideal tonic for getting the most out of your workout, and with the Galaxy Watch Active you'll be able to track your quality of sleep too.
Blood Pressure Monitor
One of the main reasons why your doctor will tell you to work out, is because it has been proven to reduce blood pressure over time. Although high blood pressure is more common in older people, it can strike anyone. Tracking your blood pressure can keep your health in check ahead of your next visit to the GP.
Calorie Tracking
A watch that monitors calorie intake is going to help you lose weight. But it's not just the hour spent in the gym that burns calories. How you stay active throughout the day is arguably more important.
Ways of staying active outside the gym include going for regular walks, cycling or walking to work instead of driving and using stairs instead of an elevator.
These are all examples of NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), and this stands for activities you can do away from a typical gym that still burn a whole load of calories.
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