Best Fitness Tracker for Crossfit – Picking the best among the products in this review is a bit daunting. Every one of them is great. Also, they all have more or less the same features. However, since we are compelled to make a choice, we are reluctantly going for the AKASO Fitness Tracker HR Activity Tracker . The Willful Fitness Tracker is a good alternative because of the whopping 14 different sport modes it provides for you.
Well that’s it for our list of what we believe to be the best watches for CrossFit. This article should give you an idea of the different types of fitness trackers available, and what types of features they possess. CrossFit is quite the sport, so having an appropriate fitness tracker on your wrist is a no-brainer.
ROUND UP
Remember that these choices are the result of research we have done on these types of smartwatches. They are going to be more expensive than your standard watches, but we included different prices to suit different budgets.
1.SUUNTO Spartan
Pros & Cons
- Battery life up to 12H in training mode
- Steel bezel, mineral Crystal Glass, and an outdoor-grade color touch screen
- Strong and sleek design with100 mwater resistance
- GPS route navigation
- Sport-specific training modes and support for over 80 sports with racing and interval use
Last summer (2016) amidst Suunto announcing the Spartan series, they made note of a planned optical heart rate enabled version that would be released down the road. Fast forward to this past January (2017) and at CES they did just that – the ‘Wrist HR’ lineup, often just abbreviated as WHR. This lineup took the existing Suunto Spartan Sport and added a Valencell optical heart rate sensor into it, giving you heart rate data directly from your wrist during both workouts and any other time you wanted it.
They started shipping the units back on March 31st – in conjunction with another major firmware update for the Spartan series.
Now as you may remember, I reviewed the Spartan series last fall when it first came out. By Suunto’s own admission, that release was a wee bit premature. Simply put: The product wasn’t ready. But a lot has changed since then. They’ve added back in tons of features previously found on the prior Suunto watch lineups, plus some new ones. Accuracy has improved and generally speaking people are boatloads happier with it than they were nine months ago.
2.POLAR VANTAGE
Pros & Cons
- Ultra Long Battery Life – With up to 40 hours of training time with GPS active, the Polar Vantage V can stand up to your toughest training and grueling races; Polar Precision Prime Heart Rate – Polar redefines the gold standard in optical heart rate accuracy by combining the latest in bio-impedance electrodes and optical sensors
- Running Power – Accelerate the effectiveness and precision of your training with Polar Running Power; captures for the first time ever directly from the wrist, the Polar Vantage V can help fine-tune your effort and get results faster
- Swimmers: Capture key swim metrics like stroke, distance and pace both indoors and out; Cyclers: Pair your Vantage V to your favorite compatible cycling accessory
- Runners: Speed, distance and route tracking when running; Triathlete: Easily switch between sports and record transition time
- Wristbands are durable and comfortable silicone: Sizing: S - wrist circumference 130-185 mm; M/L: wrist circumference 155-210 mm
The Polar Vantage M2 is the Finnish workout tech brand’s latest multisport watch, falling somewhere in between the more casual and fashion-focused Polar Ignite 2 and the premium Polar Vantage V2.
It sits much closer to the former in terms of price, and it similarly seeks to be the kind of watch you might want to keep on even after your workout has finished. But it also sets out to appeal to a slightly more committed brand of fitness fan, with its rugged, sporty design.
3.HalfSun Fitness
Pros & Cons
- 【Excellent Ergonomic Design】Large Color-Screen : The beauty in all in view. Using a 1.3 inch IPS HD full color-screen, high contrast & wide gamut bring a pleasant experience of high definition image.; Skin Friendly and lithe comfortable material.
- 【All-day Activity Tracking】Record all-day activities like steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes and sleep quality, you can get the completely report in the APP. 【Heart Rate & Blood Pressure & Sleep Monitoring 】Tracks real-time heart rate and Blood Pressure automatically & continuously, also you could get completely report in the App. Automatically tracks your sleep quality, helping you analysis of sleep quality data and improve your habits and customs.
- 【Heart Rate & Blood Pressure & Sleep Monitoring 】Tracks real-time heart rate and Blood Pressure automatically & continuously, also you could get completely report in the App. Automatically tracks your sleep quality, helping you analysis of sleep quality data and improve your habits and customs.
- 【Other Powerful Multiple Features】Weather Forecast, Sport Modes , Sleep Monitor, Step Counter, Calorie Counter, Call Alert(Hang up), Turn wrist take photos, Alarm , Sedentary Alert, SMS&SNS Alert ; Connect the GPS on your cellphone can show run stats like pace and distance and record a map of your workout route.
- 【Important Note】Please connect with smartphone via the App ”H Band” not Bluetooth ;Please keep your wrist stable when testing blood pressure; Sleeping Data updated every 24 hours, please don’t think it doesn’t work when you get up.Alarm , Sedentary Alert, SMS&SNS Alert feature need to set up in the App, tap"Mine"-> "V2"->begin set up; Please set "H Band" auto run in the App management if meet connect problem in Android smartphone, authorize ” H Band” and turn on all switches in App permission
HalfSun Fitness Tracker, Activity Tracker Fitness Watch, Blood Pressure Monitor, all day Activity Tracking record, IP67 Waterproof Smart Watch, Calorie Counter, Step Counter, sleep quality data, calories, every 24 hours, App permission, Android smartphone, Excellent Ergonomic design Large Color screen, IPS HD full Color screen, a 1.3 inch
The watch only needs to be taken off before the hot bath. Practicable APP H band app provides powerful compatibility for iOS 8.0 & android 4.4 or above with bluetooth 4.0.
4.Akasma Fitness
Pros & Cons
- 【Multifunctional Health Manager】The home fitness tracker accurately records your home sports, walking distance traveled, calories burned and monitor your heart rate with full analysis. With powerful 12 in 1 activity tracker makes your exercise more efficient in home gym and let you have a healthier lifestyle.
- 【 Heart Rate Monitor 】Advanced HR sensor for accurate and effective heart rate monitoring , monitor your heart rate all day with graph in the app. It means allowing you to know your heart rate while rest and while indoor home workout.This activity tracker care about your every heart beat.
- 【Sleep Tracking】Tracks your awake, deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep so that you can have a better understanding of your sleep quality at home. You can also use this sleep tracker set an alarm to wake you up with vibration, smooth and comfort. Embrace a fresh morning with Akasma sleep monitor.
- 【Intelligent Reminder & Wider Compatibility】Vibrates to notify you of incoming calls and messages help you stay connected . Never miss any important message for exercise at home. Supports a wide selection of Android and iOS mobile devices, install the App “Runmifit” in your phone and pair the device from it. Check all your personal health data from the App at anytime or anywhere. (Require: iOS 9.0 & Android 4.4 above)
- 【 Charging Anywhere 】S5 activity tracker built-in USB Charge (no need cable). Only 2 hours' charging allows up to 5 days' use. You can charge it with any USB Power Adapter, like computer, USB cable, power bank, etc. Make sure you put the right side, the charging function is only available at the lower end of the dial. Try the front and back sides, the metal piece facing forward or backward and plug in a different socket to see if it can be charged properly.
This digital watch serves so many functions. I was amazed at how it can so accurately alert you of your calls and texts as well as show the content and who they are from. In addition, it functions as the perfect fitness tracker for walking, running, cycling, and hiking, counting your steps and measuring your heartbeat at every turn.
Furthermore, the battery rarely runs out and you don’t have to worry yourself with a charger if it ever does run out since the charger is installed in the watch itself, suitable for plugging it in at any USB outlet you can find. Lastly, it is perfectly in sync with the application on your phone and adjusts to any change in time, including time zones and daylight saving time. Overall, it is the ideal watch for everyone, even those who don’t exercise regularly. I definitely recommend it.
5.Apple Watch
Pros & Cons
- GPS model lets you take calls and reply to texts from your wrist
- Measure your blood oxygen with an all-new sensor and app
- Check your heart rhythm with the ECG app
- The Always-On Retina display is 2.5x brighter outdoors when your wrist is down
- S6 SiP is up to 20% faster than Series 5
- 5GHz Wi-Fi and U1 Ultra Wideband chip
- Track your daily activity on Apple Watch and see your trends in the Fitness app on iPhone
- Measure workouts like running, walking, cycling, yoga, swimming, and dance
- Swimproof design
- Sync your favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks
The Apple Watch Series 7 is Apple’s latest smartwatch, featuring a larger always-on Retina display, a more rounded design with a larger casing, improved durability, and faster charging, starting at a price of .
Announced in September 2021, the Apple Watch Series 7 is the newest Apple Watch in Apple’s lineup and it is at the start of its product cycle. Apple tends to release new Apple Watch models every September, and there is no reason to suggest that a new Apple Watch Series 8 will not launch next year.
There are early signs of Apple Watch Series 8 models with a number of upgrades and improvements, but since this is likely still around a year away, now is the best time to buy the Apple Watch Series 7.
Best Fitness Tracker for Crossfit – BUYER’S GUIDE
We were actually surprised how many of the fitness trackers we tested were really difficult to navigate. It just seems like there are too many companies that don’t put effort into making their software user friendly.
The problem you end up with is that even a great feature list is completely lost if you cannot get the information quickly in the middle of a gym workout.
And this is even more important for CrossFit.
The high-intensity training, with little time between sets, doesn’t exactly give you the opportunity to click through multiple menus just to see your training data.
I remember having one of the early heart rate monitors with GPS built-in. I felt soo cool, but after a couple of trips to the gym, I just didn’t like the weight.
This doesn’t bother all people.
But I found this to be very distracting.
The good news is that technology has advanced a lot, and that has meant that fitness tracker devices have become much smaller which is great news for people with small wrists.
When you order online to get the best prices, you obviously can’t try the watch on. But we found that there are always people commenting in reviews about how comfortable they are to wear.
When it comes to long battery life, you have to look past the headline advertising info. There’s not a single watch out there that would admit it doesn’t last long on each charging cycle.
A good range is about five days, but some of the smartwatches out there could be as low as a day.
Some of the best fitness trackers we found and listed in the top positions could last up to 14 days, which is damn good.
But it’s also important to look at the charging time.
When you’re tracking your recovery and sleep as well, you don’t want to lose the data you could be collecting because the watch is charging all night.
Ideally, you’d want to be able to fast charge in about 30 to 60 minutes [3].
When fitness trackers first came out, the features they provided were simple step counting. Some were able to tell the difference between walking and running, but that was about it.
Today, technical features have become a lot more advanced, and motion tracking sensors should be able to tell the difference between running, swimming, and interval training.
And it all depends on the number of data entries a tracker has.
The fitness trackers for CrossFit that we recommend above have a minimum of 15 different types of activity pre-programmed.
Some of them go above 90, which may be suitable for serious CrossFit enthusiasts.
Not everyone can afford to join a gym, fitness club, or hire a fitness coach.
But you could still get some good digital training advice from some of the more advanced fitness trackers for CrossFit.
There are several apps that come with fitness trackers that work out your current performance and then recommend certain workouts to get you to your goals.
Alternatively, they allow you to pre-program your gym routine so that you don’t need to try and take notes on a piece of paper, whether you’re doing strength training, cardio, or flexibility.
These are some advanced features, but they might just push the right buttons for the tech-geeks who are reading this.
The earliest fitness trackers I used with professional athletes were HR monitors. These tell you what your heart rate is in real-time, which indicates how hard you might be pushing your body.
I won’t go into the details of the different HR activity zones, but this is how professionals are able to adjust their performance levels to a precise training plan.
Using a chest strap is still common and seems to be the most accurate way to measure [4].
“Heart-rate training prevents you from running too hard on your easy or recovery runs, reducing the risk of fatigue and overtraining; it also helps you to recover.”
– Heather Mayer Irvine, Sports and fitness writer.
A fitness tracker with GPS sounds like a pure gadget geeks dream.
And I’d have to admit that the location tracking won’t be important in a CrossFit gym or for simply tracking calories burned.
But if you tend to go running or cycling, and don’t like to carry a bulky phone or other devices, then why not let your watch track your distance and pace.
Imagine having a set running time or distance and being able to see how fast your pace has changed as your fitness levels improved.
It’s important to understand what water resistance and waterproof actually mean.
All gadgets, including fitness trackers, usually come with certifications that say they could withstand water splashes or use underwater [5].
Some certifications will say you could use it for diving up to 100 feet or more.
“Every single phone, watch, sport band, GPS device, portable speaker, or the like that bills itself as “waterproof” should really bill itself as “Water-resistant within the parameters specified by the manufacturer.”
– Jason Fitzpatrick, Editor in Chief of LifeSavvy
That’s great if you go swimming a lot, but it might not be an expense you need for CrossFit.
But, if you’re doing CrossFit right, then you should be getting to the end of a training session and be completely drenched in sweat.
Some of that sweat will splash onto your activity tracker. That’s why it should be at least splash-proof so that you don’t end up frying it after one trip to the gym.
A lot of people just think of sleep tracking as timing the amount of time you’re in bed at night.
But it’s just as much about sleep quality [6], which could be a much better indicator of how well your body might recover from high intensity workouts.
“For adults, good quality sleep means that you typically fall asleep in 30 minutes or less, sleep soundly through the night with no more than one awakening, and drift back to sleep within 20 minutes if you do wake up.”
– National Sleep Foundation
This is something that some of the advanced gadgets we recommend will do pretty well. By wearing your fitness tracker to bed, it may be able to monitor your sleep cycles and determine how much rest you got.
This information could be valuable to figure out how much you might want to push yourself the next day.
Most of the fitness tracker recommendations above are compatible with apps on different mobile platforms. The main exception is the Apple Watch.
There simply isn’t any way to sync it up with an app on an Android phone, but that might not be a problem if you’re one of the millions of iPhone lovers.
But, if you tend to switch between different platforms and prefer the flexibility of connecting to different apps, then it’s best to stick with a device that has apps for all platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, many CrossFit athletes wear watches to keep track of their interval timing as well as activity. With some of the advanced activity trackers, you would be able to get detailed data about your performance in each session.
Yes, Apple Watch can track CrossFit activity as long as you set it up with the right apps. Because CrossFit involves so many different disciplines and movements, it may become challenging to accurately summarize the data.
Yes, a heart rate monitor may help with CrossFit as it could allow you to target the right intensity levels. Keep in mind, though, that a chest strap might get in the way or become uncomfortable. It’s better to use a watch or strap on your arm.
WRAP UP
If you are currently undergoing some form of customized fitness exercise schedule, with a huge emphasis placed on a Crossfit fitness regimen, then you will need a tracker to keep you abreast of developments relating to your exercises. One of the products listed below could be the exact tracker you need.
Amazon.com
