Technology

Health and Fitness Techniques That Can Help You Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Health and Fitness Techniques That Can Help You Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Every year, people around the world make resolutions to improve themselves, and every year health and fitness resolutions are the most popular. In general, everyone wants to be the best version of themselves, which is probably why there are so many tech products on the market that aim to help you do just that. What’s even better is that many of these products tend to go on sale at the beginning of January, not only to sell more to resolution makers but also to clear inventory for upcoming products. That means there’s no better time to invest in yourself than at the beginning of the year.

Fortunately, there are more ways than ever to keep your health high-tech. From wearables that help track your fitness and keep you motivated to gadgets that help your body relax, and even smart beds that improve your comfort, it’s the golden age of health assistants. Sure, the famous gyms of ancient Athens were probably cool, but they didn’t have built-in AI assistants. So, in this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most useful health and fitness tech you can incorporate into your lifestyle. Everyone has different needs, so there’s a wide range of product categories that we’ll cover below. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

A smartwatch will track your health and keep you motivated

If you’re trying to stay healthy this year but don’t know where to start, it wouldn’t hurt to try a smartwatch. Not only do these devices give you access to your most important phone notifications, which can keep you away from your phone even more, they can also provide a wide range of health, fitness, exercise, sleep, and heart data. They’ll track your workouts and activities, from weightlifting to diving, running to cycling, or even custom activities.

As for which smartwatch you should get, it will largely depend on your phone. Those with an iPhone will be better off getting the Apple Watch SE, Series 10, or Ultra 2. Samsung Galaxy fans should check out the latest Galaxy Watch7 or Galaxy Watch Ultra. Google Pixel owners will likely like what the Pixel Watch 3 has to offer. Each of these watches has features reserved for owners of the corresponding phone, like the Galaxy Watch’s ability to track an ECG.

However, another great watch brand for fitness enthusiasts is the non-platform Garmin, which makes a wide range of health and fitness watches with a variety of specialized features for active lifestyles. However, they can be pricey if you want smarter features like the ability to text or call on your wrist. For example, the Garmin Fenix ​​8 starts at $1,100, while the more premium Apple Watch Ultra 2 costs $800. Garmin makes too many watches to list here, some cheaper than others. For example, Amazon’s pick is the Garmin Forerunner 55, which costs just $200. It’s worth browsing Garmin’s inventory before dismissing the brand.

A smart ring is a subtle way to stay fit

A smart ring is less intrusive than a smartwatch, and is a small strip of technology that sits on your finger to give you data about your health. Of course, a smartwatch is more interactive, so the benefit of a ring is that it doesn’t add another screen to your life (many of us probably have a resolution for less screen time this year), but you still get things like heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, and more.

There are only two players in the smart ring space worth paying attention to right now: the Oura Ring 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Ring. The former will be best for most people, while those who already own a Samsung Galaxy phone should check out the latter. However, if the Oura is your thing, you should know that to take full advantage of everything it has to offer, you’ll need to purchase a monthly subscription in addition to the initial $350-$500 cost of the ring itself, which varies depending on the materials chosen. While Samsung’s Galaxy Ring requires a Galaxy phone to use all of its features, it doesn’t come with any hidden subscriptions. In SlashGear’s Galaxy Ring review , Adam Doud gave the Samsung band an 8 out of 10 for its long battery life, convenient charging and travel case, and accurate tracking, among other benefits. If you’re having trouble deciding, check out our Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring head-to-head.

Smart mattresses can help you stay rested

Sleep is at the core of personal health, and disrupting or impeding your rest can have a domino effect that ripples throughout your life. That’s why, if you’re interested in better health this year (and have a lot of money to spend), investing in bed tech like a smart mattress can improve not just your nights, but your days as well. There are plenty of options on the market, with companies making a range of claims about their ability to rejuvenate you, but some of the best smart bed tech will at least let you get a free trial. That’s great, because these things don’t come cheap.

You may have heard of Sleep Number through their constant advertising, but these mattresses consistently get great reviews. With the ability to adjust firmness, track your sleep, and cool you down, Sleep Number controls some of the most important variables for a good night’s sleep. The Sleep Number i8 is a good middle ground starting at $4,000, but you can go simpler with the Classic Series starting at $1,000, or even more premium with the Climate360, which costs $10,248 and includes active cooling and heating.

If you’d rather add some tech to the bed you already have, the Sleep Eight Pod 4 has been getting rave reviews. It’s a mattress topper that pumps temperature-controlled water while you sleep to precisely control your body temperature. This is supposed to lead to a more restful sleep, which reviewers attest to, though the price tag may keep you up at night. The Pod 4 is $2,599, and the Pod 4 Ultra goes for $4,699. There’s still an additional monthly subscription.

A smart bathroom scale will track your progress

Moving on to a gadget that’s much less common than the others on this list, not to mention much cheaper, a smart bathroom scale can help you track your fitness progress. The best scale for most people is the Etekcity Smart Scale , which is just $34 on Amazon. It works by measuring not only your weight, but also your muscle mass, fat percentage, lean body weight, visceral fat, body water percentage, skeletal muscle, bone mass, and more. When you stand on the scale barefoot, the sensors inside it kick in, taking all of these measurements in a matter of seconds and then syncing them via Bluetooth to an app on your phone. You can then use the app to see larger trends and other useful data. And of course, the app tells you your weight, just like any other scale.

A smart scale like the one from Etekcity is great on its own, but you can use it in conjunction with other smart fitness tech on this list, like a smartwatch, to get a much broader picture of your health. You’ll be able to track workouts and basic fitness information with the watch, and then get deeper insights from the scale to see your progress over time.

A cycling computer can track your bike rides

Every cyclist knows that the high of a run is nothing compared to a good endorphin-inducing bike ride. But whether you’re a road cyclist who’s prone to taking wild turns as you outrun city traffic, or a mountain biker who’s never encountered a trail too rough for your bike, a bike computer can help you not only better understand your rides, but also use that data to improve your skills. These little gadgets mount to your handlebars, providing you with GPS data and tracking things like elevation, ascent, power, and more.

One of our favorite cycling computers right now is the Hammerhead Karoo, an Android-powered computer in a rugged chassis that costs $475 on Amazon. With 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, the Karoo is a capable computer for all conditions. Because it’s based on Android, it can pull more information from your phone than options from competitors like Garmin that use proprietary operating systems. Hammerhead updates it regularly, and unlike other computers that still use bulky buttons, the Karoo has a multi-touch display that makes navigating it a much more intuitive experience. It charges easily over USB-C, which is still not guaranteed in 2025, though battery life is the one area where it fell short in some reviews.

Of course, you could get something cheaper from a competing brand, like the simple Garmin Edge 130, which is much cheaper at $200, though it has fewer features. Or you could even get a sturdy phone holder and just use the Strava app, though of course you’d be putting your phone at risk.

A massage gun will help you recover after workouts

Getting healthy doesn’t just require hard work. Rest is equally important, because it’s the physical state in which your body repairs itself. You can help this repair with a massage gun, a device that uses rapid vibrations called percussion therapy (read: repeated punching with a mechanical fist) to increase blood flow to the area, relax muscle tissue, and help reduce post-workout soreness. That’s all well and good, but the pain-relieving effects are probably what you’ll notice most clearly. The soreness you typically feel in the days following an intense workout is caused by lactic acid trapped in your muscles, but a massage gun will flush the acid out of your muscle fibers. If you’ve ever seen a steak get juicier when you hit it with a hammer, it’s a similar process.

The most popular massage guns are made by Theragun, and they remain a respected option, even used by a wide range of professional athletes. The best massage gun for most people is probably the Theragun Elite. It’s a bit pricey at $400, but it comes with five attachments for different types of therapy and has a Bluetooth-connected phone app. A more affordable option is the Theragun Mini 2.0, which is half the price and half the size and comes with three attachments. Those on a tighter budget might consider the Toloco massage gun, which has generally great reviews and is a bestseller on Amazon.

How we chose these products

In the world of health and fitness, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. That’s why every item included in this article has been selected based on hands-on testing or careful scanning of reviews from reputable outlets and consumers in order to meet SlashGear’s stringent editorial standards.

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