Jade Duvall, a Cleveland State University sophomore majoring in exercise science, found herself lacking motivation in her fitness journey this past summer. Desperate for a challenge, she laced up her hiking shoes, secured her Apple Watch around her wrist and headed to the Rocky River Reservation trail.
As her hike went on, Duvall consistently checked her Apple Watch, observing a steady heart rate and watching the step count inch closer and closer to her goal of 1,000 steps per hour.
With just a few minutes left in her hour-long hike, Duvall was ready to quit. She checked her watch one last time and noticed she was only a few dozen steps short of 1,000, which gave her the final push to not only complete her goal, but push beyond it.
“Seeing my heart rate and step count motivated me to go further,” Duvall, 20, said. “It’s like asking myself, ‘let’s see how much more I can do.’”
Duvall is one of many CSU students who use a fitness smartwatch to monitor health and motivate oneself to achieve fitness goals.
According to a study done by Science Direct in 2022, those who used wearable trackers increased their step count by 1,800 steps per day and spent 40 minutes more per day walking. This suggests a positive change in fitness due to heart rate and step count data from the wearables being available.
Emily Kullman, a professor in the CSU Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance, said there are several benefits to using a wearable fitness tracker. She suggests that the best way to utilize wearables is through monitoring physiological responses such as steps and heart rate data.
“People are often motivated by data,” Kullman, 47, said. “Students pay closer attention to their goals by watching those numbers.”
Kullman is an advocate for wearable fitness trackers, even sporting a Garmin smartwatch herself, which she uses to track her daily physical activities. Saying that, like herself, most people enjoy and use the feedback a fitness watch gives them, which improves their workout patterns.
“The nice thing about smartwatches is the ability to pick and choose what data to pay attention to,” Kullman said. “Those who listen to and log their data typically achieve more during their workout.”
There are a variety of different fitness watches and trackers that can serve a wide range of health needs, like monitoring step count, heart rate, and calories burned. Top-rated ones include the Fitbit Inspire, Fitbit Charge, and Apple Watch SE.
Mays Turabi 
Ele Solovyov 
EveLynne Bruening