Easy Fitness Trackers for Seniors
Fitness is essential for Seniors. Seniors should develop a routine to walk a certain number of steps every day. Regular exercise helps people to slow down the aging process and prevents the development of diseases, especially the positive effects of regular walking on blood pressure has been proven.
In this article we have compiled a few Fitness Trackers that are suitable for elderly people, taking the specific needs of this consumer group into account. We have put together good fitness trackers for seniors that are easy to use, easy to read and, of course, measure accurately.
Recommended Fitness Tracker – No Smartphone needed
Why do seniors need a Fitness Tracker?
An electronic tracker can be a valuable tool to gain more control over the individual daily activities. A Fitness Tracker or Fitness Bracelet helps to build a routine of walking a constant number of steps each and every day.
You hear it a lot:
Walk 10,000 steps per day!
But anyone who has actually walked 10,000 steps a few days in a row knows that this goal is not necessarily suitable for all older people. It can be quite exhausting.
Actually, it doesn’t really matter if it’s 7,000, 5,000 or just 3,000 steps a day.
It is important that you regularly walk an even number of steps.
Define your own goal! A goal that can be achieved permanently! On the one hand, the goal should be challenging, but on the other hand you should still feel comfortable and not exhausted.
What characteristics should a fitness tracker for grandma and grandpa have?
Typical age-related weaknesses require special features of the electronic gadget:
Ease of use
One of the most important features for seniors is ease of use. If you only want to measure the number of steps you take during a day, you will not need a device that measures your heart rate, sleeping patterns, or minutes in motion.
Often it is sufficient to simply display your data on a display on the gadget itself. A cheap, simple and accurate electronic tracker can do the job very well. Ideally, you do not need Bluetooth, a Smartphone App or a Computer to set the tracker up.
Good readability
What is the point of measuring all this data when the data is presented on a small screen that is hard to read for the elderly? Seniors with failing eyesight need to read the numbers easily and without strain. A tracker needs to have large and readable information.
Cyber Security
Most fitness tracker wristbands only work via a Bluetooth connection with a smartphone.
The devices capture much more than just the steps and then present the data on a dashboard on your smartphone. The data is not necessarily stored only locally on your mobile, it can be uploaded over the internet connection of your Smartphone even to a server abroad.
Therefore, it is important to read the privacy policy of the service carefully before using these features. The easiest way to avoid transferring your data to the Internet is to use a product that’s not even connected to the internet, i.e. that doesn’t have a bluetooth connection to your Smartphone. Or, you choose a reputable brand such as Fitbit or Garmin.
If you are not used to technology, choose something simple, something without bluetooth, where you first need to find out how to connect the device to your smartphone before you can even use it.
If that’s an issue, a fitness band is usually not the best option for you. We have put together simple pedometers that you can carry in your pocket in this article: Simple Pedometers for the elderly
If you prefer an easy to use pedometer watch for elderly without Bluetooth and Internet connection you might want to check out the Willful Fitness Tracker, that is available for under 20 Dollars. More on this further down…
Some more advanced Fitness Bracelets include a Sleep Tracker
The Sleep tracking feature available on many trackers allows users to track how long they sleep and the quality of their sleep, which can be helpful for seniors with insomnia. In this case you need a fitness bracelet and the according app on your smartphone, except the Willful Band that offers sleep tracking without the hassle of connecting the tracker to a phone.
For most of the other products, the data is transferred via bluetooth to the corresponding Smartphone app for analysis and display of the data.
Splash Proof
Water and sweat resistant bands are important for seniors, as this keeps seniors from having to take their device on and off for showers. It also prevents the tracker from getting damaged if they get caught in the rain or have an accidental spill of a drink.
Product Assessment: So we are looking for a product with the following characteristics:
- Easy to Set-up
- Easy to see LED screen
- No Computer or Smartphone needed
- Or, secure device from reputable brand
- Splash proof
OZO CS1
We start with a simple product that only counts steps, but it does very good! The OZO flagship product is the single function CS1 pedometer. It accurately records your steps.
With its thin profile it is comfortably carried in a pocket all day. It is perfect for those looking for a non complicated step counter with no set up required.
This makes it an ideal choice for seniors and kids. You can quickly zero out the step count at will, with a single button press.
GRV Simple Wrist pedometer – No Smartphone needed
If you are looking for a fitness tracker that doesn’t need to be connected to a smartphone; check out the GRV pedometer watch. It tracks accurately your daily steps, distance walked, calories burned and sleep quality. It is easy to set up and doesn’t require an app and a phone. You just enter your age, height, weight, and gender and off you go! Ideal for seniors and kids.
The Cloudpoem step counter watch – No Phone needed
The Cloudpoem step counter watch works without a phone or an app. In addition to the day and date display, the Cloudpoem watch measures the daily steps, the distance covered and the calories burned.
You don’t need a smartphone or an app to set up this simple step counter watch, which is ideal for seniors.
Everything can be entered conveniently via the 1.47-inch touchscreen: Select the date format, set the time, enter age, height and weight and then the watch records the activity data without it being transmitted to the Internet via an app.
As a reminder function, the drinking reminder is particularly important for elderly people
Sleep is also monitored with this watch and the analysis is simply shown on the watch display without an app. Find out more about Cloudpoem Pedometer Wristband without an App >>> OR
Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band
The GPS pioneer Garmin entered the market of fitness bracelets with the Vivofit Activity Tracker series. The entry-level model from Garmin is the Vivofit. If you think of Garmin you think of GPS. But the Vivofit does not support GPS.
The intelligent fitness bracelet follows the daily activities and motivates to more exercise. It records the daily pace, distance, calories, and heart rate when a chest strap is worn, and stores that data for over a month on the device.
For most other activity trackers, you have to enter your goals yourself. The Vivofit is intelligent and can set the goals automatically based on the individual movement profile. It also facilitates the gradual achievement of goals by automatically setting smaller achievable goals. Whether you are an experienced older athlete or a beginner at old age; the Vivofit adapts.
Another useful feature is the inactivity notification feature. Like many other intelligent activity trackers, it warns you if you stay too long without movement. But unlike the competition, which is usually only humming, the Vivofit shows a red bar, which grows slowly, as long as you only sit around. To get rid of the beam, you just have to get up and move until it disappears.
The activity tracker from Garmin also includes a sleep monitoring feature. It is not as sophisticated as some of the other Fitness bracelets, but it provides a solid record of the duration of sleep and can clearly distinguish between sleep and waking phases. In addition, the Vivofit offers the ability to measure the pulse, in combination with a compatible chest strap.
The actual device is in a robust rubber band and is waterproof. The bracelets are available in different colors and can be reordered if required.
Very impressive is the life of the battery. Due to the energy-saving e-ink display, which dispenses with a backlight and the absence of constant synchronization of the Vivofit comes for a year according to the manufacturer with a CR1632 button cell battery. Many comparable activity trackers with battery need to be recharged regularly.
Sync with Garmin Connect at the touch of a button. Like with the higher-priced versions like the Vivofit 2, the Vivosmart or even the Vivoactive with GPS the synchronization takes place automatically.
Garmin Connect is Garmin’s online fitness community. There, the data can be evaluated and displayed graphically. Garmin Connect can be accessed through the browser or via iOS and Android apps. This platform also allows data to be linked to other Garmin devices.
However, you need a smartphone of the newer generation with Bluetooth LTE. Garmin Vivofit is not compatible with older Android devices or older iPhones (iPhone 4S or earlier). However, it can be connected via a USB stick with the PC or Mac and the data can then be evaluated via the web interface.
- Steps and distance
- Daily target and inactivity index
- Calorie consumption
- Date and Time
- waterproof up to 50m
- Synchronization via ANT + Stick for PC or Bluetooth Smart
- Battery life of over a year
- supports iOS, Android, Windows and Mac OS (via Garmin Express)
- With chest strap (optional), the heart rate can be recorded
Conclusion
It is not easy to find suitable fitness tracker bracelets that suits all the needs for older people.It depends on how tech savvy you are. If you want a regular check of your data over time you need a smartphone or computer. If you would like a bracelet but without a smartphone or a computer need the Willful is an excellent option. If you actually don’t need a bracelet and ae happy to put a simple pedometer into your pocket, you might want to check out: Easy to use Pedometers for the elderly – No Smartphone needed
