ActiveFitness Trackers5 things you didn’t know cheap fitness trackers from Fitbit and Garmin could doFrom measuring ECG to managing stress, here are five things cheap fitness can do you didn’t know aboutWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

ActiveFitness Trackers5 things you didn’t know cheap fitness trackers from Fitbit and Garmin could doFrom measuring ECG to managing stress, here are five things cheap fitness can do you didn’t know aboutWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

From measuring ECG to managing stress, here are five things cheap fitness can do you didn’t know about

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Xiomi)

Athletic men wearing the Redmi Smart Band Pro for surfing

(Image credit: Xiomi)

We sometimes wonder if there is a point in getting an expensive fitness wearable or should everyone just get a fitness tracker. Nowadays, even cheap fitness trackers have a number of features that even a few years ago were considered cutting edge technology. No need to spend half a grand on a posh smartwatch when a fitness tracker fifth the price can do the job just fine.

Thebest fitness trackersare amazing fitness wearables that can take on a fight with entry-levelrunning watches. Not all fitness trackers are –the Garmin Venu 2has a hefty price tag – but many are more accessible from a price point of view thanmultisport watches.

Despite this cheaper price, fitness trackers can measure anything from heart rate to respiration to ECG and track exercise, sleep and even stress. Five years ago, fitness bands didn’t track heart rate! Now, you can’t find one that doesn’t have a built-in optical heart rate sensor.

What features can you expect from your cheap fitness tracker? The ones below might surprise you…

1. They can measure ECG on the wrist

Being able to accurately measure ECG on the wrist is a relatively new feature. A couple of years ago, theWithings Scanwatchmade ECG more accessible to the masses and not long after, the Fitbit Sense offered ECG readings for even cheaper. Then came theFitbit Charge 5, which – to our surprise – also included Fitbit’s ECG app and brought the price down even more.

The Charge 5 is not only Fitbit’s most capable fitness tracker, but it’s also one of the best fitness trackers overall, not least because of the inclusion of the ECG app. Fitbit calls it an app, but it really is a feature on the tracker itself; the ECG app assesses your heart for atrial fibrillation – a heart rhythm irregularity – and gives you a little report which you can keep for your records or share with your doctor.

Not bad for a fitness tracker at this price point!

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2. They can measure workout strain

Thecheapest of cheap fitness trackerscan do little more than monitor your basic health stats poorly. However, not all cheap trackers are created equal. In fact, onefreefitness tracker can measure much more than just heart rate; it can monitor the strain on your body to let you know how ready you are for working out.

TheWhoop 4.0is a free fitness band that comes included with your Whoop subscription. When wearing the band, via the Whoop App, you are given a Strain Score which can be anything between 0-21 and is based on your recovery and workload.

Just existing every day will increase your Strain Score, but it’s exercise and stress that increases it the most. As Whoop explains, strain uses a “non-linear calculation”, and the algorithm aggregates your raw data and then scales the final results to get your overall strain score.

No wonderAlan Ritchson uses the Whoop 4.0for his workouts!

3. They can help you train more efficiently using preloaded workouts

Finding the inspiration to work out can be the hardest part of getting fit. Where should you start? How are you supposed to structure your workouts? What exercises to include? First, you get confused, before giving up on the whole thing shortly after.

4. They can monitor and suggest ways to improve sleep

For a fitness tracker so cheap, we really didn’t expect theHuaweiBand 6 to have such robust sleep tracking features, but in fact, it does.

In ourHuawei Band 6 review, we said that the “TruSleep 2.0 Sleep Tracking… seems pretty accurate, not to mention the robust sleep analysis section in the Huawei Health app. TruSleep can even give you customised sleep reports, as long as you wear the band for sleeping more than twice a week.”

The Band 6 measures sleep stages and recommends ways to improve your sleep, albeit in some cases, it will be as generic as “try to have a steady sleep schedule”. However, more often, these recommendations will aim to improve your sleep in specific ways.

5. They can track and help manage stress

You wouldn’t expect a fitness band as cheap as theSamsung Galaxy Fit2to do anything else but measure the very basic stats such as steps and maybe heart rate. Well, it does!

In fact, the Galaxy Fit2 can do a bunch of things, including helping you manage stress. You can set up your Galaxy Fit2 with theSamsungHealth app to automatically track your stress level and can practice breathing exercises when your stress level is high.

Haven’t got any of the fitness trackers mentioned above but do fancy trying them out? Have a look at the below deals and grab a bargain today!

Today’s best Fitbit Charge 5, Whoop 4.0, Garmin Venu Sq, Huawei Band 6 and Samsung Galaxy Fit2 dealsFitbit Charge 5$149.95$135.42ViewSee all pricesWhoop 4.0$239ViewSee all pricesGarmin Venu Sq$199.99$175.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

Today’s best Fitbit Charge 5, Whoop 4.0, Garmin Venu Sq, Huawei Band 6 and Samsung Galaxy Fit2 dealsFitbit Charge 5$149.95$135.42ViewSee all pricesWhoop 4.0$239ViewSee all pricesGarmin Venu Sq$199.99$175.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

Today’s best Fitbit Charge 5, Whoop 4.0, Garmin Venu Sq, Huawei Band 6 and Samsung Galaxy Fit2 dealsFitbit Charge 5$149.95$135.42ViewSee all pricesWhoop 4.0$239ViewSee all pricesGarmin Venu Sq$199.99$175.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

Today’s best Fitbit Charge 5, Whoop 4.0, Garmin Venu Sq, Huawei Band 6 and Samsung Galaxy Fit2 deals

Fitbit Charge 5$149.95$135.42ViewSee all pricesWhoop 4.0$239ViewSee all pricesGarmin Venu Sq$199.99$175.99ViewSee all prices

Fitbit Charge 5$149.95$135.42ViewSee all prices

Fitbit Charge 5$149.95$135.42ViewSee all prices

Fitbit Charge 5 Advanced…

Fitbit Charge 5

Fitbit Charge 5

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$149.95$135.42View

$149.95$135.42

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Whoop 4.0$239ViewSee all prices

Whoop 4.0$239ViewSee all prices

WHOOP - 4.0 Health and…

Whoop 4.0

Whoop 4.0

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$239View

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Garmin Venu Sq$199.99$175.99ViewSee all prices

Garmin Venu Sq$199.99$175.99ViewSee all prices

Garmin 010-02427-00 Venu Sq,…

Garmin Venu Sq

Garmin Venu Sq

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$199.99$175.99View

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We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

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