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Fitness trackers are super trendy right now, but they’re also useful tools to track your workout progress.

Here’s why you should be using one… 

1. You can monitor your heart rate

If you feel like you’re working hard in the gym but not seeing results, tracking your heart rate could give you the edge you need. You can use it for intervals – spike your heart rate for 20 seconds; rest for 10 – or measure your maximum heart rate and train in specific heart-rate zones to achieve your goals.

 2. You can track your pace and distance

If you’re a runner, a fitness tracker can give you accurate measurements of how far and fast you ran. Sync it to your phone and you can even see how your performance changed at different points along the route.

 3. You can analyse your workout

It’s not just about running – sync your device with your phone and you can track your workouts and monitor your performance over time.

 4. You can set realistic goals

It’s hard to motivate yourself when you don’t have concrete goals to work towards. Measuring your performance will give you a baseline to work off so you set goals that are challenging enough to get results, but not so unattainable that you become demotivated. As you see yourself getting closer to your goal, you’ll be encouraged to keep going.

 5. It’s a training buddy

When you’re hitting the pavement or the gym solo, watching your performance on your tracker can give you that encouragement to push harder that you’d normally get from a buddy. A community like Garmin Connect even goes a step further with virtual leadership boards you can join and free training plans you can download.

Looking for more on fitness trackers? Here are four new high-tech trackers that’ll help you keep tabs on your workouts, plus the tips that’ll help you get the most out of your new workout device.