An online community dedicated to helping senior caregivers.

Regular exercise is critical for older adults, but how do you know as a caregiver if your senior’s exercise program is achieving the intended results or providing the benefits they seek? As an older adult, it’s important to keep a close eye on baseline metrics and the body’s response to physical exertion. That responsibility often falls to the caregivers, who then also act as coach, champion and cheerleader.

Thanks to advances in wearable fitness tracking technology, access to exercise and health data is easier than it’s ever been. Beyond the basic step count, you can now easily track resting heart rate, sleep metrics, stress levels and even recovery rate between exercise. In fact, a recent study found that wearing a fitness activity tracker actually resulted in more time spent exercising among older adults who wore one regularly.

When it comes to outfitting the older adult in your care with a fitness tracker, there are several things to consider:

We’ve rounded up our favorite fitness trackers of 2022. Read more on each below, and be sure to do research alongside your senior to find the perfect fit for wearable health tracking.

I’m going to (affectionately) call this the “Apple Watch Lite,” as it looks almost identical to it and offers a similar lineup of features but at a much more palatable price point.

The Amazfit Bip S watch offers:

The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band is the next step up in technology and price, and offers enhanced functionality for your senior.

It’s hard to have a conversation about wearable fitness trackers without mentioning this brand name. Fitbit has a strong foothold in the market due to its smaller design and reliable technology at a much lower price point than smart watches like Samsung, Apple and the like. Our favorites from their full product lineup include:

“Jewelry gets smart” with the Luxe, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to compromise on technology. The Luxe offers the same capabilities as its counterparts like:

Perhaps one of the best smart features of this tracker is that it senses when the wearer might be experiencing irregular heartbeats and can send alerts upon signs of Afib while still or sleeping.

Perhaps a more masculine version of the Luxe, the Charge 5 offers the same functionality of the Luxe in a more athletic design, at around the same price point.

The Versa 3 is Fitbit’s mid-range fitness watch that offers a larger screen and more enhanced features like:

Similar to the Luxe and Charge 5, the Versa offers tracking for steps, calories burned, sleep, oxygen and stress levels, active zone minutes and real-time GPS.

Apple released its first smart watch in 2014 and since that time has produce four new models (or “generations”). It also offers five different versions now, ranging in price from $199.00 to $399.00 (unless you also count the Hermes, which runs a cool $1,229).

The best Apple Watch for seniors, in my opinion, is the Series 6, which includes an always-on display, fall detection, ECG and SpO2 monitors, and allows you to set fitness goals and listen to music straight from your watch.  

There are a million ways to customize your Apple Watch, especially on Amazon, so my suggestion would be to sit down with your senior and shop together. Have a conversation about their preference in style, color, fabric, display size, etc. and pick one they’ll feel comfortable in that’s the best budget fit.

The Android-friendly version of the Apple watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 offers comparable technology and features at a similar price point:

The pinnacle of wearable tracking technology for runners, Garmin has held the top spot for competitive distance athletes for two decades. As a competitive runner, Garmin has been my running watch of choice for the last 10 years (after testing countless other brands) because of its accurate GPS technology, easy user interface (both on the watch itself and in the app), workout and record storage and its sleek design.

Today, Garmin offers six different watches and 40 versions ranging in price from $199 to $899 to meet the needs of athletes across different sports and at all stages of training—from beginners to world-class athletes. Below are a few I’ve used:

The Garmin Forerunner completely changed my training for the better. With the most accurate GPS technology I’d ever used, the longest battery life, in-workout notifications and lap recording (that actually worked), I quickly became a convert.

The Forerunner today offers superior technology, including:

A less sophisticated performance-focused watch, the Vivoactive is my current watch because of its lightweight, easy-to-read screen and built-in music player.

Choosing a fitness tracker is a very personal process that takes into consideration many factors. It’s important to work alongside the older adult in your care to find the right fit, function and fashion for their new device, and then make sure you and they are educated on how to use the activity tracking technology to reach your goals.

Jessica Toms is a marketing strategist with a special passion for covering topics that matter. With a 16-year career in writing for some of the biggest brands in the U.S., she has experience writing for a wide variety of subjects, but really enjoys stories related to health, fitness and wellness, and finding a healthy balance in life. Jessica loves being outdoors and enjoys physical exercise like running, hiking and yoga.