Best Fitness Trackers for CrossFit (2020 Review)

Looking for the best fitness tracker for your WOD?

Fortunately, you’re in the right spot!

In this Athletic Muscle guide, I’ll be covering:

  • What is a fitness tracker?
  • How does a fitness tracker work?
  • What are the benefits of fitness tracker in CrossFit?
  • What are some considerations before buying a fitness tracker?
  • And my top 4 fitness trackers.

Click here to skip to our top pick

best fitness tracker
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WODProof Band
  • Comes with WODProof App
  • Customized Vibration settings
  • Activate Timer Button
View on Rogue Fitness

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Garmin Vivosmart HR Activity Tracker
  • Best HR Sensor
  • Excellent Garmin App
  • Accurate Calorie Counter
View on Amazon

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Fitbit Charge 3
  • Various Exercise modes
  • Sleep tracking breakdown
  • Simple for newbies to fitness tech
View on Amazon

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WillFul Fitness Tracker
  • Lowest cost for all the basics
  • Long battery life
  • Meets other smart alerts like others
View on Amazon

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Wahoo Fitness Tickr HR Monitor
  • Best HR Sensor for Chest strap
  • Works with almost all apps
  • Built in memory – no phone during workouts
View on Amazon

Overall #1 Pick

Updated As of 04/15/20

WODProof Band

  • Tailormade for CrossFit
  • WODProof App for CrossFit
  • Activate Timer Button right on top
Best CrossFit Fitness Tracker

If this post was about fitness trackers for the general public, we probably would not pick this particular one as our favorite. What makes this WODProof Band our favorite is that it was built with CrossFit in mind.

First of all it has all the basic needs for any fitness band today, like heart rate monitor, ability to sync to mobile device and do some additional basic things like alerts, turn on camera remotely (which by the way will come in very handy when you want to take Instagram photos or videos by clicking on your phone from a distance using your wristband).

So now that you know that it can handle all the basic stuff, lets look at how this fitness tracker makes it a better fit for CrossFit over others. For starters it pairs perfectly with the WODProof app. Which we recommend that you download, especially if you buy this band.

You will be able to do the workouts in the app, and the band is accurately count your reps. The best part about the band counting the reps and your app recording them is to see your progress over time.

Seeing progress in data (of how many reps you are able to do for example) is a great motivator to keep it going over time. It motivates you to always beat your best from last time.

The band also has a very easy to reach button on top that can also activate the timer. This access is useful when starting your fitness tests for example. You control the timer, therefore removing variability in measurements.

The heart rate monitor is comparable to most others, but will not be as good as a Garmin. Also, the band may not be the best fit for throughout the day usage since it was tailor made for CrossFit activities. So the downside is that you may still need to get another fitness tracker if you want to measure heart rate throughout the day and when you sleep.

Keep reading to learn everything there is know about these fitness trackers!

Top 4 Best Fitness Trackers for Crossfit

Check out our below list for a summary of our results. Keep on reading to learn more about your fitness tracker options!

  1. WODProof Band (Our Top Pick)
  2. Garmin Vivosmart
  3. FitBit Charge 3
  4. Willful Fitness Tracker
  5. Wahoo Fitness Tickr HR Monitor

In this article, I’ll be taking a look at the various fitness tracker products on the market, what to look for before purchasing, and the benefits of using this technology for your WOD.

Read Also: Best CrossFit Apps To Track Your Fitness

What Is a Fitness Tracker?

A fitness tracker is a wearable piece of technology that logs one or more fitness-related metrics.

Examples include number of calories burned, step count, average heart rate, max heart rate, and time spent working out.

Some fitness trackers are built for total health tracking, measuring things like number of hours of quality sleep, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability.

Usually, a fitness tracker is synced to an app that houses all your biometrics and data.

Read More: CrossFit Girls: A Comprehensive Guide on Benchmark WODs

How Does a Fitness Tracker Work?

The answer is that it depends what your fitness tracker does.

For example, if your tracker counts your steps, it’s likely using an accelerometer, gyroscope, and/or other sensors to track motion and number of steps.

Typically, the price of your fitness tracker is related to the number and accuracy of sensor(s) implanted into your wearable device.

These sensors might measure acceleration, frequency, time, and in the case of measuring heart rate, things like intensity.

Some can measure elevation accurately for things like hiking or trail running with a barometer sensor.

Sensors are only the first part of the intelligence built into the device. The real intelligence comes from the ability to use these sensors correctly. Meaning, for example, calories burned are a function of heart rate, weight, and time spent.

So the software the counts calories has to use these correctly and have to be calibrated properly, or for example your number of steps can be off by a lot and then your calorie count can also be miscounted.

Read Also: Top 5 Best BCAAs For Men To Reach Beast Mode

fitness tracker facts

What are the Benefits of Fitness Tracker for Crossfit?

Fitness trackers give you a more in-depth look into your training, performance, and even recovery.

Newbies or recreational CrossFit athletes might use a fitness tracker to set fitness goals or to encourage them to go to the gym.

A high-level CrossFitter can actually use data from a fitness tracker to monitor performance or guide their training decisions.

For example, if the fitness tracker shows a higher heart rate in the morning (a sign of over-training or too much stress), the athlete might consider resting.

Many fitness trackers also come with gamification or built-in incentives that encourage you to workout.

For example, the MyZone MZ-3 fitness belt uses ‘MEPs’ (MyZone Effort Points) to reward effort over anything else.

Anyone using a MyZone strap can track the number of MEPs they record against other members at their gym or even worldwide.

Read More: Top 5 Best Keto Multivitamins for your Diet

What are the Considerations Before Buying a Fitness Tracker?

Consider these five things before buying a fitness tracker.

Comfort and Design

All this tech gear might make you excited, but make sure it’s comfortable to wear, too. The last thing you want is something to count calories that makes burpees or cleans more difficult during a WOD.

Also consider whether you’d prefer to wear a watch or a chest strap, as some trackers only come with one option.

Features

What drives the price tag up most on a fitness tracker are the number of features each product can boast about. We have chosen our top fitness trackers with CrossFit in mind. However, there are many other features to consider that may be of interest to you.

For this, you might want to scroll through some reviews and read about some of the other features you might be interested in, like email message alerts, etc.

One might be a lot pricier, but if it has a feature you don’t care about (like sleep quality, for example), you may be able to get what you need cheaper.

App Experience and Connectivity

The other big consideration for customer experience is how the app connects to your wearable device and what it can do. In 2019, there’s no excuse for your fitness tracker to not have its own high-quality app.

Also see which apps your device may connect with. For example, Apple Health might allow you to easily pair your iphone with your fitness tracker.

And the Wahoo Fitness chest strap with HR monitor pretty much is the standard for various sports, and connects to just about every fitness app out there.

Almost all of these fitness trackers connect through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which is the sensor that is also in your mobile devices. Some trackers also have ANT+ which is a different signal, and is not available in mobile devices, but is used in devices like smart computers for bikes. This may be a useless sensor for a CrossFitter, therefore wasting you money you paid for that sensor in the tracker.

Battery Life and Charging

A fitness tracker that dies every day in the middle of a workout is a waste of money. Shoot for a watch that lasts six or more days.

Waterproof

Hopefully your new wearable will get sweaty often. If it is CrossFit only that you plan to use this in, almost any fitness tracking band out there will be waterproof enough for you. However, if you are going to mix it up with swimming also, the Garmin or Fitbit are better options.

Read More: Bodyweight Chest Exercises You Can Do At Home

Top Fitness Trackers for Crossfit Reviewed

Garmin Vivosmart

  • Sleek band design for all day wear
  • Multiple data display ; sunlight visible
  • Move bar and vibration alert
Garmin Vivosmart

The Garmin Vivosmart lists at $71, and is really an excellent value. It comes with the expertise that Garmin has built with HR sensors over time, and is considered one of the best HR sensors on the market.

It has most of the features of the FitBit and comes with the type of accuracy that Garmin products are known for. We highly recommend downloading the Garmin Connect App if you purchase this device. The app is full of data and metrics that will keep you analyzing your data for days.

It is also not uncommon to see many FitBit users step up to Garmin devices because they are more tailored for the endurance athletes. Lastly, we recommend this device for CrossFit, however, if you are going to care for more features like GPS, and music storage on your watch itself, then we recommend you step up to one of the higher level Garmin Watches.

Pros

  • Comfortable and fashionable to wear all day
  • Receives text, call, email, and social media alerts
  • Sunlight visible display

Cons

  • Stairs elevation sensor may have some issues after some use

FitBit Charge 3

  • 24/7 heart rate tracking
  • 15 plus exercise models
  • 50-meter water resistance
FitBit Charge 3

The FitBit is an example of how price relates to accuracy. The others on this list are cheaper, but the FitBit boasts about the most in-depth features.

Instead of just measuring sleep quality, for example, the device records time spent in all three sleep stages (light, deep REM), as well as gleans insights about your health over time.

It costs $129, but these are some cool perks that might make it worth it.

Pros

  • 7 day battery life
  • 15 plus exercise modes
  • Gets connected with everyday apps

Cons

  • Doesn’t have an option to display date
  • Randomly unsyncs with phone

Willful Fitness Tracker

  • Dual colored waterproof band
  • 0.96 inch LCD color screen
  • Supports 14 different sports
Willful Fitness Tracker

The Willful Fitness tracker is the cheapest one here at only $36, but it covers every base we talked about above: long battery life, waterproof, and connects to an app.

It is geared with technology that can help you track your progress on at least 14 different workout routines or sports with precision. It keeps you updated with calories burned, distance traveled, duration time throughout the day, and even the number of steps you nailed in walking, hiking, and trekking.

Willful Fitness Tracker monitors your heart rate and even the quality of your sleep at the same time. It boasts a dual-color band design for a sleek look on all-day wear.

If you need a basic but proven fitness tracker and you’re on a budget, here’s the one to go with.

Pros

  • 14 sport modes
  • Comes with call and message reminder
  • IP68 waterproof
  • Built-in USB plug and charge

Cons

  • Hard to check time
  • Difficult to follow instructions

Wahoo Fitness TICKR Heart Rate Monitor

  • HR monitor with built in memory
  • Battery for 1 year
  • Extremely accurate
Best Fitness Trackers

If you’re not looking for a fitness tracker for your wrist, consider the Wahoo Fitness TICKR Heart Rate monitor. This device goes on your chest, which is considered to be the best place to measure heart rate, as there is less variability in this physical location due to proximity to the heart.

The tracker also has built in memory. This is useful since you can do you burpees, and it will know how many reps you did, and then when you snyc with your phone, it can download from that memory to your phone.

So in essence, this device allows you to be phone free, and wrist band free.

As mentioned above, this tracker is also very versatile in connectivity to various apps. It is widely accepted as one of the best heart rate monitors in the industry.

The only real downside is if you simply cannot get comfortable with an elastic chest strap on you.

Pros

  • 1 year battery life
  • Built in memory
  • Accurate heart rate monitor

Cons

  • Bands wear out in a year

Conclusion

The best fitness trackers for CrossFit are going to hold up during any type of WOD.

If you have to take it off to get into the front rack position, your wearable device won’t really be able to do what it’s supposed.

Consider this, along with price, app features, and battery life when purchase.