All products recommended by Engadget are selected by an editorial team independent of the parent company. Some stories contain affiliate links. When you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publication.
You may love to run and have been going to the gym for years. You’ve dabbled in fitness wearables and considered treating yourself with a massage gun, but you couldn’t afford to buy one. Free tea has seen better days. You may be feeling better, but your fitness equipment and technology need an upgrade.
The Engadget team has selected some of our favorite exercise technologies to make our fitness journey easier. From the best wearable tech to our favorite smart scales, some choices demand premium prices, but some are surprisingly affordable.
Oura wheel
Matt Smith/Engadget
As we mentioned in our review, the Oura ring is a wearable for people who hate wearables. It also offers more robust sleep tracking than many watch-like devices. I’m surprised that this much technology is packed in even though it’s the same. The 3rd generation has a sensor that can continuously track your heart rate. temperature monitoring; blood oxygenation; and period prediction.
Oura Ring is serious about tracking everything possible. There’s no display, so you’ll have to check your recovery score and sleep quality on your smartphone. These scores are synthesized from biometrics such as heart rate variability, body temperature, resting heart rate, and respiratory rate. If you subscribe (you may have to pay over the $299 asking price), you’ll get a weekly overview showing trends in your activity levels and sleep time. I like the ability of Oura to tell me when I’ve been training a little too hard and the app to suggest taking a break to recuperate.
No ring is perfect. The company has lingered on some features for months, which is especially frustrating when some users pay for monthly subscriptions. It was promised when the Aura Ring was first announced, but has been delayed by almost half a year as it has just been installed in most of the rings.
WARNING: If you plan to record weightlifting workouts with the Oura Ring, the Black Edition may show noticeable scratches if you are gripping a metal bar or plate. I also struggled with pull-ups. Because I’m not used to wearing a ring when I hold my life in my hands. – Matt Smith, UK Bureau Chief
Buy Oura Ring – $299
apple watch series 7
Charlyn Law / Engadget
The most popular smartwatch series continues to lead in features, if sleep tracking is ignored. The Series 7 has the largest screen ever on an Apple Watch. It’s over 50% larger than the Series 3 and 20% larger than its predecessor, the Series 6. More screen space and larger buttons make it easy to stop and start your workouts, as well as see your heart rate and elapsed time while exercising. Additionally, starting with watchOS 5, Apple wearables can now auto-detect specific workouts. This is great if you forgot to start recording your run or spin session.
The Series 7 can track your VO2 Max level and measure your cardio fitness level. What’s great here is how the wearable notifies you when your levels have clearly changed. ‘s iPhone notifies you when you make specific improvements, such as from below-average to above-average aerobic fitness levels, or even higher fitness levels. My VO2 Max hovered around 50, but eventually ended up at 52.
Apple Watch also has its own connected workout platform in the form of Fitness+, offering HIIT, dance, Pilates, yoga classes, and more, and streaming classes to your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. Heart rate is displayed on screen in many classes, showing how you’re progressing compared to other of her Fitness+ members and hopefully motivating you to push a little harder.
Of course, the Apple Watch Series 8 (and the new “Pro” Ultra model) are both coming soon. The Watch Ultra, in particular, is great for outdoor sports because of its long battery life and bright screen. -MS
Buy Apple Watch Series 7 at Amazon – $389
Seragan Prime
Matt Smith/Engadget
The Theragun’s unique triangular design helps the device stand out from many other massage therapy guns. Multiple ways to grab the Theragun make it easy to target tricky body parts. As one of the more premium massage devices, it offers an amplitude of 16mm (generally beaten only by devices costing hundreds of dollars or more) and speeds of up to 2,400 percussion per minute. Some health claims (such as increased performance) are backed by limited research, while others (such as speeded up muscle recovery) are not. I love using mine for You will feel better even before training.
The Theragun Prime outperforms most massage gun competition. It’s also more flexible. Compared to Therabody’s own more basic options, the Prime comes with a standard ball plus three extra attachments: a cone, a flat head damper and a thumb to help you dig deeper. Attachment. Thankfully, the battery also lasts a long time. -MS
Buy Theragun Prime on Amazon – $299
Yuffie Smart Scale P1
Euphie
It’s time to ditch the thick analog scale on the wobbly dial. Instead, for a more aesthetically pleasing design and greater insight into weight and composition, it’s time to go digital. I used the Smart Scale P1. This smart scale connects and syncs data with your smartphone. Remember to open the app. Otherwise progress will not be tracked.
You can even monitor your weight in imperial or metric measurements and get a rough estimate of your body fat and water percentage. Note that there are many
There are smart scales that are even more advanced. Still, it’s typically more than double the price of the Smart Scale P1, and often adds unnecessary features like multiple user profiles, Alexa voice activation, and an athletic mode for pro-his athletes. At some point the benefits diminish, but the ability to track it digitally (and the ability to set reminders to weigh yourself) helped me develop better habits for monitoring my weight. -MS
Buy Smart Scale P1 on Amazon – $45
Beats Fit Pro Earbuds
Matt Smith/Engadget
Many true wireless earbuds, let alone traditional headphones, weren’t made for working out. Some have non-removable parts that can bang, some aren’t water or dust resistant, and some have wires that can get tangled or pulled during a workout. For many reasons, I swear by true wireless earbuds. Beats Fit Pro gives you everything you want in a workout earbud. This includes active noise cancellation (less weight slamming and terrible gym music), a low profile, comfortable fit and a convenient fin design to keep your ears in place without hurting them. .
Thankfully, they don’t stick out of your ears like many earbuds. The company recently launched a series of even more subtle skin-tone buds in collaboration with Kim Kardashian.Powered by Apple’s H1 chip, the Beats Fit Pro features hands-free Siri functionality and enhanced Find My item tracking. can provide -MS
Buy Beats Fit Pro on Amazon – $200
On-Demand Fitness Subscription
Peleton
One of the best things I’ve done with my fitness routine these days is to introduce some variety. I exercise as soon as I wake up in the morning, so it’s easy to fall into repetition. However, I found it much easier to switch things up by relying on an on-demand fitness subscription.
I’ve tried a handful of many services now, but the ones I’ve stuck with are Peloton and Alo Moves. I don’t own any of his Peloton hardware. Instead, I spend $13/month just to access the app and take most of my strength training classes. I love that they are constantly delivering new services every day, but the backlog of on-demand classes is also bursting at the seams. The sessions are challenging and engaging, and there are many options even if you have no equipment at all.
Alo Moves focuses on yoga, pilates, and barre, and costs a little more at $20/month. I’m more interested in toning than bulking up, so I’m trying to incorporate some of these classes into my strength training routine. There is a “series” of sessions under the same umbrella that can be When you don’t really want to think about what you’re doing on a particular morning for your workout, it’s easy to turn to the next class in the barre series you’ve already been working on. Valentina Palladino, Senior Commerce Editor
Peloton App Subscription – $13/month Alo Moves Subscription – $20/month
Bowflex Selectech Adjustable Dumbbells
bow flex
For many of us, space is at a premium. You might have enough space to spread out your yoga mat, but nothing more. is a great way to keep Bowflex is an established fitness company that has been producing adjustable dumbbells for several years. Weight ranges vary by model, but the Bowflex SelectTech 552i can (literally) dial in from 2kg (4.4 lbs) up to 24kg (53 lbs) each, making it suitable for all types of full-body and dedicated muscles. group move. Dials on either side of the weight adjust how many plates the bar latches onto, leaving the rest of the weight in the included storage tray.
There are some adjustable dumbbells out there, but I prefer the classic “dumbbell” look of this one over its more square-looking competitors. It is necessary. And if you’re looking for an on-demand workout service, Bowflex includes his one-year free subscription to his JRNY streaming service. -MS
Buy Bowflex SelectTech 552i on Amazon – $219
