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Have you been sleeping well? How many hours did you get last night?

READ COLUMN AS IT APPEARED IN THE BEACON

Do you get up and walk around at least once an hour?

Do you feel awkward reading a text message when your phone goes off in a meeting?

Do you fumble around with your media player when you should be paying attention to what you’re doing?

Perhaps you’ve noticed that more people are wearing bulky electronic bracelets or funky, digital watch-like devices. These are called fitness trackers and they monitor how many steps you’ve taken or when you’ve been sitting too long. They may even display your heart rate or tell you how well you sleep. Some fitness trackers even control your music player.

Whether you are a fitness junkie or a couch potato, you may be interested in what a fitness tracker can do for you.

What to look for

The best fitness trackers connect wirelessly to an app on your smartphone that tracks and provides real-time reports on your activity.

Cheap trackers (under $100) generally provide basic activity monitoring, such as step counts and sleep patterns. More expensive trackers add features such as a watch, heart rate monitor and GPS. Some devices also track types of activity, laps and calorie counts.

Most devices will vibrate when you are getting a text message or phone call. Some are equipped with screens that display caller information or a summary of the text message.

The top three brands

There are dozens of fitness trackers on the market, but only three major brands tend to dominate the positive user reviews: Fitbit, Garmin and Apple.

• The Apple Watch is no ordinary fitness tracker. It allows you to install apps, make phone calls and control your iPhone, but it offers enough health monitoring features to make it a serious—although expensive—fitness tracker. The latest basic model costs around $300, but they go up to $10,000 (seriously).

• Fitbit and Garmin make a number of affordable trackers. Read reviews before making a purchase. Essentially, the more you spend, the more features you get, but the accuracy of the data is about the same across all devices.

Connect other apps

You may want to consider a fitness tracker that you can connect with other apps through your smartphone.

• MyFitnessPal is an app that lets you track your diet. If you want an extra 200 calories in your diet, your fitness tracker will report your walk or jog data and update your calorie budget in real time.

• Endomondo is an app that allows you to record your movement-based activity—runs, bike rides, swims, etc. It tracks laps and distance, and gives you real-time, audible updates through your headphones.

• Runkeeper records historical
and real-time data about your runs. It’s specifically designed for those interested in improving their running skills.

Have you been sleeping well? How many hours did you get last night?

READ COLUMN AS IT APPEARED IN THE BEACON

Do you get up and walk around at least once an hour?

Do you feel awkward reading a text message when your phone goes off in a meeting?

Do you fumble around with your media player when you should be paying attention to what you’re doing?

Perhaps you’ve noticed that more people are wearing bulky electronic bracelets or funky, digital watch-like devices. These are called fitness trackers and they monitor how many steps you’ve taken or when you’ve been sitting too long. They may even display your heart rate or tell you how well you sleep. Some fitness trackers even control your music player.

Whether you are a fitness junkie or a couch potato, you may be interested in what a fitness tracker can do for you.

What to look for

The best fitness trackers connect wirelessly to an app on your smartphone that tracks and provides real-time reports on your activity.

Cheap trackers (under $100) generally provide basic activity monitoring, such as step counts and sleep patterns. More expensive trackers add features such as a watch, heart rate monitor and GPS. Some devices also track types of activity, laps and calorie counts.

Most devices will vibrate when you are getting a text message or phone call. Some are equipped with screens that display caller information or a summary of the text message.

The top three brands

There are dozens of fitness trackers on the market, but only three major brands tend to dominate the positive user reviews: Fitbit, Garmin and Apple.

• The Apple Watch is no ordinary fitness tracker. It allows you to install apps, make phone calls and control your iPhone, but it offers enough health monitoring features to make it a serious—although expensive—fitness tracker. The latest basic model costs around $300, but they go up to $10,000 (seriously).

• Fitbit and Garmin make a number of affordable trackers. Read reviews before making a purchase. Essentially, the more you spend, the more features you get, but the accuracy of the data is about the same across all devices.

Connect other apps

You may want to consider a fitness tracker that you can connect with other apps through your smartphone.

• MyFitnessPal is an app that lets you track your diet. If you want an extra 200 calories in your diet, your fitness tracker will report your walk or jog data and update your calorie budget in real time.

• Endomondo is an app that allows you to record your movement-based activity—runs, bike rides, swims, etc. It tracks laps and distance and gives you real-time, audible updates through your headphones.

• Runkeeper records historical
and real-time data about your runs. It’s specifically designed for those interested in improving their running skills.

It’s a new year, and with it comes New Year’s Resolutions to be healthy and fit. While that might seem a tad cliche, this year you can achieve your goals with a little help from technology.

But there are so many fitness tools available online these days that it can be hard to separate the good from the bad. Don’t worry, though. Tere are plenty of great choices available if you know where to look. Here are four of the best health-related programs and apps:

1. Fitbit

This little device has big benefits. Wear it on your hip and it helps track all sorts of bio-metrics: how many steps you take each day, the calories you’ve burned, and your weight. It also tracks your sleep — perfect for people with a variety of sleep-related ailments.

One of the main reasons the Fitbit is so popular is because the website lets users connect with each other. You can compare your progress to your friends and family, or even just other Fitbit users. It’s a great way to find motivation and support.

2. Map My Run

Just as the name implies, this program keeps track of your jogging routes around town. There are more than 70 million routes to choose from or you can create your own.

It’s easy to track your progress on your computer or the associated app. You can also compare your progress with other users. You can even organize runs in your community. If being fleet of foot is your preferred method of staying fit, this is the tool for you.

3. Zombies, Run!

Some people need motivation when running, and what’s more motivating than being chased by zombies? Zombies, Run! is an app for both Android and iDevices that incorporates jogging in real life with a game where you’re running around fighting for survival in the zombie apocalypse.

The game part features a story, resource management and the ability to create your own soundtrack. The fitness part includes a log, statistics and the ability to share your progress on social media. If you like zombies, or are just looking for a fun way to spice up your workout routine, Zombies, Run! will get your moving.

4. My Fitness Pal

One of the most popular weight-loss programs around, My Fitness Pal helps you shed pounds the healthy way. It’s a giant nutritional database and calorie counter. You can easily track what you eat, as well as learn how to make healthy, nutritional choices each day. Best of all, it’s free.

The site provides no gimmicks or dieting fads. It simply helps you eliminate the junk from your diet. But it’s not all negative — the site also helps you add healthy food, including nutritional supplements such as whey protein. You’ll develop healthful habits in no time.

A good diet. Plenty of exercise. How to be fit isn’t exactly a secret, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy, either. Fortunately, these apps and programs are here to help you get informed, stay motivated and achieve real results. So this new year, don’t just make a resolution. Make a commitment to use technology to make a real change.

Related articles

• Tips for Turning Your Phone Into a Savvy Weight-Loss Tool
• FitBit update brings better tracking of activity and calories
• Comparison: health & fitness apps for your smartphone