Strava turns every Apple and Android device into a sophisticated running and cycling computer. Start Strava before an activity and you can track your favourite performance stats, and dive deep into your data. A social network for athletes, you can record an activity and it goes to your Strava feed, where your friends and followers can share their own races and workouts, give kudos to great performances and leave comments on each other’s activities. Turn on Beacon and you can share your location in real-time with your friend, partner, highly intelligent dog or anyone cool enough to have your back in an emergency.
Free (paid subscription available)
Garmin Fenix 6
Garmin’s top of the line multisport smart watch, the rugged Fenix 6 lets you add mapping, music, intelligent pace planning and more to your workouts. Whether you’re running, skiing or weightlifting, comprehensive sports tracking covers 30 activities, measuring everything from altitude to acceleration. Its wrist-based heart rate sensor charts stress, energy and sleep, giving you more insights into your life than you can shake a stick at. While the Pro version syncs with your favourite streaming services so you can listen to music without your phone, and offers GPS location mapping to help you stay on course.
£599
Withings Body Cardio
The French fitness brand’s latest Wi-Fi smart scale does far more than tell you how much you weigh. Tracking weight, body composition, and heart health history, you get a comprehensive picture of your body in just one step. The data syncs to the Health Mate app where you can view trends, set goals, and find extra motivation. With Baby Mode, parents can track their child’s weight by simply stepping on the scale while holding their baby and the pregnancy tracker function gives personalised guidance with obstetrician-reviewed advice. Easy to set up and able to track the whole family, it looks slick enough not to look out of place in the swankiest of bathrooms.
£129.95
Ring Fit Adventure
If the thought of half an hour on the treadmill makes you glaze over, Nintendo has set out to make fitness fun with its latest interactive Switch title. Equipped with controller accessories that measure your movements and turn them into in-game actions, you can set out on a fitness-filled quest that uses real-life exercises to explore a fantasy world. Jog in place to traverse grass-swept plains or choose from a selection of exercises to defeat enemies. As you work through each level (and work up a sweat too), you’ll earn experience points to level up your character. With 12 bonus multiplayer minigames to choose from, pass around the controller and get the whole family involved.
£69.99
JAXJOX InteractiveStudio
JAXJOX KettlebellConnect
The fitness brand with a silly name but serious tech, JAXJOX has released an innovative digital kettlebell armed with six-axis motion sensors to detect your every movement, logging everything from your form, to the number of reps and sets. Its clever algorithm calculates a fitness score you can watch improve over time and share with friends if you’re feeling smug. An electronic stacking system in its base station allows you to quickly drop or rack up weight from 5.5kg to 19kg at the touch of a button. Using the JAXJOX App, you can join a live or on-demand workout where you can see how you are performing in real-time and make improvements throughout.
£299.99