With built-in preprogrammed and bespoke training challenges, the option to track both personal goals and biodata in real-time, and the use of cloud-based technology to make work workouts more social through gamification, modern fitness trackers are changing the way clients think about fitness.
When it comes to competitive sport, it’s usually easy to identify the winners; it’s those who’ve run faster, thrown farther, scored more or finished first. But how does that ‘all-or-nothing’ framework help you, a modern personal trainer, motivate your mixed-ability client base? The short answer - it doesn’t.
But there is another way, a better way: the fitness tracker.
No matter how long you’ve been a personal trainer, you will have no doubt witnessed the various tactics gyms and health clubs deploy to keep members interested: rowing machine races, maximum lift contests, most burpees in a minute, heaviest squat, speed cycling, the list goes on.
But there’s a flaw with this method: it’s biased towards the naturally athletic.
There’s no getting away from the fact that some people are naturally fitter than others. Yes, a bespoke training programme and a regulated diet can improve your client’s natural fitness levels (some clients may even see improvements beyond what you thought was even possible). But it’s a lie to say a sixty-year-old workout novice can compete against a twenty-one-year-old triathlete.
In fact, for novices, it would likely trigger unpleasant memories of obligatory school gym classes and reinforce the idea only fit people should be in gyms. With this in mind, how then do you motivate the less naturally gifted without crushing their spirit by having them compete in events they have no chance of winning? 
As a modern personal trainer, tracking effort, not ability, using both a reliable fitness tracker and its associated software is the simplest way to get the most from your clients. It’s a system that works for both individual and group sessions and one where all your clients - even the inexperienced - can see first-hand how sustained application reaps rewards, no matter who they compete against.
A good fitness tracker allows you to monitor your client’s heart rate, calories, distance, steps, and overall progress through a simple app. They allow your clients to safely ‘compete’ against others with mixed abilities, push themselves farther than they thought they could, and all within a fun environment thanks to the fitness tracker’s ability to gamify exercise.
Rewarding effort, not ability
Not everybody loves exercise. In fact, many people actively avoid it for a variety of reasons - be that fear of failure, a bad past experience, or low-self esteem. A fitness tracker is a great way of avoiding this issue by enabling them to compete against the most important person in their life: themselves.
Fitness trackers allow both those new to exercise, and those with a negative attitude toward training, to ‘compete’ in workout settings without the added pressure of teammates or the prerequisite of ability.
Wearable tech empowers all those who were never quite fast enough, tall enough, strong enough or nimble enough by showing natural ability shouldn’t be a barrier to a healthy lifestyle. A good fitness tracker allows mixed ability groups to train together, toward the same goals, without exclusion.
Making exercise fun
Fitness trackers are about helping people feel good about exercise through technology. Thanks to your ongoing education, there isn’t a single personal training client you have at present who doesn't already understand the importance of exercise. But equally, many of those same clients are likely exercising more out of duty rather than desire.
Fitness trackers bypass this issue by making exercise fun again. By allowing clients to play rather than train, fitness trackers add an element of competition free of the embarrassment some may have felt in the past during public displays of athletic prowess. Much like how a golf handicap allows two opponents of mixed abilities to compete, fitness trackers have the ability to allow a world-class athlete to compete against an exercise novice side by side. They level the playing field without lowering the bar.
Making exercise social
The reputable fitness trackers on the market today, don’t only allow clients to compete side by side, they also integrate with a variety of exercise equipment, such as bikes, rowing machines, runners, cross-trainers, etc, to maximize the gym experience. Likewise, reputable fitness trackers also plug into socially focused cloud-based applications allowing clients to not just compete but also interact with other exercisers all over the world.
Using a reputable fitness tracker for both group and individual workouts could revolutionize not only your client’s results but also their exercise experience.
As a personal trainer and dedicated fitness professional, you know your first responsibility is to deliver results to your clients. There are arguably few other industries today where service providers live or die by their results as much as the fitness industry. And with the fitness market becoming ever more competitive, you need to make certain you stand out.
