There are loads of fitness wearables to choose from, but the question remains: Which one is best for the gym goer?

As a casual gym member you run, cycle, punch, push, pull, swing, throw, hold, jump, lunge, duck, squat, lift, and balance. What do all these activities have in common? They all get your heart pumping. Your heart rate is THE true reflection of the one thing you can control–effort–and MYZONE measures your workout effort with 99.4% accuracy to an EKG machine.

Wrist-worn fitness trackers are popular, but are they the right choice for you? You’re in the gym at least four days a week, you attend a community yoga group every other week, and have recently started into weight training to tone up a bit before summer arrives. Taking your fitness habits into account, step counting alone may not be the best way to meet your fitness goals and to track how much energy you put into each form of exercise.

Does counting steps make sense? No.

When counting steps, you don’t get awarded for many forms of exercise. Doing a push up means the wrist doesn’t ‘move’ and the ‘steps’ are not counted–which is most annoying if you do pushups or any movement where the wrist doesn’t swing. Further, if you do 10 squat jumps against gravity, should that not be worth more than the 10 mere steps that it would count?

Does Pace matter? No.

That only applies to runners training for an event. Pace is really not an important metric when it comes to normal in-gym workouts, so it’s not an important metric for your wrist-wear to calculate.

Does cadence and power matter? No.

That only applies to bike riders on a program. Cadence and power have nothing to do with the activity that the average gym goer is taking part in.

Does Heart Rate detected from the wrist count? No.

In fact popular wrist tracker brands state on their websites that the devices loses accuracy if you are moving in a non-rhythmical manner, clenching your fist or moving your wrist–this is not helpful if you are working out in a modality that utilizes your wrist– so that basically means any exercise other than running or riding.

5 things most wrist based devices and MYZONE do have in common:

- Goal setting focus

- Leaderboard with friends to keep motivated

- Badges to help motivate you over the long term

- Social platform to keep engaged

- Storage of data when away from smartphone

6 features that make MYZONE superior to wrist worn devices for gym goers:

- The MYZONE App and unique point system measures what matters–exercise effort.

- The point system called MEPs measure “time x intensity = effort”. This measurement creates a level playing field for all users no matter age, weight or gender.

- MYZONE is able to accurately track a wide variety of exercise movements. Because the chest strap is 99.4% accurate to an EKG machine, every effort counts. (Wrist based devices like Fitbit ignore pushups, leg press, boxing and planks because your wrist doesn’t move and your heart rate is unstable when your wrist is bent or clenched during movements such as boxing or weights.)

- In-gym TV displays help motivate you through group heart rate tracking. Seeing your workout effort percentage on the screen alongside the percentages of those around you motivates you to work hard to stay at the front of the pack.

- MYZONE is able to integrate with gym equipment, this means your data will appear on treadmills, spin bikes and more.

- MYZONE helps you work with your other favorite fitness apps like Garmin bike computer, Strava or Apple Watch.

If you’re a frequent gym goer, the answer is clear. Wrist trackers like Fitbit or Jawbone are simply not equipped to give you the readings that you want to see during all forms of exercise. Choose a chest strap that works as hard as you do. Through spinning, rock climbing, kettle bell swings or zumba–make sure your wearable device is able to accurately track your workout effort to help you meet your fitness goals faster.