Fitness trackers are a boon to fitness enthusiasts who like to track their activity to analyze and improve their exercise routine to check their daily activity. However, not everyone can wear them around their wrist for various reasons such as fashion choice, work code, and so on.
Some professionals, such as nurses or cooks, cannot wear them due to their work nature. Few others find them distractive and do not like their attention diverted. So, the good news for all such people is that they can wear them on their ankles, and here we are suggesting 5 different ways of doing so.
Why should you wear a fitness tracker on your ankle?
Most fitness trackers are made to be worn on the wrist, and unfortunately, not all people are happy to wear them there. However, undoubtedly fitness trackers are the best devices out there for tracking your physical activity and have several advanced features to store and analyze your fitness data.
You can also create a baseline and increase or decrease your activity as required. Few models also depict important health-related information such as pulse rate, sleep activity, and so on.
When you cannot wear or are not interested in wearing a fitness tracker on your wrist, the next best option is to wear it on your ankle. Professionals such as nurses are not allowed to wear jewelry at work go to the healthcare policies, and so is the case with few others.
However, they still deserve the benefits of using a fitness tracker. Since they are not allowed to wear it on their wrist, they can wear it on their ankle and enjoy these wonderful devices’ advantages.
Also, wearing these fitness trackers on your ankle is more accurate for certain sports than wearing them on your wrist. Activities such as cycling can be tracked precisely by using your leg moment rather than your hand movement.
These devices come with accelerometers, so tracking cycling moments would be harder when you wear them on your wrist. So, it is necessary to wear the fitness tracker on your ankle or leg, even in such a case.
There are special models made for this purpose.
Is it possible to wear a Fitbit tracker on your ankle?
Fitbit fitness trackers became so popular that the term “Fitbit” became synonymous with the fitness tracker. These devices are present on the wrists of every other person who is fitness conscious.
Did you notice that they are all wrist models? However, since wearing the fitness trackers on ankles became a thing, most people started turning towards popular models such as Fitbit Charge 3, Fitbit Alta HR, which have similar removable core features and allow you to change them you prefer.
Users devised certain plans such as a hook and loop fastener on their ankle, placing the sensor in the socks, are inside tight cycling shorts to serve their purpose. However, since these trackers are not tested for such usage, the results are not guaranteed accurate.
The fitness trackers are made to use on the ankle or anywhere on your body come with different technology, making them more accurate for versatile usage. However, these Fitbit trackers have demonstrated good accuracy for counting the steps.
Other activities cannot be guaranteed 100% accurate tracking of what you get for depending on them for counting your steps by placing them on your ankle. The important issue you might face when the Fitbit tracker is used on your ankle is heart rate monitoring.
Top 3 Best Fitness Tracker for Your Ankle
Moov Now Fitness Tracker
Conventional fitness trackers have a large market, and most of them are made to wear on your wrist. Manufacturers have not seen any potential in making them for ankles. However, few companies realized the requirement and are producing this kind of device.
Moov Now Fitness Tracker is a model whose innovative design allows you to wear it either on your wrist or on your ankle. The smart pebble, i.e., the little round device which contains the required mechanism, is enclosed in a stylishly designed mesh wrist band.
This small core is capable of detecting 3D moments due to the 9-axis accelerometer integrated into it. It is also equipped with a magnetometer for better orientation and a gyroscope for detecting the rotation.
So, it is fully equipped to track the most popular physical activities such as swimming, cycling, running, and several other sports. It can track your cadence, range of foot motion, and impact intensity while running.
Similarly, while swimming, you can track parameters such as the SWOLF value indicating your swimming efficiency, number of strokes, swimming style, and much more information. Its strong battery life of 6 months is a mention-worthy feature of this device as you need not worry about changing it from time to time.
Also, the phone app is well detailed and available for free in various app stores. Due to its advanced and sensitive mechanism, you can use it on your ankle or wrist based on your requirements. You can also track your sleeping habits using this device.
Misfit Shine Foot Fitness Tracker
The best thing about the Misfit Shine Fitness Tracker is that it can be worn anywhere on your body. The removable core can either be used with the bracelet or the clip, making it easily attached to the wrist, ankle, shoes, or hip.
Its design is modern and eye-catching, which makes it look fantastic wherever you wear the device. It is made of high-quality materials making it extremely durable and action-ready. The aircraft aluminum material is used in crafting the core of this tracker.
It is strong and has better corrosion resistance, meaning this device is designed to last for a lifetime. Also, its waterproof nature makes it suitable for use during swimming without any worries.
3D Fitbud Pedometer
A simple 3D pedometer can also be used in the place of a classic wristband fitness tracker. They are more convenient as they come in a smaller size and are independent of a wristband. Their pocket watch size makes them convenient to wear in a versatile manner.
You can wear it on your arm, hip, as a necklace, in your pocket, and any other way you can think of. Since it is just the sensor itself, you can place it anywhere on your body where you find it fit and enjoy the pedometer facility.
The tri-axis sensor technology present in this device can track your moments from any angle or any position. So, you need not worry about its placement and carry it anywhere on you, including your pockets.
Its advanced technology surpasses the accuracy of traditional trackers along with versatile usage and limitless placements.
Expander bands for suitability
The length of the wristbands is not enough for the fitness trackers to be worn on your ankle. It is too short and becomes problematic, and this issue is resolvable by connecting an expander band. The expander band connects to your existing wristband easily and extends the size of the band.
So, you can conveniently wear it on your ankle or your wrist according to your comfort. Though there are not many options in this regard, you can still find one online with little effort.
Do fitness trackers monitor the heart rate on your ankle?
Most advanced models of Fitbit measure your heart rate using LED lights which scan your blood flow through your wrist. The heart rate sensor detector works using the color difference on your skin due to the difference in the blood flow rates, which is detectable by a LED light.
Since your blood flow rate increases when you exercise, these sensors utilize this fact to serve you with the heart rate information. However, it only works when the tracker is fitted tightly on your wrist without slipping else, it can be inaccurate.
Since we have blood flow throughout our body and these sensors can detect the capillary veins from almost any part of your body under your skin, this technology is reliable. However, the bony structure of the leg, which cannot offer much muscle or tissue, makes capillary veins inaccessible.
Another good reason is that these fitness trackers do not fit on your ankle as snug as on your wrist. Meaning the data becomes unreliable due to its slippery nature, which cannot gather accurate data. So, ankle positioning is good for simple movement data but not for heart rate monitoring.
In Conclusion
People are becoming more aware of fitness and are willing to invest in fitness trackers to keep them motivated and informed about their progress. As the number of consumers increases for this product, manufacturers are coming up with more and more customization.
One such effort is to offer fitness tracking to professionals who cannot wear a fitness tracker on their wrist. This gave rise to fitness tracker devices that can be worn on your ankle or elsewhere on your body. These fitness trackers are useful, versatile, and fun to use with limitless possibilities.