Top 5 Best Fitness Trackers For Weightlifting 2021

Introduction

If you’re looking for the best fitness trackers for strength training and weight lifting in 2021, you’re not alone. A fitness tracker is a great way to measure your fitness progress, and unless you’re tracking weightlifting, you’re not going to know how successful your journey is.

Fitness trackers are becoming increasingly useful gadgets, although they are notably lacking even now for weight lifters – they just don’t yet have the capacity to measure the kinds of lifts you’re doing. That doesn’t mean they are useless, though, so let’s look at the best fitness tracker for weightlifting options in 2021.

Top Pick
Garmin Forerunner 935
Best all rounder
Garmin Vivoactive 4
Best value
Fitbit Versa 3
Garmin 010-01746-00 Forerunner 935 Running GPS Unit (Black)
Garmin Vivoactive 4, GPS Smartwatch, Features Music, Body Energy Monitoring, Animated Workouts, Pulse Ox Sensors and More, Black
Fitbit Versa 3 Health & Fitness Smartwatch with GPS, 24/7 Heart Rate, Alexa Built-in, 6+ Days Battery, Black/Black, One Size (S & L Bands Included)
Top Pick
Garmin Forerunner 935
Garmin 010-01746-00 Forerunner 935 Running GPS Unit (Black)
Best all rounder
Garmin Vivoactive 4
Garmin Vivoactive 4, GPS Smartwatch, Features Music, Body Energy Monitoring, Animated Workouts, Pulse Ox Sensors and More, Black
Best value
Fitbit Versa 3
Fitbit Versa 3 Health & Fitness Smartwatch with GPS, 24/7 Heart Rate, Alexa Built-in, 6+ Days Battery, Black/Black, One Size (S & L Bands Included)

The best fitness trackers include the Garmin Forerunner 935, the Fitbit Charge 4, Fitbit Versa 3, Garmin Vivoactive 4, and the Apple Watch Series 6. These offer a range of different options such as built in GPS, calories burned, heart rate during resting, and blood oxygen levels to help you understand and make the most from your fitness journey.

Top 5 fitness trackers for weight training

1. Garmin Forerunner 935

This fitness watch is popular with many athletes, and it outdoes the Forerunner 310XT on several important counts. Its battery life is significantly longer, lasting for two weeks instead of one day. It provides activity reports, a route tracker, and has high resolution.

The app compatibility has also been improved, so you can use the 935 with an Android phone. It’s also compatible with iPhones. It only weighs around fifty grams, which means it’s great for when you’re lifting, not adding weight or bulk to your arm. Improve your muscle quality without a hugely weighty block on your wrist.

If you’re weight training or one of the crossfit athletes, Garmin watches are a great option. They are more focused on dedicated exercises such as running, swimming cycling, etc., but they offer in depth metrics that show how you’re doing, such as a heart rate monitor. They also have an additional chest strap, which can show much more advanced features, including your lactate threshold.

The watch is light, which is great for a long workout, and it will automatically record and evaluate your recent activity history so you can see how your fitness varies over time. You can also connect to Garmin’s independent website to sync up your fitness information.

Additionally, Garmin provides a Body Battery energy monitor, designed to stop you from overworking and injuring yourself. If your number between 1-100 is high, you have more energy for completing your workouts. This is a great option for a weightlifting tracker to include, reducing your chances of injury.

Some sites rate this as the top fitness tracker out there, so you should definitely factor it into your assessment for your new watch!

Garmin Forerunner 935 Fitness Tracker for Weightlifting

PROS

  • Light
  • Body Battery Energy Monitor  

CONS

  • Hard to understand some features

Check latest price

2. Fitbit Charge 4

The Fitbit Charge 4 outstrips its predecessor in a few key ways – firstly, with built in GPS tracking, swim tracking, and intensity stats on your workouts. This Fitbit fitness tracker has some great new features and the brand is popular among professional athletes, as well as those just getting started.

Sadly, this watch still doesn’t have a color display, but it makes up for that with its other smart features. The watch measures your SpO2 and your skin temperature, as well as your heart rate. It also offers sleep tracking so you know how well rested you are.

It has more than 20 different sports modes, and it’s water resistant up to 50 meters. You can add a mode for lifting weights, and it also has a dedicated treadmill mode, so it’s perfect for any training session.

If you’re into multiple sports, the ability to download different trackers is ideal for keeping on top of all your exercise routines, although you can only have six shortcuts at a time.

The addition of the GPS pushes this fitness tracker into the next band of ideal companions for your workout routine.

Fitbit Charge 4

PROS

  • Light
  • 20 different sports modes
  • Dedicated GPS

CONS

  • Hard to understand some features

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3. Fitbit Versa 3

The Fitbit Versa 3 is a gem among fitness watches. It improves on the previous model with faster charging and better resolution, but particularly with its Active Zone Minutes. It supports multiple apps, including weather (so you know when it’s a good time to exercise), sleep patterns, heart rate, and SpO2.

The watch also has GPS and Google or Alexa as a voice assistant. Additionally, it measures your stress levels and has a water resistance of up to 50 meters, so it’s great for any water-based workouts. It’s easy to track your calorie burn and the watch provides accurate data on the various things it measures, including your blood oxygen levels.

In the Active Zone Minutes, you can earn points for fat burn, and it’s easy to add custom workouts via “Activities” in the dashboard. Although there are no specific weightlifting fitness tracking features built into the watch, it can calculate how many calories you have burned using your selected exercise and the recorded heart rate.

Select from a variety of sports apps to up your game at the gym; the Fitbit Vera 3 is compatible with plenty of options, making your routine more flexible and improving your insight on your activity.

Fitbit Charge 4

PROS

  • Light
  • 20 different sports modes
  • Dedicated GPS

CONS

  • Hard to understand some features

Check latest price

4. Garmin Vivoactive 4

If you’re looking to upgrade your fitness tracker from a Vivoactive 3, you’re in luck, because this smart watch has advanced training features its predecessor lacked, such as a blood oxygen sensor and the ability to measure your heart rate underwater. However, it’s a good bit more expensive than the previous model.

Like others, it’s limited as a weightlifting tracker; you can measure calories burned and your heart rate, but there are no specific options for weight lifting. However, a fitness tracker for weightlifting rarely gets more advanced than this, and few – if any – are able to specifically track weightlifting exercises.

Its battery life is good, with a full eight days in the best conditions, and its GPS makes it easy to track distance traveled so you get a better understanding of your workout. Some reviews also report being able to get it measure a bench press, although some users seem to have struggled with this.

A few users have also noted that the training programs are too easy and if you’re buying an activity tracker, you’re already likely to be performing exercises beyond what they suggest. Some people may buy smart watches to improve their physical activity levels, but others appreciate a bigger challenge.

Garmin Vivoactive 4

PROS

  • Good battery life
  • Dedicated GPS

CONS

  • Training programs too easy

Check latest price

5. Apple Watch Series 6

If you’re looking for a smart fitness watch, this could be the one for you. There are minimal differences between this model and the previous one, but both Apple watches provide excellent fitness tracking. The new version charges faster, but both have an eighteen hour battery life.

The Apple Watch is certainly more than a good fitness tracker; it allows you to take and make calls, answers texts, etc. However, in terms of its fitness options, it does not disappoint. It has a heart rate monitor that offers notifications for low or high heart rate, and an app to measure your blood oxygen levels.

You can also add a health app that will let you measure your body fat percentage. With the workout app, you can set fitness goals and select the exercise that you plan to do, choosing to input stats or just get the watch to track your exercise. This is a simple and effective way of measuring your fitness.

Apple Watch Series 6

PROS

  • Can make calls
  • Dedicated GPS

CONS

  • Not as fitness oriented as other choices

Check latest price

Features to look for in a tracker for weightlifting

Garmin 010-02120-20 Forerunner 245 Music, GPS Running Smartwatch with Music and Advanced Dynamics, Black
Fitbit Charge 4 Fitness and Activity Tracker with Built-in GPS, Heart Rate, Sleep & Swim Tracking, Rosewood/Rosewood, One Size (S &L Bands Included)
Fitbit Versa 3 Health & Fitness Smartwatch with GPS, 24/7 Heart Rate, Alexa Built-in, 6+ Days Battery, Black/Black, One Size (S & L Bands Included)
Garmin Vivoactive 4, GPS Smartwatch, Features Music, Body Energy Monitoring, Animated Workouts, Pulse Ox Sensors and More, Black
Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS, 40mm) - Blue Aluminum Case with Deep Navy Sport Band
GARMIN FORERUNNER 935
FITBIT CHARGE 4
FITBIT VERSA 3
GARMIN VIVOACTIVE 4
APPLE WATCH SERIES 6
Battery life
2 weeks in watch mode. 24 hours in GPS mode
7 days
6 days
8 days
18 hours
Step tracking
Heart Rate Monitoring
Water Resistance
50 metres
50 metres
50 metres
50 metres
50 metres
Sleep Tracking
GPS
Music
No, but can control music from your phone
Garmin 010-02120-20 Forerunner 245 Music, GPS Running Smartwatch with Music and Advanced Dynamics, Black
GARMIN FORERUNNER 935
Battery life
2 weeks in watch mode. 24 hours in GPS mode
Step tracking
Heart Rate Monitoring
Water Resistance
50 metres
Sleep Tracking
GPS
Music
Fitbit Charge 4 Fitness and Activity Tracker with Built-in GPS, Heart Rate, Sleep & Swim Tracking, Rosewood/Rosewood, One Size (S &L Bands Included)
FITBIT CHARGE 4
Battery life
7 days
Step tracking
Heart Rate Monitoring
Water Resistance
50 metres
Sleep Tracking
GPS
Music
No, but can control music from your phone
Fitbit Versa 3 Health & Fitness Smartwatch with GPS, 24/7 Heart Rate, Alexa Built-in, 6+ Days Battery, Black/Black, One Size (S & L Bands Included)
FITBIT VERSA 3
Battery life
6 days
Step tracking
Heart Rate Monitoring
Water Resistance
50 metres
Sleep Tracking
GPS
Music
Garmin Vivoactive 4, GPS Smartwatch, Features Music, Body Energy Monitoring, Animated Workouts, Pulse Ox Sensors and More, Black
GARMIN VIVOACTIVE 4
Battery life
8 days
Step tracking
Heart Rate Monitoring
Water Resistance
50 metres
Sleep Tracking
GPS
Music
Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS, 40mm) - Blue Aluminum Case with Deep Navy Sport Band
APPLE WATCH SERIES 6
Battery life
18 hours
Step tracking
Heart Rate Monitoring
Water Resistance
50 metres
Sleep Tracking
GPS
Music

Conclusion

Of course, there are a lot of other fitness trackers available, and the Fitbit Inspire is considered an excellent option because it’s small and neat, so it doesn’t get in the way when you’re lifting. The Fitbit Surge is another good choice, but does require manual activity tracking.

Alternatively, consider the Polar Vantage, which can last for 7 days in watch mode, or 40 hours when training. The Beast Athlete is also a good option, and might just be the best fitness tracker for weightlifting because it gives you real-time metrics about your weights, helping you to measure your training load and keep a diary.

If you need something super durable, you might want to consider a Casio WSD-F20A, which has military grade durability with 810G shock resistance, so it’s perfect for the most rugged athletes with high-activity lifestyles.

Any of these trackers can help, although no fitness tracker is yet capable of tracking what weights you’re lifting.

FAQs

Are Fitbits good for weightlifting?

Fitbits are among the best for weightlifting, because they offer such a variety of metrics, giving you all the information you need to take your fitness to the next level. They are generally lightweight, sturdy, and reliable, but they don’t have the features a smart watch offers – so they may not be as versatile as other options.

Is Garmin good for weightlifting?

Many review sites list the Garmin 935 as a top option among fitness trackers, and the Vivosmart comes in at a close second. Light, preloaded with useful apps, and equipped with the ability to assess whether you’re underworking or overworking, these are ideal companions for getting fitter.

Last update on 2023-01-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API