The Evolution Of Fitness Trackers For Athletes And Consumers


The first wireless heart rate monitor was the Polar Sport Tester PE 2000, which was released in 1982. As you can imagine, the entire fitness tracking and wearables industry has significantly evolved since then.

For as long as human beings have participated in varying forms of fitness they have kept track of fitness statistics in an effort to both monitor and enhance their performance. The resulting accumulation of data on heart rate, distance, speed, and more have given people the opportunity to take note of their fitness and improve it with regularity. That being said, fitness tracking is nothing like what it used to be — much has changed since it was done through handwritten logs. The advent of computers and complex spread sheeting permitted for more concise, yet still complicated, tracking of fitness data and presented efficient opportunities to analyze numbers in ways that could not be previously done when fitness tracking was performed by hand.

Today, dozens of fitness and sports technology companies produce advanced tracking devices that can be worn on the human body. With goals ranging from advancing physical fitness levels for typical consumers, to finding a 1% performance edge for elite athletes in any sport, fitness trackers have become incredibly advanced and more competitive than at any point in history.

This report includes:

  • Expert insights from some of the leading fitness tracking companies
  • Examinations of the increase in innovation in this space via 17 snapshot case studies
  • A spotlight on Polar and their evolution from launching the first wireless heart rate tracking device in 1982 to present day
  • An overall demonstration of how diverse the fitness tracker and athlete wearable market has become

Download The Report Here