It’s hard to go anywhere nowadays without seeing fitness or activity trackers strapped to people’s wrists.

Throughout the last decade or so, these wearable devices have come a long way — both in accuracy and available features. They’ve even started looking better too, with a slimmer profile and wide array of accessories to fit your style.

The best part about an activity tracker, though, is its functionality for even the self-described “non-athlete”. It’s the perfect gateway into a measurable active lifestyle and it’s easy to set goals and see progress over a set period of time.

Fitness trackers provide immediate feedback on how hard you are working out so that you can make adjustments to get the greatest benefit from your exercise regimen.

Think of the activity tracker as a tool that gives you a sneak peek at what your heart is doing. It’s excellent for athletes that want to push their workouts to the breaking point but not exceed it. It’s also an excellent tool for those who are not athletes and are not as in tune with their bodies.

Your heart is the most important muscle in your body.

It is in circulates blood from your lungs to the lower parts of your body. By monitoring your heart rate, you can reduce the chance of injury from overtraining and know you are getting a great workout by staying in the target “zone.”

Activity trackers can drastically increase your workouts. These devices can give you an accurate gauge of how hard you are working during your workout. Your heart rate should increase as you exercise harder. With this detailed information, you can tell if you are overtraining or slacking off.

For most people, exercise is a difficult thing to make part of their daily lives. It just makes sense to add a simple tool in the form of an activity tracker that can help keep you on track and make improvements you might have thought impossible. Prices have dropped dramatically on these devices in the last few years so you should be able to pick one up at a price that fits your budget.