CNN Underscored is constantly testing products – be they coffee machines or office chairs – to find the absolute best in each category.
Our testing process is rigorous and consists of hours of research (consulting from experts, reading editorial reviews, and perusing user reviews) to find the best products in each category. Once we’ve decided on a test pool, we spend weeks – if not months – testing and retesting each product multiple times in real-world environments. All in an effort to agree on the absolute best products.
This year we tested dozen of exercise-related products – from fitness trackers to smart exercise bikes – to find the best products you need to get the most out of your workout.
While both of the Fitbit models we tested excelled during our tests, the Inspire 2 was slimmer and easier to set up and understand than the Fitbit Charge 4. Its slim design means it won’t cling to clothing while exercising ( or anything), and the thin screen seemed less prone to bumps and scratches, so in some ways it felt less shatterproof than others. You can also set level goals (we aimed for 10,000, for example) as well as weight loss, water intake, wellness, sleep, and more. When you sign in to your Fitbit app, your home screen automatically displays a half-filled circle that shows how many steps you took for the day. A quick scroll will show you active minutes (when your heart rate was increasing), your average resting heart rate, and additional data. You can also set and log your water goals.
• Read more about our fitness tracker tests here.
Jacob Krol / CNN
The Apple Watch Series 7 is the best smartwatch for Apple users – and the best smartwatch we’ve tested. With a larger display that makes it easier to view and interact with information – from activity, heart rate and blood oxygen levels to text – on the wrist.
You can track many workouts like biking, dancing, meditation, running, hiking, elliptical training, and even boxing. The calories burned, exercise duration and heart rate are displayed in real time on your wrist. The watch tracks this data and syncs with your connected iPhone to save the data safely.
The Apple Watch can also notify you of an increased heart rate and take an electrocardiogram (EKG) using both the optical heart rate monitor and an electrical sensor built into the back of the watch and the Digital Crown. The Series 7 can also monitor blood oxygen and noise levels for hearing health, detect a fall and track your sleep.
Best Android Smartwatch: Galaxy Watch 4 (starting at $ 129.99, originally $ 249.99; samsung.com)
The watch’s new 4-in-1 BioActive sensor offers you more comprehensive health and fitness monitoring with heart rate, AFib monitoring, Vo2 values (blood oxygen), electrocardiogram (EKG) and measurement of body composition. These more complex measurements are shown along with the steps taken, calories burned and active minutes. The Watch 4 can still automatically detect a workout and track hundreds of them. As always, however, the Watch 4 (like any smartwatch) should not be used for medical diagnosis.
Is the experience comparable to an Apple Watch? Not quite yet, but it is more intuitive to use than any previous Wear OS watch and, unlike previous Galaxy Watches, can be seamlessly integrated into any Android phone. In side-by-side tests, the determined health and fitness data were on par with the Apple Watch Series 6 and SE.
The fitness aspects of the SE are essentially the same experiences you’ve had on any other Apple Watch, with exercise and exercise goals to track. You can also use the Workout app to choose from a variety of exercises – indoor or outdoor cycling, functional strength training, parallel bars, dance, running, jogging, surfing, and myriad others – that the Apple Watch SE through a range of sensors accurately recorded. We didn’t see any slowdowns or tracking differences between the SE and Series 6. Both were able to determine an exact number in relation to the calorie consumption, the training minutes and the recorded heart rate.
The Watch SE offers heart rate tracking, noise level monitoring, fitness tracking and fall detection. What is sacrificed here compared to the Watch 6 is a faster processor, fast charging capability, a brighter display, EKG readings, blood oxygen monitoring and the always-on display.
• Read more about our tests of smartwatches here.
Amazon
Undoubtedly our favorite feature of the mat is the fact that it is double-sided, with a smooth and tacky polyurethane-coated top and a textured natural rubber underside that offers plenty of traction. In addition, we also liked that the mat is slightly oversized and, with its thickness of 5 millimeters, offers sufficient padding.
Best Non-Slip Yoga Mat: Manduka eKO Superlite Yoga and Pilates Travel Mat ($ 45; amazon.com)
While the ultra-slim, extremely foldable nature of the Manduka Eko Superlite Travel Yoga Mat is appealing in itself (especially for frequent travelers), it is also our preferred zero-slip option with great grip and absolute floor stability. And as if this news wasn’t good enough, the mat is also completely environmentally friendly, made from biodegradable natural rubber.
Gaiam’s Premium Yoga Mat was the best thick yoga mat because the PVC mat (also known as synthetic rubber called polyvinyl chloride) has 6 millimeters of padding and a deep texture that ensures a non-slip surface. As one of the cheapest mats we tested, it also received bonus points as the best affordable yoga mat.
Best Hot Yoga Mat: Manduka Pro Yoga Mat 6MM ($ 120; amazon.com and manduka.com)
Regular hot yoga practitioners can definitely rely on the Manduka Pro Yoga Mat 6MM to withstand the sheer amount of sweat produced in a hot hour. Ultra dense, the weight of the PVC mat cement it into your flooring, while its ultra-sticky top has a cutting-edge texture that makes for a non-slip grip – yes, even if you drip sweat into it.
Beginners will be successful with the Liforme Original Yoga Mat thanks to its 12 alignment markers that show the user exactly where to place their hands and feet. As a kind of navigation tool, the markers are especially helpful for beginners who practice at home without a live teacher present to correct their shape.
• Read more about our tests of yoga mats here.
Peloton
The Peloton Bike + prevailed in our tests thanks to its robust construction, a large number of knowledgeable, inspiring instructors and many high-quality off-the-bike courses (but frankly only barely). It’s a great property to buy for anyone.
If you love spinning to the beat of the music, you will love SoulCycle the most. It’s better for off-the-saddle riding, and the instructors are incredibly engaging, motivational, cult-like leaders in the best possible way.
The NordicTrack S22i bike’s workouts are addicting and efficient, and we really got carried away with the touring rides. Would you like to go up the slopes of Mount Fuji (with a trainer)? Or through Patagonia with a life coach? This is your bike.
• Read more about our tests of smart exercise bikes here.
Wyze
We love how the numbers were displayed on the Wyze: easy-to-see white numbers that shone sharp and bright. Even in a steamy bathroom and on a dark January morning, we didn’t even have to screw up our eyes to read it. It was the easiest to read scale we tested because other scales had tiny readings or were positioned underfoot.
Of course, if those glowing white numbers are wrong, the rest doesn’t matter. However, the Wyze scale turned out to be one of the most accurate scales we tested for weight. When compared to readings on an analog scale, the Wyze was never more than 0.2 pounds away. In comparison, some of the other scales, like the Fitbit Aria Air, varied by as much as a pound. Also, when we stepped on the scales with a 10 pound hand weight, the readings jumped exactly 10 pounds.
• Read more about our tests of intelligent scales here.
Lululemon
If you’re looking for sweat-wicking, breathable leggings that you can take with you in any workout, and that are so comfortable that you almost forget you’re wearing them, the Lululemon Align Pant is an investment we can stand behind.
• Read more about our tests of training leggings here.
