When it comes to physical fitness, there always seems to be a new fad diet, exercise regimen or technological doodad that promises to revolutionize our quest for better wellness. And while many of these developments and innovations have their merits, some don’t live up to their hype.

But most people tend to love a gadget, a gimmick or both, which helps explain the explosion in fitness trackers in recent years. With their ability to do everything from count steps and monitor heart rate to track sleep and tally calories, it’s little wonder that these wearable wonders have become ubiquitous.

But the wearables have pros and cons.

To help separate fact from folly when it comes to trackers, we checked in with three local fitness professionals (all of whom use fitness trackers): John Bobalik, director of the Purdue Northwest Fitness Center; Jennifer Pasek, a certified personal trainer and the owner of Making It Happen in New Lenox; and Katie Wheeler, wellness director at the Schererville Family YMCA. They had mostly positive things to say — with a few cautionary notes. Their responses have been lightly edited for space and clarity:

Biggest fitness tracker mistakes

John Bobalik: People can place too much importance on numbers such as step counts or distances, which can lead to overtraining or neglecting other important aspects of their health and fitness.

Jennifer Pasek: Purchasing a tracker that doesn’t align with your fitness objectives or using the wrong setting or forgetting to activate it if a manual entry is required. Also, because the data can occasionally be inaccurate, users can react inappropriately to a false reading.

Katie Wheeler: Wearing them inconsistently or wearing the wrong one. If someone primarily does strength training, for example, using a device that measures only heart rate and distance may not be the best one. That’s why it’s important to do your research and find a tracker that will show you the data you need to progress.

Making the most of a fitness tracker

Bobalik: There are a lot of choices with a lot of different bells and whistles. Figure out the most important health and fitness variables you want and will continually use and base your tracker selection on those personal variables.

Pasek: Use the data as a gauge, looking mostly at weekly or monthly averages to evaluate progress rather than obsessing over daily fluctuations.

Wheeler: Set clear goals. Wear it consistently. Do not become obsessed with the numbers. Talk to a certified trainer to understand what your data is saying. Recruit a friend to stay motivated and celebrate every win.

The old 10,000-step goal

Bobalik: The goal of needing to walk 10,000 steps a day has gone the way of the 8-track cartridge or the typewriter — it’s not really applicable anymore. That recommendation was somewhat arbitrary to begin with, and actual research studies suggest 7,000-8,000 steps are more or less the sweet spot to develop fitness. But really, the best advice on steps is pretty simple: Move more and sit less and get in whatever number of steps you can each day. Something is always better than nothing.

Pasek: 10,000 is a great goal for most people, but the number isn’t really that important. Whatever your target number is, your step goal should encourage you to consistently move more throughout the day than you normally would. This may be lower than 10,000, but if you start with a baseline and slowly increase from there, you’re less likely to get discouraged and quit.

Wheeler: While getting 10,000 steps every day has health benefits, research suggests that this is not a magic number to eliminate disease or other risk factors as we age. Walking between 6,000-7,000 steps is more achievable and will have the same health benefits as walking 10,000 steps. The only difference will be the calories burned. Ultimately, the more we’re moving the better we feel inside and out.

The bottom line

Bobalik: Using a fitness tracker to check your heart rate in the morning is a great way to watch for signs of overtraining. For example, if your normal resting heart rate taken in the morning before you get out of bed is 60 bpm and the next morning after a hard or intense training session the day before is 84 bpm, you know that your body hasn’t recovered from the previous day’s workout.

Pasek: Fitness trackers can be another tool in our toolboxes. But it’s important to remember that just like so many other tools, they’re good only when they actually get used. And in many cases, they’re only as good as the data that gets put into them.

Wheeler: Fitness trackers can be a great way to support your goals, understand your lifestyle and increase your motivation. But it’s always best to keep in mind what your fitness-related goals are and to not become obsessed with number-tracking.