Fitness tracker

[DarkRider]

Apologies if this topic has come up elsewhere but I couldn't find anything.

What sort of fitness trackers are people using?
I've been resistant to get one for a while, probably more to do with stubbornness and not wanting to be told what I should be doing by a watch. But considering all they do I am thinking about getting something, just not sure what.
As a first effort I don't know that I need to jump in the deep end and buy a $500+ watch, but I figure if I'm going to do it I may as well give it some chance of being useful.
Not sure if I need things like GPS because it seems they will all connect to my Android phone. Or things like suggestions on what other exercise I could be doing. But things like heart rate monitoring, even during sleep, seems like a reasonable thing.
But what else is really needed/useful?
Any one have any recommendations?

[Gordonhooker]

I use a combination of my iphone 13, apple watch SE and strava for those pretty pictures you get of the route you rode, walked or jogged. The apple Health and Tracker app with strava (free version) do all I need to do as well as keep an eye on my heart rate.

[vbplease]

it depends what data you're after.. but I think half the challenge is knowing what data you should be monitoring.

Some of the things I look at;
1) resting heart rate trending over a long period - i find this very interesting and motivating to see it come down, now that I have been a lot more consistent in my training lately. A lower heart rate, relative to your long term hr with no/minimal exercise, is a very good metric to see you're keeping active.
2) fitness/freshness given in strava. you need the premium membership. Again, this is a very good metric to track your fitness trends.
3) Garmin watch which provides 'body battery'. I think this just tracking sleep quantity, and not so much heart variability, but handy to know if you're not getting enough sleep. The garmin watch also tells me what kind of sleep i'm getting i.e. light/heavy sleep and rem, but not sure how accurate it is.

What you may want is just something to measure steps and give you an alarm if you've been sedentary for too long? after all, sedentary lifestyle is the biggest killer..

[DarkRider]

The challenge is definitely knowing what I want. I've read heaps of reviews and specs for different products but I really don't know what I want, or need. I don't look at the end of the week to see how many kilos have gone. I don't count steps. I don't count calories. I never check my heart rate before, after or during cycling. I do know how to create a healthy lifestyle but I may not be that great at it putting it all in practice. But maybe I should start thinking more about those things.

While I know that saying I want something basic to start off with isn't much help because it doesn't really give any details it's about all I have.

For instance the Garmin Venu SQ and the FitBit Versa 2 are both in the same price bracket ($150ish). They seem to offer similar functions and specs. They may not be the latest and greatest but are they as good as each other, is there something better?

[vbplease]

The challenge is definitely knowing what I want. I've read heaps of reviews and specs for different products but I really don't know what I want, or need. I don't look at the end of the week to see how many kilos have gone. I don't count steps. I don't count calories. I never check my heart rate before, after or during cycling.

I think the first step is to work out what data may be relevant to you, which depends on what you want out of keeping active i guess..

You mention that you're not interested in monitoring kilos, steps, heart rate.. what is it you're interested in? do you want to go faster on the bike? lose weight? or just make sure that you're keeping healthy in general?

in addition to the other metrics i mentioned above, garmin provides estimates of VO2max for running and cycling, which again are great metrics to monitor over the long term to keep you happy with fitness trends..

[DarkRider]

I wasn't interested in that sort of stuff, but I probably should be.
I still wont be looking at any device at the end of the week and hoping to see particular figures.
I wont be starting the week with some sort of aim.
I do better and exercising etc when I don't have an aim or a goal.
I use MapMyRide and do basically the same route every time but I don't care if the average speed changes each time I ride. I don't care if the calories reading is accurate, or the top speed, or the elevation. But maybe if I had something to do with those figures other than look at them and marvel I might do something with them.
I imagine a fitness tracker will be the same, there will be stuff on it that I wont use, but I don't know what is on them. I don't know if one brand does better in any area and I don't know if there is certain things I should be looking for.

If I was to use a "ferinstance" from my old line of work the Fleet Manager comes to me and says they need to replace 10 trucks in the coming months and he wants to know why he should buy the Mack over the Volvo, the Scania over the Kenworth. He can see the figures, he can see the deal but he wants me the mechanic, the guy who works on them to tell him what he can't see on paper because he doesn't know what he can't see until it's pointed out to him.

[Gordonhooker]

I am lost - it sounds like you don't want to track anything but you want people on the forum for advice on a fitness tracker that you won't use... I think I will leave it with you...

[DarkRider]

I'm not sure where the confusion is. I don't currently have anything. I don't currently monitor anything, probably because I don't have anything. I wont be using it to religiously track everything. I don't really know what they are and I don't know what functions are useful. I thought people on here would have knowledge of some, maybe even some recommendation, hence the questions.

[Gordonhooker]

The confusion is you really need to know what it is you want to track before anyone here can recommend something that would meet your needs.

[vbplease]

I've listed quite a few of the metrics which a smart watch monitors e.g. resting heart rate, body battery, VO2max etc and there are a plethora of metrics on Strava/Garmin connect which measure trends.. I could find more interesting metrics, but I'm getting the impression you're not interested in monitoring them?

Monitoring these metrics is why people buy the watches.. to see improvements in the trends which keeps up the motivation.

If you're not interested in monitoring the metrics I'm not sure if a watch is for you?

[DarkRider]

I'm interested in what they do, telling me I am not interested in features I don't know exist is fairly presumptuous. I haven't said I wont use features I've said I don't currently, not having them, and I may not use them the same way others do. The ones already listed are good food for thought but there has to be more food for thought.

[Mr Purple]

What features do you want? Fitness trackers are all about metrics and it sounds like you don't actually want any metrics.

I also don't want to track my fitness, so I don't have a fitness tracker. $150 saved.

[DarkRider]

I don't know what I want, hence the questions. I figured people who use them could tell me what features they use and to help whittle down the choices suitable to me.
At least that was the plan initially, but I've changed plans and found some people who could answer my questions and help me decide.

[am50em]

I use a Garmin Fenix 5 watch (bought on special a few years ago) and a Garmin 830 for the bike. All activities upload to Garmin and automatically transferred to Strava. I also transfer rides to Goldencheetah on my computer. Too many metrics!
I take notice of sleep patterns, VO2max estimate, weight, FTP, training status, training load, lactate threshold, resting heart rate, ...
Fenix watches too expensive but their other ranges are cheaper and have pretty much the same metrics.
See https://www.dcrainmaker.com/ who gives lots of reviews on fitness trackers.

Need power meter to get some ofvthose metrics on bike. Can get VO2max from running or walking.

[foo on patrol]

Just use Strava Premium with a Wahoo Bolt. This gives me the ability to look at my heart rate throughout the ride or race, my cadence and heart rate zones. Then for all of the segments that I ride and track my progress and compare to earlier rides. I don't like the watches as they are all over the place with data and Fitbit thingies can leave burn marks on your skin.

Foo

[trailgumby]

Key metrics for me are sleep health because mine is poor, VO2 Max, and training effort guidance the Garmin Connect app gives me from a combination of my Vivofit 4, and the HR monitor and power meter I use on the bike.

My resting heart rate is of interest as well, although at 48 or lower it sometimes causes medical professionals concern until they hear what I do for fun. However, that is presently being elevated somewhat by the ADHD medication I'm currently trialling.

[DarkRider]

Does it offer help/suggestions as to what you can do to improve sleep? Or is it just recording data and it's up to you visit a doctor or other such professional?

[am50em]

Garmin connect app does give some basic "insights" and suggestions. While talking to my GP he mentioned another patient was alerted to a sleep problem from their Apple watch. So still need to see doctor.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/06/gar ... dgets.html

[foo on patrol]

Key metrics for me are sleep health because mine is poor, VO2 Max, and training effort guidance the Garmin Connect app gives me from a combination of my Vivofit 4, and the HR monitor and power meter I use on the bike.

My resting heart rate is of interest as well, although at 48 or lower it sometimes causes medical professionals concern until they hear what I do for fun. However, that is presently being elevated somewhat by the ADHD medication I'm currently trialling.

That's interesting, as mine hasn't changed since going onto Dex.

Foo

[Andy01]

I don't know what I want, hence the questions. I figured people who use them could tell me what features they use and to help whittle down the choices suitable to me.
At least that was the plan initially, but I've changed plans and found some people who could answer my questions and help me decide.

I would suggest narrowing the field down a bit (unless I missed it above) by at least saying whether you want a wearable (like a watch or fitness tracker), or a non-wearable (sort-of) like a bike-mounted GPS computer plus appropriate sensors (heart rate which is wearable but only when you want to see your rate, cadence etc).

The other thing that might help narrow things down a bit is how much you want to spend. There is an enormous difference between a $2-300 fitness tracker or a basic Bryton 15 GPS for around $100, and a top-of-line Garmin solar-powered fitness watch costing over $1300.

Personally I use a Bryton 410 GPS with cadence sensor and Polar Sense armband-style heart rate monitor to record my rides only. I also wear the Polar HRM (paired to my iPhone X) and a speed/cadence sensor on my basic exercise bike and use the Wahoo app to track those indoor rides, and I use the Polar HRM for other non-bike-related exercise like walking or hiking. I have never been interested with continuous (including sleep) monitoring and prefer my Eco Drive titanium watch that is fully waterproof and has not needed (non-solar) charged in the last 6 years - but everyone has different needs

[Retrobyte]

Just use Strava Premium with a Wahoo Bolt. This gives me the ability to look at my heart rate throughout the ride or race, my cadence and heart rate zones. Then for all of the segments that I ride and track my progress and compare to earlier rides. I don't like the watches as they are all over the place with data and Fitbit thingies can leave burn marks on your skin.

Foo

And you obviously have a HR device as well, because Strava or the Wahoo need to read the data from somewhere

I use a Wahoo Tickr Fit - the armband type - for rides. Otherwise I wear a Fitbit for general fitness tracking info (Fitbit doesn't connect to Wahoo or Strava directly so I can't get any data from it for rides, unless I export the file from Fitbit and import into Strava, which I can't be fussed doing).

[trailgumby]

Key metrics for me are sleep health because mine is poor, VO2 Max, and training effort guidance the Garmin Connect app gives me from a combination of my Vivofit 4, and the HR monitor and power meter I use on the bike.

My resting heart rate is of interest as well, although at 48 or lower it sometimes causes medical professionals concern until they hear what I do for fun. However, that is presently being elevated somewhat by the ADHD medication I'm currently trialling.

That's interesting, as mine hasn't changed since going onto Dex.

Foo

Mine didn't either on Dex, but it has with Strattera. It's a side effect mentioned in the doco. Up now to about 63. Dex is awesome on the bike I can see why you need a TUE, but unfortunately it hurts my sleep patterns.

[foo on patrol]

Just use Strava Premium with a Wahoo Bolt. This gives me the ability to look at my heart rate throughout the ride or race, my cadence and heart rate zones. Then for all of the segments that I ride and track my progress and compare to earlier rides. I don't like the watches as they are all over the place with data and Fitbit thingies can leave burn marks on your skin.

Foo

And you obviously have a HR device as well, because Strava or the Wahoo need to read the data from somewhere

I use a Wahoo Tickr Fit - the armband type - for rides. Otherwise I wear a Fitbit for general fitness tracking info (Fitbit doesn't connect to Wahoo or Strava directly so I can't get any data from it for rides, unless I export the file from Fitbit and import into Strava, which I can't be fussed doing).

Yeah but that's a given if you're tracking everything.

Foo

[kngtyrannosaurus]

I used a Garmin Instinct for a while, that was my Hiking Watch - for rides I would just wrap it around the handlebars to I could use it as a speedo. That didn't work so well for winter because the backlight wouldn't stay on and it was quite a small screen anyway. Now I use an ELEMNT Bolt.

After the Fenix 6 pro went on sale at the start of this year I sold my Instinct to a friend and got one of those (late Christmas present to myself).

The Garmin gear is great, but so is the Wahoo. It's not like I'm stoked every time I use them, they're just useful. The Garmin stuff has 24/7 Heart-Rate which can tell you some interesting stuff - DC Rainmaker did a good post on it. TL;DR once you get comfortable with your usual numbers you can predict when you'll get sick a bit in advance. For me if my Resting Heart Rate (RHR) goes to ~60bpm I'm due for a cold.

With Cycling it can also depend on your sensors a bit with how useful they are. My bike I bought secondhand came with a cadence sensor and I actually use that quite a bit. Less so now, but to begin with it helped me get much better pedal technique. Heart-rate during exercise can be handy, but while cycling I just motor along to percieved effort anyway. Running I'll sometimes use zones.

I have an Apple Watch that came with the phone as well, but I don't really use that for fitness tracking. It's not very good at it - for one it has no 24/7 HR, for two it does funny things with the GPS (tries to use the phone GPS when its in range, doesn't wait for a GPS fix before starting activity), for three it feels fragile and for four the battery simply doesn't cut it for a big ride. That being said it is much, much better than the Garmin at 'phone stuff' and I use it to help me cut down on my phone usage.

If I were to just have one I'd go the Fenix though.

[DarkRider]

I was reading something yesterday about the Garmin software being buggy and very slow with fixes. Does that effect anyone?