Activity monitors for walking, step aerobics and lifting?

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uvi5
uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
(I posted this in the "fitness and exercise" forum, but thought I'd post here as well. Hope it's ok)
I'm understanding that nothing is completely accurate, but I want to give one a try (return policies are great). I have been looking into fitbit charge hr and polar, but still not sure what would fit my wants & needs. What one/ones do you use (you being anyone reading this post :lol: I got paid today and am going to hike up to walmart and would dig getting some info first. I have posted before with mixed reviews and decided not to get an activity tracker. I am getting more into my exercise, so this could be a great thing for inspiration, tracking, knowing how much to eat...etc.

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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    It all depends on what you are doing.

    Nothing really works well for lifting.

    HRM with chest straps are good for steady state cardio

    Activity trackers like fitbit and Jawbone are good for steps etc. They have other features as well which imo make them worth it. I personally have a Jawbone to track activity, sleep, silent alarm etc.

    It is motivating I find...but not everyone does.
  • felicialmoreno
    felicialmoreno Posts: 6 Member
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    I have a Fitbit Zip. What I like about it is that it clips to my waist (I can't stand things on my wrist) and that there is a battery rather than a charger. On the down side, now that Fitbit seems to have improved their syncing with the phone app, the battery wears down pretty quickly so I'm changing it every couple of months. I like the Fitbit interface and dashboard, so when I upgrade will probably stick to their line, so looking at a Fitbit One.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    felicialmoreno wrote: »
    I have a Fitbit Zip. What I like about it is that it clips to my waist (I can't stand things on my wrist) and that there is a battery rather than a charger. On the down side, now that Fitbit seems to have improved their syncing with the phone app, the battery wears down pretty quickly so I'm changing it every couple of months. I like the Fitbit interface and dashboard, so when I upgrade will probably stick to their line, so looking at a Fitbit One.

    I have one of those too...I don't like it at all. I find it doesn't count steps accurately and it's very short on active minutes.

    For example I was shovelling snow for over an hour...it gave me 6 active minutes...sure.....
  • prettygirlstorm1
    prettygirlstorm1 Posts: 722 Member
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    I needed something that was not complex. I am only interested in calories burned and my heart rate. I have a Polar T7 (I think) lol It has a chest strap. It probably does other things but I am not really into technology, I like because it does what I need it to do.
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
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    I'm hiking up to walmart in the next hour and going to try the fitbit charge hr. Gtk about "nothing good to monitor lifting", but I know that lifting is great! I've been at that for a month 4x/wk @ 1.5 hours, but log as 1 hour. But the other activities i'm doing will be cool to know what I'm burning and to get an idea of calorie intake daily. I only eat 50 to 75% back, but may not be netting enough for the amount of activity i'm doing. Going to start rollerblading again as well, so I was "hoping" that the hrm feature could give me an idea to what I'm burning during that activity too. Anyway, as long as there is a return policy (which walmart says 15 days in store) it's worth a try. May be fun and motivating. Thanks again all!
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    It really depends on which features you want... Do you want to wear on your wrist or not? Does it need to be waterproof? Those are a couple of key points. I'd say if the heart rate function (useful during cardio, not for all day use) is important then go with Polar. I'm pretty sure they're among the best in the market for that aspect. I am very happy with my Fitbit One and believe Fitbit is among the more accurate trackers.

    I'd say, if you can be patient, to order thru Amazon. Their return policy is great. I recently bought a Polar A300 when it was a deal of the day. Was not happy with it, compared to my Fitbit it was not accurate on steps. It was great for use for the HRM feature, but I can get that for less than $140 lol. So I returned it, and for reason stated that it was not accurate. No questions asked. Full refund.
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
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    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    It really depends on which features you want... Do you want to wear on your wrist or not? Does it need to be waterproof? Those are a couple of key points. I'd say if the heart rate function (useful during cardio, not for all day use) is important then go with Polar. I'm pretty sure they're among the best in the market for that aspect. I am very happy with my Fitbit One and believe Fitbit is among the more accurate trackers.

    I'd say, if you can be patient, to order thru Amazon. Their return policy is great. I recently bought a Polar A300 when it was a deal of the day. Was not happy with it, compared to my Fitbit it was not accurate on steps. It was great for use for the HRM feature, but I can get that for less than $140 lol. So I returned it, and for reason stated that it was not accurate. No questions asked. Full refund.

    Hey thanks for the info. I'm going to go ahead and try out the fitbit charge hr from my local walmart. I will double check that I can return it (in store) in 15 days. If not I may wait and research more. It's about $150 and I have enough to try it out. :smiley:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I would suggest if you lift 3-4 times/week to just change your activity level from sedentary to light active, you will get your cals that way evened out through the week which is good for recovery (non-lifting days)
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
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    erickirb wrote: »
    I would suggest if you lift 3-4 times/week to just change your activity level from sedentary to light active, you will get your cals that way evened out through the week which is good for recovery (non-lifting days)
    I have been considering doing this. I am getting way more active than I even expected I would. Having a weight machine, bench, free weights (hubby is a lifter :smiley: ) It being in my "face" and seeing how great hubby looks and feels (and can eat a lot!) really got me motivated, now I'm doing it 4 days a week. I am on my third day of rest (from lifting) because hubby says I have been at it intensly and the cardio I do daily. I have much running around to do today, but I am craving the lifting lol. I feel weird now taking a 3rd day off. So, for now I'm still doing NEAT, but that could change, wow I am rambling. Ready to run out the door and get moving, doing everything on foot and no car.... boom saves gas too :lol:
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
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    I got a Garmin. Walmart was out of stock for fitbit charge hr, but the sales person was wearing a garmin (there were two sales guys wearing the same one i got. They love it, so I am happy to try this out. I have 15 days to try it. If I don't want it, I can return it no questions asked. :smiley:

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