Fitbit or HR monitor..and which one

glossysweetums

So I have a ton of friends that use fitbits and have considered getting one. I'm pretty active as it is so not sure whether I should do a Fitbit or just use a heart rate monitor instead so I use my workout time to the best of my ability. What do you think? If you recommend fitbits..which and why. If you recommend a heart rate monitor...which and why?

Thanks

musicathy

The Fitbit HR has a heart rate monitor (on the wrist so not 100% accurate but pretty good). Best of both worlds perhaps?

MeanderingMammal

That's a bit of an apples and roast lamb comparison, the two devices give very different benefits.

A step tracker gives you an appreciation of your activity throughout the day, an HRM gives you an indication of your heart rate. The HR data can then be used to approximate calorie expenditure which may or may not be relatively accurate, depending on the way you exercise.

Personally I'd suggest a step tracker as having most utility, as it gives you far more useful data. An HRM is really only of practical use if you run, cycle or similar. Lots of people who don't understand how HRMs work will vote for that though.

fwiw some step trackers now have embedded optical HR, which is reasonably interesting.

Personally I have a Garmin VivoSmart HR. The useful data from that is my resting heart rate, and my step activity through the day. It also tells me flights of stairs climbed, and cumulative activity minutes. That's a set of features that are now available across the supplier range.

The real benefit for me is that the HRM can broadcast on ANT+, so that I can have HR data to my Forerunner GPS when I run, or my Edge GPS when I'm cycling. That allows me to correlate HR data with my GPS trace, cadence etc. To be completely honest, HR data on its own is a bit meaningless, it only becomes useful if you can associate it with other data.

pdm3547

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Personally I have a Garmin VivoSmart HR. The useful data from that is my resting heart rate, and my step activity through the day. It also tells me flights of stairs climbed, and cumulative activity minutes. That's a set of features that are now available across the supplier range.

I used to have a fitbit but switched over to a Garmin Vivoactive HR last month. I find it much better and much more accurate at tracking steps, activities, sleep, etc.

MeanderingMammal

Indeed. I did a short ride yesterday, 40km, and my VivoSmart had so few false positives that it indicated I was sedentary for that 70 minute period.