Do you regularly use fitness devices to track your progress? Have they ever discouraged ur progress?
MissDeevi
Posts: 31 Member
I apologize in advance for the lengthy post. If you're not a reader scroll to the bottom for the Q's
Several years ago I hit a point of depression I had never known before. It ended up triggering motivation that knew no bounds and with 6 months I'd lost 60 pounds. That was 2014, in 2017 I have started to gain back weight albeit much slower. Since Beginning of the year I am up almost 20lbs (17 and change). I contribute a lot of this to switching out the tracking devices I had been using and moving to devices with not to great interfaces.
When I started my journey I had no help other than tracking calories. By end of summer (2014) I had begun following some instagram accounts for Accutane who were also on the same fitness journey. Most of those people were using the Polar FT4 with H10 HRM during workouts. It gave them a more motivation to beat their previous best and go harder in the gym. This was great for me because I've had heart palpitations and it helped me monitor my HR in real time. Unfortunately the FT4 was a HRM only (and basic digital watch i guess lol) and I really wanted something to help me track my daily burn.
Being cheap, I went with cheapest "name brand" watch available, the Misfit Shine. This was a pretty primitive device and while it was ok, I feel like I jumped the gun on that one. I ended up spending weeks looking into everything available and finally decided on the Garmin Vivofit. While the FT4 did not have an app to sync with, I would manually log my workouts with the FT4 data or use the Vivofit HRM band. I preferred the FT4 since the Vivofit band would go inactive if I wasn't constantly moving (ie if I was weight lifting, it would consider my workout done). For running, I would put the shine or Vivofit on my ankle, FT4 on one wrist and Vivofit or Shine on the other wrist. I averaged the step count at the end.
In addition to averaging and manually entering data, I was also manually entering my weight on MFP. I had didn't have anything to track my Muscle Mass, Fat % or Water % so it was strictly weight. And while MFP said it could sync with both the misfit and vivofit, it would double up the info and make it seem like I'd done twice as much work than I had. Obviously this was annoying so I ended up retiring the misfit keeping the Vivofit for the watch face form and the fact that it gave me a movement graph when I slept.
Several months later I wanted to upgrade watches. I had gotten a promotion at work and finally had money to waste lol so I really researched it this time (obviously still not well enough). My IG friends were all upgrading to FT7's and Fitbit Charges and I wanted an all in one HRM, tracker etc. So what did I buy? Garmin Vivosmart. Word to the wise, dont buy the Garmin Vivosmart. I put down good money on that thing and it felt like I'd one it in a 25 cent vending machine. So I returned it in exchange for the Apple Watch. In the beginning, I didn't think the Apple watch was all that great especially for how much it costs. It has since been upgraded (software) to be much more functional for fitness. Downside? It isn't water proof (though series 3 will be water resistant) and I have to charge it every two days or less. I needed something I could wear 24/7 with very little charging or batter powered. So I added the Garmin M400 to my collection thinking ti was going to be an improvement compared to my other devices. Guess what? It wasn't. I've had the watch a little over a year and the band is already separating from the watch (being OCD this is painful to look at). It's terrible at smart notifications to the point I dont even know why it was included, it's clunky, the "steps counter" shows up as a percentage of a daily goal you can't change (10,000) and I have to charge it every week. As far as the app is concerned, the only good part is the workouts where it lets you know how long to rest your muscles after a workout is great and the GPS tracking for outdoors runs.
Ever since switching to the M400 and the Apple Watch I hardly ever look at my progress and very rarely sync my watch (it takes ages to sync and if you leave the app even if you dont close it, it will cancel the sync). Between this and the fact that I stopped weighing myself daily, I've lost motivation completely. Recently decided to switch devices and ordered the Fitbit Blaze (my friend constantly raves about it and the interface looks pretty good) and the Withings Scale (I've always wanted one to log my weight automatically). So far, I love love love the Withings/Nokia Scale. There app is also pretty good and integrates perfectly with Apple Health and Apple Watch. I just got the Blaze and haven't really used it yet but I'm hoping its much better than the Polar M400. It's HRM, Counting, Sleep tracker all in one.
For me, weighing myself daily (morning and night) helps encourage me to meet my calorie goals and gives me an idea of water weight and bloat. My night weight is what I consider my "true" weight while my morning weight is my lowest weight of the day lol this helps motivate me to start the day off right. Being able to easily track all my stats in one place would be great and while Apple Health does a decent job, most manufacturers havent created their apps to play nice with other apps. In the Nokia HealthMate app, it syncs up with my step and heart rate data from my Apple watch and my calorie counts from MyFitnessPal but if you want to use their "programs" you must have their devices. My PolarFlow app doesnt link up with HealthMate either so I have an expensive scale that works great but doesn't sync to apps that it would be the most useful. And I KNOW this is a forum ON MyFitnessPal but in a fair market full of Calorie Counting apps, why is MFP the ONLY app any of these connect to? Don't get me wrong, MFP is a good app but with all the updates and the adds it gets annoying always having them try to sell me Under Armour products. Most of their users use devices OTHER than UA that aren't cheap. What in the world would make you think we'd go oh you know what, lets spend another $100s. Not that I'm a good example since I literally own 6 fitness watches lmao. My biggest pet peeve though is not being able to use swype keyboard in MFP app to search for food. Do you guys know how annoying it is to manually type after you've been using Swype or similar keyboards for YEARS? And why so many notifications? Or why does it double up my counts or workouts even though they obviously occurred over the same time frame? Isn't there a formula they could use to negate that duplication?
In the end, Ultimately, MFP has cultivated relationships with almost every manufacturer and become the exclusive provider of calorie intake data for many of their apps. Meanwhile apps like MyPlate, Lose It! and Argos go without sync support to our devices.
So overall my point of this post was to not only share my experiences but to also see how many of you use fitness trackers regularly? How many of you have stopped using fitness trackers due to compatibility issues with other apps you use? How many have stopped using fitness trackers for overly complicated interfaces? And how many of you wish there was one place to pull information for ALL of your devices, including where you track your calories even if it isnt always MFP?
What devices do you use? What devices have you used? What devices would you recommend or those you would recommend AGAINST buying?
What third party apps do you use? What apps or devices help motivate you the most?
I want to hear peoples stories on how smart devices have contributed in both positive and negatives way to their weight loss journeys.
If anyone has tips on syncing different apps, by all means, share.
Several years ago I hit a point of depression I had never known before. It ended up triggering motivation that knew no bounds and with 6 months I'd lost 60 pounds. That was 2014, in 2017 I have started to gain back weight albeit much slower. Since Beginning of the year I am up almost 20lbs (17 and change). I contribute a lot of this to switching out the tracking devices I had been using and moving to devices with not to great interfaces.
When I started my journey I had no help other than tracking calories. By end of summer (2014) I had begun following some instagram accounts for Accutane who were also on the same fitness journey. Most of those people were using the Polar FT4 with H10 HRM during workouts. It gave them a more motivation to beat their previous best and go harder in the gym. This was great for me because I've had heart palpitations and it helped me monitor my HR in real time. Unfortunately the FT4 was a HRM only (and basic digital watch i guess lol) and I really wanted something to help me track my daily burn.
Being cheap, I went with cheapest "name brand" watch available, the Misfit Shine. This was a pretty primitive device and while it was ok, I feel like I jumped the gun on that one. I ended up spending weeks looking into everything available and finally decided on the Garmin Vivofit. While the FT4 did not have an app to sync with, I would manually log my workouts with the FT4 data or use the Vivofit HRM band. I preferred the FT4 since the Vivofit band would go inactive if I wasn't constantly moving (ie if I was weight lifting, it would consider my workout done). For running, I would put the shine or Vivofit on my ankle, FT4 on one wrist and Vivofit or Shine on the other wrist. I averaged the step count at the end.
In addition to averaging and manually entering data, I was also manually entering my weight on MFP. I had didn't have anything to track my Muscle Mass, Fat % or Water % so it was strictly weight. And while MFP said it could sync with both the misfit and vivofit, it would double up the info and make it seem like I'd done twice as much work than I had. Obviously this was annoying so I ended up retiring the misfit keeping the Vivofit for the watch face form and the fact that it gave me a movement graph when I slept.
Several months later I wanted to upgrade watches. I had gotten a promotion at work and finally had money to waste lol so I really researched it this time (obviously still not well enough). My IG friends were all upgrading to FT7's and Fitbit Charges and I wanted an all in one HRM, tracker etc. So what did I buy? Garmin Vivosmart. Word to the wise, dont buy the Garmin Vivosmart. I put down good money on that thing and it felt like I'd one it in a 25 cent vending machine. So I returned it in exchange for the Apple Watch. In the beginning, I didn't think the Apple watch was all that great especially for how much it costs. It has since been upgraded (software) to be much more functional for fitness. Downside? It isn't water proof (though series 3 will be water resistant) and I have to charge it every two days or less. I needed something I could wear 24/7 with very little charging or batter powered. So I added the Garmin M400 to my collection thinking ti was going to be an improvement compared to my other devices. Guess what? It wasn't. I've had the watch a little over a year and the band is already separating from the watch (being OCD this is painful to look at). It's terrible at smart notifications to the point I dont even know why it was included, it's clunky, the "steps counter" shows up as a percentage of a daily goal you can't change (10,000) and I have to charge it every week. As far as the app is concerned, the only good part is the workouts where it lets you know how long to rest your muscles after a workout is great and the GPS tracking for outdoors runs.
Ever since switching to the M400 and the Apple Watch I hardly ever look at my progress and very rarely sync my watch (it takes ages to sync and if you leave the app even if you dont close it, it will cancel the sync). Between this and the fact that I stopped weighing myself daily, I've lost motivation completely. Recently decided to switch devices and ordered the Fitbit Blaze (my friend constantly raves about it and the interface looks pretty good) and the Withings Scale (I've always wanted one to log my weight automatically). So far, I love love love the Withings/Nokia Scale. There app is also pretty good and integrates perfectly with Apple Health and Apple Watch. I just got the Blaze and haven't really used it yet but I'm hoping its much better than the Polar M400. It's HRM, Counting, Sleep tracker all in one.
For me, weighing myself daily (morning and night) helps encourage me to meet my calorie goals and gives me an idea of water weight and bloat. My night weight is what I consider my "true" weight while my morning weight is my lowest weight of the day lol this helps motivate me to start the day off right. Being able to easily track all my stats in one place would be great and while Apple Health does a decent job, most manufacturers havent created their apps to play nice with other apps. In the Nokia HealthMate app, it syncs up with my step and heart rate data from my Apple watch and my calorie counts from MyFitnessPal but if you want to use their "programs" you must have their devices. My PolarFlow app doesnt link up with HealthMate either so I have an expensive scale that works great but doesn't sync to apps that it would be the most useful. And I KNOW this is a forum ON MyFitnessPal but in a fair market full of Calorie Counting apps, why is MFP the ONLY app any of these connect to? Don't get me wrong, MFP is a good app but with all the updates and the adds it gets annoying always having them try to sell me Under Armour products. Most of their users use devices OTHER than UA that aren't cheap. What in the world would make you think we'd go oh you know what, lets spend another $100s. Not that I'm a good example since I literally own 6 fitness watches lmao. My biggest pet peeve though is not being able to use swype keyboard in MFP app to search for food. Do you guys know how annoying it is to manually type after you've been using Swype or similar keyboards for YEARS? And why so many notifications? Or why does it double up my counts or workouts even though they obviously occurred over the same time frame? Isn't there a formula they could use to negate that duplication?
In the end, Ultimately, MFP has cultivated relationships with almost every manufacturer and become the exclusive provider of calorie intake data for many of their apps. Meanwhile apps like MyPlate, Lose It! and Argos go without sync support to our devices.
So overall my point of this post was to not only share my experiences but to also see how many of you use fitness trackers regularly? How many of you have stopped using fitness trackers due to compatibility issues with other apps you use? How many have stopped using fitness trackers for overly complicated interfaces? And how many of you wish there was one place to pull information for ALL of your devices, including where you track your calories even if it isnt always MFP?
What devices do you use? What devices have you used? What devices would you recommend or those you would recommend AGAINST buying?
What third party apps do you use? What apps or devices help motivate you the most?
I want to hear peoples stories on how smart devices have contributed in both positive and negatives way to their weight loss journeys.
If anyone has tips on syncing different apps, by all means, share.
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A power meter was the best training investment I've ever made. It's a smart fitness device for cycling, mine measures torque vector and angular velocity at the pedal - how much energy am I putting into the bike. I use that to track my fitness (how much power can I produce and for how long), and for training targets.
All of my fitness data is in Garmin Connect.3 -
Yeah, Ive seen those. That's a pretty good way to keep yourself focused without only thinking about your general fitness. Garmin Connect is a solid app. Do you challenge yourself to beat your previous energy outputs? or do you use them more as a guide to maintain consistency?0
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I have used (for tracking devices):
Bodymedia armband
Jawbone Up
Fitbit One
Fitbit Surge
Fitbit Charge2
Polar M400
Garmin Vivoacive HR
Garmin Fenix 5s
There may be others I’m forgetting
Also assorted other polar HRM’s and Garmin watches (but not all day trackers).
I find the trackers to be of huge benefit for me since I work at home and they all serve to help me get in activity through the day and give me a quantifiable way to assess whether or not I was actually active today or not. All in all, over time, there’s a negligible difference in calorie burn calculations between the different trackers - although the step counts vary wildly and numbers for individual workouts may also vary depending on what that particular device is measuring/displaying. But taken at a non-granular level, they are all about the same (some a little high, some a little low).
Some of the trackers have other features - I like the way the Polar app shows different types of activity and measures a cumulative training load for all workouts. I like the training analysis that my Garmin Fenix gives me. I like the Fitbit challenges, ease of use and integration with various other apps/reward systems. But it’s ultimately a matter of what features matter to you-that’s the device that is right for you.
And as for calorie tracking, there are lots of apps out there. None are perfect. I have tried a few and have always come back to Mfp. Maybe you’ll find another that you like better. I don’t think there are any others that have as extensive a food database (I’ve entered a food once in the 6 years I’ve been logging food here), nor as extensive an array of integration with third party apps.
So I guess the bottom line is that I find trackers to be very beneficial for me. Aside from the fact that some are just hideously ugly, they really haven’t been negative. But I don’t expect perfection and I’m only looking to get a guesstimate for my TDEE (which they all do reasonably well for me based on my intake and weight change vs expected results) and encourage more activity. I do use some of the training features but that’s outside the scope of general tracking .
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And as for beating previous outputs/efforts....that’s not a regular goal of my training. Going all out, all the time isn’t going to get me where I want to be. So if anything, I’m using devices to stay within the appropriate output/effort level for a given workout-which may mean keeping things very low.2
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I use a Garmin 920XT.. Had the features I wanted (detailed custom intervals for training; ability to upload courses with turn cues; compatibility with heart rate monitors (with a good accelerometer), cadence sensors, speed sensor, power meter, etc; good visibility with 4 visible fields per screen (fully customizable); compatibility with almost all training analysis software/sites; very good reception; long battery life compared to similar devices.. I'll probably upgrade to a Fenix when this one dies if not too much heavier/larger (it combined many of the outdoor line features into the triathlon line and added the ability to upload a basemap to the watch; also longer battery life).
For analyzing runs and rides after the fact, I use a combination of Garmin Connect (the other sites will not have the accelerometer data showing me whether my gait was F*d up in spots), Endomondo (a good breakdown of personal bests through the run and PR's over time for various distances, custom training plans), Strava (group stuff, tracking my progress on hill climbs), and Ridewithgps (mainly used for planning routes and exporting course file with turn cues, but they also have nice bar plots comparing the average grade versus speed - I like to check that on hill rides).
What would I recommend?.. Well, what are you training for, and what do you need from your device?
The databases for most of the other calorie counting software is woefully tiny in comparison which is why I settled with MFP a few years ago. UA came on after MFP was already highly used and already linked to other frequently used devices/sites. Does Under Armour even make a tracking device and/or wireless scale to be trying to sell one?1 -
I use a Garmin 920XT.. Had the features I wanted (detailed custom intervals for training; ability to upload courses with turn cues; compatibility with heart rate monitors (with a good accelerometer), cadence sensors, speed sensor, power meter, etc; good visibility with 4 visible fields per screen (fully customizable); compatibility with almost all training analysis software/sites; very good reception; long battery life compared to similar devices.. I'll probably upgrade to a Fenix when this one dies if not too much heavier/larger (it combined many of the outdoor line features into the triathlon line and added the ability to upload a basemap to the watch; also longer battery life).
For analyzing runs and rides after the fact, I use a combination of Garmin Connect (the other sites will not have the accelerometer data showing me whether my gait was F*d up in spots), Endomondo (a good breakdown of personal bests through the run and PR's over time for various distances, custom training plans), Strava (group stuff, tracking my progress on hill climbs), and Ridewithgps (mainly used for planning routes and exporting course file with turn cues, but they also have nice bar plots comparing the average grade versus speed - I like to check that on hill rides).
What would I recommend?.. Well, what are you training for, and what do you need from your device?
The databases for most of the other calorie counting software is woefully tiny in comparison which is why I settled with MFP a few years ago. UA came on after MFP was already highly used and already linked to other frequently used devices/sites. Does Under Armour even make a tracking device and/or wireless scale to be trying to sell one?
First off, holy smokes thats a lot of apps lol That is kind of what I was referring to when I said one app for all the info. It is time consuming to go through them all just to build a complete picture of your workout. I've download the Endomondo and STrava but I'm not much of an outdoor runner.
As for training, I dont really "train" I just workout for weight management and health. It is a godsend for my fibromyalgia.
And have you not been to the Shop on the MFP site? They have the UA Watch, the UA Scale (its on sale btw), UA Runbelt, UA HRM, various UA Headphones, and the UA Healthbox bundle.0 -
I use a Garmin 920XT.. Had the features I wanted (detailed custom intervals for training; ability to upload courses with turn cues; compatibility with heart rate monitors (with a good accelerometer), cadence sensors, speed sensor, power meter, etc; good visibility with 4 visible fields per screen (fully customizable); compatibility with almost all training analysis software/sites; very good reception; long battery life compared to similar devices.. I'll probably upgrade to a Fenix when this one dies if not too much heavier/larger (it combined many of the outdoor line features into the triathlon line and added the ability to upload a basemap to the watch; also longer battery life).
For analyzing runs and rides after the fact, I use a combination of Garmin Connect (the other sites will not have the accelerometer data showing me whether my gait was F*d up in spots), Endomondo (a good breakdown of personal bests through the run and PR's over time for various distances, custom training plans), Strava (group stuff, tracking my progress on hill climbs), and Ridewithgps (mainly used for planning routes and exporting course file with turn cues, but they also have nice bar plots comparing the average grade versus speed - I like to check that on hill rides).
What would I recommend?.. Well, what are you training for, and what do you need from your device?
The databases for most of the other calorie counting software is woefully tiny in comparison which is why I settled with MFP a few years ago. UA came on after MFP was already highly used and already linked to other frequently used devices/sites. Does Under Armour even make a tracking device and/or wireless scale to be trying to sell one?
If you haven't tried it, give the "Single Field" app a shot on your Garmin. It lets you show something like 6 fields on one screen. I love it since I can show HR, pace, cadence, cumulative time, time of day, and total distance all at the same time and never have to scroll. All of the fields can be customized to show any of the Garmin stats.1 -
I love my Garmin Vivoactive. Its lasted through a ton of rough stuff including being smashed into more pieces of metal than I can imagine any watch should.1
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Devices - 3 different garmin watches, 2 different garmin bands, and a couple of older fitbits. Oh, and a Suunto watch. I've used my phone as well.
Apps - Garmin Connect, TrainingPeaks, Strava, MapMyRun, RideWithGPS, and soon to be TrainerRoad
What I recommend depends on your goals and, to a lesser extent, your budget.
Syncing tips? Don't. MFP + syncing = headaches
The only motivation they give is the initial "Oh, cool... a new gadget" phase. But beyond that, they simply provide data that I use (or ignore) to help focus and evaluate my training.1 -
I use a Garmin 920XT.. Had the features I wanted (detailed custom intervals for training; ability to upload courses with turn cues; compatibility with heart rate monitors (with a good accelerometer), cadence sensors, speed sensor, power meter, etc; good visibility with 4 visible fields per screen (fully customizable); compatibility with almost all training analysis software/sites; very good reception; long battery life compared to similar devices.. I'll probably upgrade to a Fenix when this one dies if not too much heavier/larger (it combined many of the outdoor line features into the triathlon line and added the ability to upload a basemap to the watch; also longer battery life).
For analyzing runs and rides after the fact, I use a combination of Garmin Connect (the other sites will not have the accelerometer data showing me whether my gait was F*d up in spots), Endomondo (a good breakdown of personal bests through the run and PR's over time for various distances, custom training plans), Strava (group stuff, tracking my progress on hill climbs), and Ridewithgps (mainly used for planning routes and exporting course file with turn cues, but they also have nice bar plots comparing the average grade versus speed - I like to check that on hill rides).
What would I recommend?.. Well, what are you training for, and what do you need from your device?
The databases for most of the other calorie counting software is woefully tiny in comparison which is why I settled with MFP a few years ago. UA came on after MFP was already highly used and already linked to other frequently used devices/sites. Does Under Armour even make a tracking device and/or wireless scale to be trying to sell one?
If you haven't tried it, give the "Single Field" app a shot on your Garmin. It lets you show something like 6 fields on one screen. I love it since I can show HR, pace, cadence, cumulative time, time of day, and total distance all at the same time and never have to scroll. All of the fields can be customized to show any of the Garmin stats.
I've tried a few of those (and occasionally try different ones whenever I see them) - so far they either are a bit too small for me to read or are missing one of the fields I really like to have visible... I must have missed this one (or didn't realize it was customizable at the time). thanks.0 -
Yeah, Ive seen those. That's a pretty good way to keep yourself focused without only thinking about your general fitness. Garmin Connect is a solid app. Do you challenge yourself to beat your previous energy outputs? or do you use them more as a guide to maintain consistency?
About once a month I do a test to see how much energy I can put out for 20 minutes. It's a brutal workout. Most of the time it's actually the opposite, I mostly use the thing to stay below my threshold so I don't blow up early.
I'm 39, so I'm starting to have to pay more attention to the "costs" of exercising like how much recovery I'll need.0 -
I use a Fitbit One for 3+ years. It helps me stay accountable to keep moving.2
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I have in the past used a Polar HR monitor, but they were not like the smart watches of today. I did like the chest strap for the gym machines and being able to to steady HR or Interval HR on the cardio machines.
Last Christmas my wife bought me a Fitbit Blaze and I really liked it and the App that helped me document my foods so that I can see how much I am shoving into my face.
I upgraded to the Fitbit Ionic and so far I really like it. It seem to track other activities when I am doing yard work. I do not use the other apps as of yet. I do use the exercise programs when at the gym. I have come to get into a goal of burning 1000 calories every time I go to the gym.
So far it has all been positive for me and also they are just tools to help you meet your goals. Just like I use a scale to weigh my foods and going to the gym and doing resistance training and cardio. OH and back in August I was walking with family and had the Blaze on and I had a medical issue where I passed out. I could go back and see where my heart rate was about 120 BPM then dropped to like 60 BPM at the moment I passed out.
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Devices - 3 different garmin watches, 2 different garmin bands, and a couple of older fitbits. Oh, and a Suunto watch. I've used my phone as well.
Apps - Garmin Connect, TrainingPeaks, Strava, MapMyRun, RideWithGPS, and soon to be TrainerRoad
What I recommend depends on your goals and, to a lesser extent, your budget.
Syncing tips? Don't. MFP + syncing = headaches
The only motivation they give is the initial "Oh, cool... a new gadget" phase. But beyond that, they simply provide data that I use (or ignore) to help focus and evaluate my training.
Just saw a review on the best universal apps and IFTTT and an app called exist. I have heard of ifttt but not for fitness so that's interesting. You can grab all you data and dump it into excel. Here's the link for Exist though https://exist.io/ here's ifttt https://ifttt.com/0 -
I have in the past used a Polar HR monitor, but they were not like the smart watches of today. I did like the chest strap for the gym machines and being able to to steady HR or Interval HR on the cardio machines.
Last Christmas my wife bought me a Fitbit Blaze and I really liked it and the App that helped me document my foods so that I can see how much I am shoving into my face.
I upgraded to the Fitbit Ionic and so far I really like it. It seem to track other activities when I am doing yard work. I do not use the other apps as of yet. I do use the exercise programs when at the gym. I have come to get into a goal of burning 1000 calories every time I go to the gym.
So far it has all been positive for me and also they are just tools to help you meet your goals. Just like I use a scale to weigh my foods and going to the gym and doing resistance training and cardio. OH and back in August I was walking with family and had the Blaze on and I had a medical issue where I passed out. I could go back and see where my heart rate was about 120 BPM then dropped to like 60 BPM at the moment I passed out.
Task I just got my fitbit blaze and today's my first day using it, so far liking it. The band's are also much cheaper than the apple bands which is great. I'd definitely recommend it I just wish it was water proof so I could shower or swim with it on. The ionic looks nice though, if I had the extra money (I just invested my spare change into a cctv system lol) I'd have definitely gone for that. Read a comparison on the two and the only real difference is the ionics ability to use your phone GPS to track runs (as well as a esthetics).
Ps glad to hear you're alright and the blaze was there to help. Hopefully it was an isolated incident and you don't have to use your new watch to do the same. The devices are great for heart problems, sleep apnea etcetera. Lots of info to give your dr.1 -
I use a Fitbit One for 3+ years. It helps me stay accountable to keep moving.
Do you use it for steps or calorie counting? It sounds like a good durable device and happy to hear it helps motivate you to keep on track!NorthCascades wrote: »Yeah, Ive seen those. That's a pretty good way to keep yourself focused without only thinking about your general fitness. Garmin Connect is a solid app. Do you challenge yourself to beat your previous energy outputs? or do you use them more as a guide to maintain consistency?
About once a month I do a test to see how much energy I can put out for 20 minutes. It's a brutal workout. Most of the time it's actually the opposite, I mostly use the thing to stay below my threshold so I don't blow up early.
I'm 39, so I'm starting to have to pay more attention to the "costs" of exercising like how much recovery I'll need.
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NorthCascades wrote: »Yeah, Ive seen those. That's a pretty good way to keep yourself focused without only thinking about your general fitness. Garmin Connect is a solid app. Do you challenge yourself to beat your previous energy outputs? or do you use them more as a guide to maintain consistency?
About once a month I do a test to see how much energy I can put out for 20 minutes. It's a brutal workout. Most of the time it's actually the opposite, I mostly use the thing to stay below my threshold so I don't blow up early.
I'm 39, so I'm starting to have to pay more attention to the "costs" of exercising like how much recovery I'll need.
Ain't that the truth. When You hit thirty you start to realize you're not as invincible as you once thought. Recovery is longer, weight goes on quicker. Haha not fitness related but if I even have one beer I'll be feeling 2 or 3 days later much like my poor achey bones after the gym haha0 -
TravisJHunt wrote: »I love my Garmin Vivoactive. Its lasted through a ton of rough stuff including being smashed into more pieces of metal than I can imagine any watch should.
Which model vivoactive do you use? I'm just now realizing that the vivo I bought before the apple watch was the vivoactive not vivosmart. I felt it was pretty chincy feeling and a bit over complicated. Heard the the newer actives are much improved. And apparently Garmin also carries a vivosport and vivomove. Interesting. Either way glad you found a device that works for you.0 -
I've been using a Gear Live since they came out in July 2014, lol. I'd love to upgrade, but honestly this has what I need, so Içm sruck with it a bit longer, lol. But no, I haven't felt that it has demotivated me at all. I like making sure I'm getting pretty close to my daily walking goals, abd occasionally being able to check my heart rate has come in handy0
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I use a Fitbit One for 3+ years. It helps me stay accountable to keep moving.
Do you use it for steps or calorie counting? It sounds like a good durable device and happy to hear it helps motivate you to keep on track!NorthCascades wrote: »Yeah, Ive seen those. That's a pretty good way to keep yourself focused without only thinking about your general fitness. Garmin Connect is a solid app. Do you challenge yourself to beat your previous energy outputs? or do you use them more as a guide to maintain consistency?
About once a month I do a test to see how much energy I can put out for 20 minutes. It's a brutal workout. Most of the time it's actually the opposite, I mostly use the thing to stay below my threshold so I don't blow up early.
I'm 39, so I'm starting to have to pay more attention to the "costs" of exercising like how much recovery I'll need.
I use it for steps and floors. When I got it at age 59, I could barely walk 1/4 mile and going up the 3 steps to my porch was a challenge. I tell the truth.
Now a 10 mile hike is easy and going up a 2000 ft mountain 200+ floors is well within my capability.
I'm close to 10 million steps and 20,000 floors. Should be there by the end of the year!3 -
[quote=Read a comparison on the two and the only real difference is the ionics ability to use your phone GPS to track runs (as well as a esthetics).[/quote]
The Blaze uses your phone GPS to track runs, ionics has in built GPS. I traded the surge for the blaze because I have issues with the silicone bands causing allergic reactions but I miss the built in GPS. Cant really justify upgrading to a inoinc just yet since my blaze only about 6 months old. Plus I am a bit over the bulky look for everyday.
I've mainly used Fitbit, upgrading each time the next thing comes out, I am suprised you didnt get the fitbit aria scale over the witherings.
I like the tracker, I go through phases of being super keen but even when I am over it I still use the basic info in the app plus i use it as an alarm clock.0 -
After over 2 years, the 2 devices I still use
Vivoactive 1
Misfit Shine
I've replaced the band on the Vivoactive, and upgraded the band on the shine, but they're durable, consistent/accurate, and sync with MFP.
I had a Jawbone UP and UP3. Neither stood up to daily wear.
Apps. Loseit with my Healthometer scale.
MFP
Connect
Misfit app
Strava
C25K
Zombies Run
Strava allows me to track metrics better, although the Calorie estimates are obscene.
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Hi Dear,
Until now I have used the AppleWatch2 and Samsung Gear. I know, I know, those are not really fitness trackers, but I am quite new to this fitness Spiel, so you have to forgive me:) Since, as I already mentioned, those are not fitness trackers, I was not really impressed with that side of their functionality, so I purchased Fitbit Ionic and Aria scale from Fitbit. I use them with the Fitbit App and of course myfitnespal as well, since they are compatible.
Now a bit about my impressions. I really appreciate that the Fitbit Ionic has this extremely long battery life, which means that I am charging it 3x in 2 weeks only, so the rest of the time it is on my wrist and registering every move and every calorie burned. This is the first time I have an overview of what my body burns in order to see how much I should eat to lose weight.
I bought the Fitbit watch and scale 1st October and have been using them up to now. I have lost a few kilos since then and this is the first time that I feel inspired by the results I read from my devices, and have the patience to register my meals, since the overall picture is complete. It is a bit hard to explain and I believe that everyone of us has his own way of coping with his weight loss journey, but this one seems to work for me.
Let me know if you wish to know more from my experience.
Cheers!0 -
I use a polar H7 heart rate monitor (chest strap) with an HRV app to track my heart rate variability. It's great for determining the need for a recovery day.2
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I don't know why, but I swear by my Polar A300. I love chest strap HRM's because they seem to have more accurate burns than say the EVIL FITBIT or wrist based HRM's. When a watch gives you "steps" for clapping your hands, it's bullSH*T. If a watch doesn't register a heart rate over 70bpm on a Stairmaster at level 10, it's BullSh*t. It's reasoning for this? Because I wasn't walking/running/elliptical or moving my arms like you would on those other machines. I started not eating back my exercise calories this year but I still liked seeing a good calorie burn anyways which I didn't get with the fitbit. So, I love my Polar as it's also water proof (I swim and shower with it) and wear it as a watch. It's also durable as I run into things a lot. The fitbit broke twice within a year. The Polar app is free and the watch with the heart rate monitor is only about 90-100$ on amazon.
Oh and both watches have the sleep option to measure the amount of sleep you get a night so that's a handy option too.1 -
LOVE my fitbit charge 2.0
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I have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR and love it. It has a continuous HRM and calculates calories burned 24 hours per day and calculates performance metrics, counts steps and stairs ascended, has GPS, tracks sleep, has an altimeter, barometer, and temp sensor, is waterproof to 100m so you can track swims, integrates with your phone through Bluetooth, and a lot of other functions. It has a long battery life and the associated phone app is easy to use. It also has customizable watch faces and you can change watch bands so it can coordinate with pretty much anything you wear (at work, social events, etc.)1
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I use a Garmin 920XT.. Had the features I wanted (detailed custom intervals for training; ability to upload courses with turn cues; compatibility with heart rate monitors (with a good accelerometer), cadence sensors, speed sensor, power meter, etc; good visibility with 4 visible fields per screen (fully customizable); compatibility with almost all training analysis software/sites; very good reception; long battery life compared to similar devices.. I'll probably upgrade to a Fenix when this one dies if not too much heavier/larger (it combined many of the outdoor line features into the triathlon line and added the ability to upload a basemap to the watch; also longer battery life).
For analyzing runs and rides after the fact, I use a combination of Garmin Connect (the other sites will not have the accelerometer data showing me whether my gait was F*d up in spots), Endomondo (a good breakdown of personal bests through the run and PR's over time for various distances, custom training plans), Strava (group stuff, tracking my progress on hill climbs), and Ridewithgps (mainly used for planning routes and exporting course file with turn cues, but they also have nice bar plots comparing the average grade versus speed - I like to check that on hill rides).
What would I recommend?.. Well, what are you training for, and what do you need from your device?
The databases for most of the other calorie counting software is woefully tiny in comparison which is why I settled with MFP a few years ago. UA came on after MFP was already highly used and already linked to other frequently used devices/sites. Does Under Armour even make a tracking device and/or wireless scale to be trying to sell one?
First off, holy smokes thats a lot of apps lol That is kind of what I was referring to when I said one app for all the info. It is time consuming to go through them all just to build a complete picture of your workout. I've download the Endomondo and STrava but I'm not much of an outdoor runner.
As for training, I dont really "train" I just workout for weight management and health. It is a godsend for my fibromyalgia.
And have you not been to the Shop on the MFP site? They have the UA Watch, the UA Scale (its on sale btw), UA Runbelt, UA HRM, various UA Headphones, and the UA Healthbox bundle.
1. In that case, I wouldn't bother checking data on (any of) the training sites - especially Strava. Strava's best features are all GPS-based (group flyby's, progress on segments) - so not much to get out of it if working out indoors. (depending on what you do for your workout, I'm not sure I would actually bother using a tracking device at all.. A treadmill will tell you distance, calorie estimate; and if you only run outdoors occasionally and not aiming for specific times/paces/cadence/etc and don't need this info available on your wrist, there are free phone apps that will track for you). If you are mainly looking for an electronic step tracker, than I'm not much help there.
2. Nope. Never bothered browsing their site for accessories. I do love their sports bras and baselayer tops in the heat gear line though.0 -
need2belean wrote: »I don't know why, but I swear by my Polar A300. I love chest strap HRM's because they seem to have more accurate burns ...
So how many heart beats are there in a calorie anyway?0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »need2belean wrote: »I don't know why, but I swear by my Polar A300. I love chest strap HRM's because they seem to have more accurate burns ...
So how many heart beats are there in a calorie anyway?
HR is just one of several variables used to calculate calories burned.0
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