Fitbit....should I get one? I already have a hrm ??

brinsy

I never heard of fitbit till I read about it on here. I have a polar hrm should I get a fitbit or is there any point? I didn't think I'd love my hrm as much as I do so handy. Would it even be worth it or pointless getting a fitbit now.

albdusty

It's a great product. I don't own one but the reviews made by different tech sites are very positive about the product.
Here's a test with 8 trackers including fitbit: http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/6/4594158/fitness-tracker-quantified-self-workout

The only problem with fitbit is the availability. I tried to get one in Romania, and although i could order it from Amazon the ios app was not available in the Romanian store, although its free. After i contacted them about it they kept recommending me to use the web app and i told them that's not a solution, considering that I'm paying money for a product that includes the app. In a few days they removed all the apps that were using the fitbit API from the app store. So that says a lot about the company.

Its a great product if you can get it. I'm going for Jawbone up because i can get that the proper way.

brinsy

Never heard of jawbone? So much out there. Never even thought about looking into if I could get the full benefits a of it here

Absonthebrain

I have a polar ft7 so I would NOT get a fitbit. I believe its a similar device that tracks pretty much the same thing. I say save your money.

ze_hombre

I prefer my HRM for exercise tracking. My Fitbit is more of an ancillary measurement to give me an idea of the rest of the day's state. I would not recommend it over a HRM, but I do like having it. Bear in mind that all the gadgets like the Fitbit, Jawbone, and Nike Fuelband are just really fancy pedometers, they just track steps, nothing more.

brinsy

I do love my hrm too. Just thought fitbit would be an added bonus to it maybe. Maybe ill just hold into my money lol

angieroo2

I have both a Fitbit and an HRM. I use the Fitbit to measure my walking activity when I'm not at the gym. At those times, I don't wear my HRM but always have my Zip attached.

So yes you can use both. It's up to you if you want to have two types of trackers.

husseycd

Fitbits and other trackers like them are good because the bulk of a person's calories are burned during normal daily activities, not workouts. For example, I was sick one day and completely sedentary and only burned about 1800 calories. Even before exercise on a more active day, I'll burn closer to 2100. Your non-exercise activity probably makes the biggest difference in weight loss and maintenance, IMO.

Absonthebrain

You can download an app to track your steps for free. I use cardio trainer-I am an android user.

Amitysk

I have both. I wear my fitbit one all the time (it even tracks my sleep efficiency!), and I'll wear my hrm for other exercise like elliptical, circuit training etc. Fitbit doesn't track those types of activity as accurately.

rainydays5

If you are truly interested in knowing how many steps you take in a day, I say go for it and get it. I bought a polar HRM and absolutely love it. Shortly after my mother in law got a new fitbit and gave me her other one. I wore it for a while but I find that I completely forget about it and do not really use it much. I really do not need to know how many steps I take in a day as long as I am getting my exercise in and not sitting on my butt all day. Personally, I would hang to the money.

mdhummel

To me the Fitbit seemed like a glorified pedometer. If you do decide to get one go with the bracelet. I got first model a few years ago that clips to your pants/bra. I threw my sports bra in the wash forgetting that the Fitbit was present. I was able to revive it the first time I washed it by accident, but the second time the Fitbit was completely dead.

I think you are better off with the Heart Rate Moniter.

LyndaMRou

I love my fitbit! I have a HRM that I use when I go to the gym to get an accurate measurement of my actual workout and I wear my fitbit too. I then enter my HRM burn into MyFitnessPal which asks the time I started my exercise. Then the fitbit that is connected too, adjusts for the HRM burn, but still gives me an accurate count of all the steps I took at the gym (I use the elliptical and treadmill) and I can track all the rest of the day's walking.

I love that it encourages me, I like the badges on the site, I love when it tells me that I "nailed it" when I get my 10,000 steps and calls me an overachiever when I go over. I have a few friends with it too, so there's a bit of friendly competition too. It's really encouraged me to walk more, take the stairs more (it counts staircases too) and I can even track my sleep with my fitbit one. Together with my HRM, I get a really complete picture of my activity over the day and that helps me move more.

AbbeyDove

I have a Fitbit zip. I really wish I'd saved up and gotten a HRM instead! The Fitbit is just a pedometer. I often forget to put it on. However, if you like the 'badges' element, or if you have friends who have one that you can taunt, it might be worth it.

Briko3

It's really good at measuring the calories you burn in a day. With a HRM, you see how many you burn for a specific time of exercise, but with a fitbit, you can see how the rest of your day went. It also syncs up with MFP and can adjust your calories for you on here.

Mia_RagazzaTosta

You're talking apples and oranges.

A HRM is for measuring workout burns, not daily activity burn. A Fitbit measures your daily activity as a whole; not just your workouts. Many people have and use both because they do different things but work well together.

Insathius

I have both, a garmin forerunner 10 and a fitbit flex - the garmin logs specific workouts such as running, cycling etc however the fitbit logs everything.

Once you log a workout on MFP it automatically adjusts what you've recorded on the garmin, so essentially the fitbit gives me a great idea of how active I've been generally.

I've owned a nike fuelband as well as a jawbone, out of all 3 I would say fitbit is by far the best equilibrium of skills.

johnrossmckay

I got a flex. It connects to myfitnesspal and will make positive & negative corrections to your calories burned, track your steps and sleep. For me it is motivating but everyone is different.

I like that if I plan my day, that it nulls out my exercise until I actually do it. It also sends you encouraging emails about your daily steps etc.

Don't wear it if you are a guitar player because it records the strumming as steps.

toutmonpossible

The HRM is for tracking your heart's response to cardio exercise. The Fitbit is a general fitness tool that is worn 24/7. I enjoyed mine until I lost it, but it is less essential for a committed, knowledgeable exerciser.

codycsweet

I purchased a Fitbit in June, and shortly thereafter a HRM I love them both. My hrm is for workouts, I use my Fitbit for my activity throughout the day. It's a personal choice, but for me it was the best choice ever, I went from 2-3k steps to averaging over 10k a day. I love competing with others on the weekly step count. Yes it is a fancy pedometer I don't care it has opened my eyes to how much/little I move around. I have the Zip and lost it while running errands, I contacted customer service and they sent me a replacement. Great customer service!

KAS0917

I have both a Fitbit and an HRM. I use the Fitbit to measure my walking activity when I'm not at the gym. At those times, I don't wear my HRM but always have my Zip attached.

So yes you can use both. It's up to you if you want to have two types of trackers.

I do the same. I use my HRM to be more exact with my calorie burn when doing specific cardio. But what I used to find was that I was too sedentary most of the day, so even with specific cardio, I wasn't burning as many calories in a 24 hour period that I thought I was. So now I use my FitBit to motivate myself to get up and move more than JUST during exercise. I just have the cheapest Zip version since I don't care about sleep / stair tracking, and I didn't want a tan line from the wrist one.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that my other favorite feature is the calorie adjustment with MFP. Love (well, I mean, not REALLY) that it takes calories away from me if I'm being lazy! I aim to never have a negative calorie adjustment, other than maybe on a rest day.