Fitness watch for counting swimming lengths/laps

Lisa_H_1302
Lisa_H_1302 Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello

Really hoping someone can help me,.I. going round and round looking at fitness watches.

I want one to count my lengths when I swim, but nothing fancy,.I have a polar watch which does everything else I need out of the pool but have signed up for race at your pace next month so want to be able to track my distance accurately

Has anyone got one? I don't want to spend a fortune but can't seem to find any details about swimming other than whether or not they are waterproof which isn't helpful.

Thanks

Replies

  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Nope. But I learned some time ago that I can lose track if I count laps using numbers because my mind wanders.

    So I switched to an alphabet approach. I can remember what letter I'm on much easier than the number because when my mind wanders it tends to stick on words related to the letter. So an "A" lap might include "appreciation" "abundance" "artistic" "attention", etc.
  • pahapillon
    pahapillon Posts: 2 Member
    I got a refurbished Garmin vivoactive that does the job.
  • Littlemizzmochrie
    Littlemizzmochrie Posts: 5 Member
    I have an Apple Watch 5 and its great in the pool. Counts your lengths and times and splits. I used to have the 3 which was also fine but the 5 has a heart rate monitor
  • _nikkiwolf_
    _nikkiwolf_ Posts: 1,380 Member
    I have the TomTom Adventure watch. In principle it works for swimming too - but it doesn't do the job very well.
    It relies on recognizing the turn movement to count a lap, not GPS. For some reason that works okay in 25m pools, but not so well in 50m pools. I only used it a couple of times for swimming, but from what I remember, it only counted about 80% of the laps.

    If you are happy to count the laps yourself, on the plus side it's waterproof and can record your time. Not the heart rate while in the water - but i think none of the optical HR measurements work properly underwater.

    My the TomTom Adventure is a great watch for running/hiking/cycling/skiing/..., but not so great for swimming. So I wouldn't recommend you buy it for that - just throwing it out here as my experience, in case you come across that watch in your research and are considering it.
  • tracybear86
    tracybear86 Posts: 163 Member
    I have this one.
    Upside is it is inexpensive vs other trackers, has great swim metrics and seems pretty accurate. Downside is it doesn't have a display so you have to count your laps in your head still. It's interesting to see once you sync the data how close you were! 😉
    I tend to count in groups. So if I'm swimming 36 laps I count 3 sets of 12.

    https://www.amazon.com/Fitness-Tracker-Audio-Coach-Moov/dp/B01CX26I4Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=moov&qid=1622595965&sr=8-2
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    Garmin has a number of devices that will track laps very well. I'd imagine shopping for either a refurbed device or an older model garmin would give you a device that captures all the data you need at a modest price point.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    Djproulx wrote: »
    Garmin has a number of devices that will track laps very well. I'd imagine shopping for either a refurbed device or an older model garmin would give you a device that captures all the data you need at a modest price point.

    ^This, probably
    I have never needed to count, but I'm curious enough that I always try to keep track. Without something counting for me, I too, break down my 15 laps into groups of 5. By the end of my swim, I have 3 sets of 15s. But getting a refurbished older model might just do the trick for you!
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    Here's an example of the features in an older model refurbished Garmin 310XT on sale for about $65.00:

    GPS-Enabled Multi-Sport Watch
    Tracks Time, Distance, Pace & Heart Rate on Land
    Times your swim & estimates distance & average speed
    Create Custom, Goal-oriented Workouts
    Heart Rate-based Calorie Computation
    Customizable Screen(s)
    Battery Life: Up to 20 Hours per Charge
    Manufacturer Refurbished

    This watch was a favorite among multisport athletes and many are still in use today.
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
    I appreciate this post because I’ve been looking, too.
    rosebarnalice wrote: »
    Nope. But I learned some time ago that I can lose track if I count laps using numbers because my mind wanders.

    So I switched to an alphabet approach. I can remember what letter I'm on much easier than the number because when my mind wanders it tends to stick on words related to the letter. So an "A" lap might include "appreciation" "abundance" "artistic" "attention", etc.

    Love this!
    I go low-tech, too. A pile of pennies at the end of my lane. I’ll move one for each lap or 100-yards or whatever it is that day. Doesn’t track my HR, but I spot check that, and know from over the years how hard I’m pushing myself.
  • BrightEyedAgain
    BrightEyedAgain Posts: 259 Member
    What a happy thing! Made my day to read that. Good for you!

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