Do I NEED a fitbit?

grggmrtn

It's a toy. I'm a dude. I like toys.

My fitness basically consists of running 5-6 days per week, that's how I've lost my over 35 kg. I'm just getting into weight training now, and have added about 20 km daily bike rides to the mix (to/from work)

My runs have been frustrating, because even though I have a BT HRM that connects to my iPhone, most apps are GPS based, which makes my treadmill runs pretty hard to track. I have a treadmill at home, but I can't trust the numbers - a 30 minute run @ 10 kph SHOULD be 5 km, but on my treadmill, it's not. The electronic components are screwed.

I thought of a footpod, but I'm a barefoot runner, so something that would attach to my SHOE is just silly. I thought of pedometer apps on the iPhone, but that would mean having three apps open and running to track my run (endomondo for calculating pulse/calories, lolo Beatburn for pyramid running plans that sets the beat of my music to my speed, and then the pedometer for distance), and that would KILL my battery before I'm finished running.

So... fitbit? I hear it's pretty good at tracking activity during the day, I can calibrate it to match my stride and that way calculate my distance a bit more accurately even on the treadmill...

AND it gives me a bunch of numbers to play with, which would satisfy my need for a new toy.

BUT - I don't need to know that I don't sleep that well - I work too much and go to bed too late, which I don't need an app to tell me. And I'm not sure how good the fitbit would be in tracking my weight training?

Is it a toy that I don't NEED, or could it really be useful for me?

mockchoc

You can't use it for weight training. It's made for walking and I've heard it's not as great for running as it is for walking but not sure how correct that is. I have one I don't use now but I did like it for my brisk walks.