Fitness watches?

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saramichelle89
saramichelle89 Posts: 65 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have heard of the polar watch and the fitbit for tracking calories burned, heart rate, sleeping activity.. Do you guys recommend buying one of these watches? The are quite expensive so I wanted to get some opinions. :-D

Replies

  • raclz
    raclz Posts: 1 Member
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    I have the Vivofit from garmin and love it.
  • stewartlayzell
    stewartlayzell Posts: 36 Member
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    I had the orignal Fitbit but about 2 months ago I upgraded to the Fitbit surge and it was the best decision ever. It monitors steps, HR, miles calories and then has the function to track excerises like running and cycling.

    The watch is easy to use and set up with the smartphone for text and call notifications.

    It's a lovely bit of kit would recommend this to anyone.
  • accidentalpancake
    accidentalpancake Posts: 484 Member
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    If you have an Android phone, the Moto 360 does everything a Fitbit does and more.
  • saramichelle89
    saramichelle89 Posts: 65 Member
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    accidentalpancake wrote: »
    If you have an Android phone, the Moto 360 does everything a Fitbit does and more.

    I have an iPhone, sadly. lol
  • accidentalpancake
    accidentalpancake Posts: 484 Member
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    saramichelle89 wrote: »
    accidentalpancake wrote: »
    If you have an Android phone, the Moto 360 does everything a Fitbit does and more.

    I have an iPhone, sadly. lol

    My condolences. ;)
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    What activities do you do? What data points do you want to track?
  • ScubaSteve1962
    ScubaSteve1962 Posts: 609 Member
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    If it's steps you want to track, I-phone has an app for that if you don't mind carrying it every where. if it's heart rate, a polar h7 sensor will link with your I-phone through the polar beats app. you can find them on amazon for less than $50, With polar you can always add one of their activity trackers later
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
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    Totally depends on what you want it for. Personally I don't see the appeal of the Fitbit, because I don't care how many steps I take in a day or what my sleep patterns are. I have always used a Garmin with GPS to track my cardio such as running and cycling, but again it depends on what you do and what you want to track. Some are multi-sport, some are only for running. Some have chest strap heart rate monitors, etc. There are a lot of different gadgets out there but I suggest you decide what your intention is before you spend the money.

  • XavierNusum
    XavierNusum Posts: 720 Member
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    If you have an iPhone, look to Polar. With the separate HRM it measures HR way more accurately and most models are waterproof.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    saramichelle89 wrote: »
    Do you guys recommend buying one of these watches?

    What do you want to gain from the information, and what type of training do you do?
  • saramichelle89
    saramichelle89 Posts: 65 Member
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    I am interested in calories burned and HR specifics. I do cardio and weight training. Things like swimming, running, tennis..
  • ScubaSteve1962
    ScubaSteve1962 Posts: 609 Member
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    If you want to track your heart rate while while swimming, The polar A300 will do that.
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
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    I've had my Vivosmart for about a week and I love it so far. I bought my BF the Fitbit HR because he didn't want a chest strap. I still wanted that feature. I didn't think either was that expensive. I've always been a gadget person and I like the feedback I am getting from it and that it syncs with my Android and MFP unlike my Polar Loop did.
  • cazbit
    cazbit Posts: 122 Member
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    I have a garmin vivosmart. LOVE it!!!!
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    saramichelle89 wrote: »
    I am interested in calories burned and HR specifics. I do cardio and weight training. Things like swimming, running, tennis..

    All of the devices mentioned aren't 100% accurate for calories burned. They are only ballpark numbers, so take them with a grain of salt.

    Also, none of the devices are to be used for weight lifting. They just aren't accurate for that activity. They should only be used during steady state cardio.

    I have a FitBit, a Polar heart rate monitor, and a GPS watch.

    I use the FitBit for what it is: a glorified pedometer. Recently, my FitBit died, so I've been using my iPhone for the steps. As for the sleep tracking, it leaves a lot to be desired. If you're asleep but restless (like during a vivid dream), it will say you were awake. If you're awake, but laying there quite still, it will say you were sleeping restfully.

    I use the heart rate monitor watch for heart rate zone training.

    And I use the GPS watch for actual distance (since my FitBit often over or underestimates distance depending on how fast I'm running) and maps with splits and elevation change.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    saramichelle89 wrote: »
    I am interested in calories burned and HR specifics. I do cardio and weight training. Things like swimming, running, tennis..

    For swimming and running I'd veer towards a GPS watch, although for reliability in swimming you're right at the top end of the consumer market. Distance and mass are a much better indicator of calories expended than HR. For something like tennis then nothing is going to reliably give you an estimate of calories expended. Note that very few devices can reliably track HR in water, some of the polar devices but that's about it. Most of the better sports performance devices use a wireless protocol that doesn't penetrate water.

    For routine use an activity tracker might be of interest. I have one, but I'm not entirely convinced of the usefulness. If anything it's told me that I'm somewhat more active than I thought I was.

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