Got an Apple Watch and Fitbit this Christmas, but decided to take the Fitbit back since I'm an iPhone user. I was glad I got one of these devices because I wanted to just track all of my activity related physical measurements, just to use as a measuring stick to see where I could improve or focus as I keep myself active.
But I've really taken a real liking and generated a new respect for this whole world I didn't expect to have before. I like having something like this that keeps me honest about how active I am on a daily basis, with the ability to set targets for myself and goals to reach. It's becoming something I feel is a new faith for me.
As far as the practicality of it, I wonder if my Apple Watch is as precise as I would like it to be and if I should hold the numbers true. I mostly am just tracking change right now. But I've heard Fitbit might be better due to better sensor technology. I'm also using an AWS3, which may also have an older chip and sensors in it.
What's your favorite activity tracker?
Whoop. By far the best activity tracker and data device.
What makes you say it's the best "by far"?
I have an Apple Watch and I like it, but I don't really care about the activity tracker. I go to the gym in the morning and try to move around during the day.
What I do like about the Apple Watch is:
I don't miss calls. My phone stays on silent because both ringing and vibrate are fucking annoying, but it's easy to miss calls as a result. Now, my wrist buzzes gently. This is probably my favorite feature.
It's cheap. I beat the shit out of watches for some reason and would feel pretty sad wearing a Rolex or Omega every day and scratching it to hell. $300 is a much more relaxed price point than $6,000.
It plays music. I used to love those little iPod shuffles for the gym, but now I can keep my playlist on my watch and listen with my airpods while working out.
What I don't like about it are the lack of purpose for most apps. Phones are just not that inconvenient. I don't ever check my bank account or my credit cards with my watch, or see my boarding pass for flights with my watch, or use a calculator on my watch, etc. If I need to do any of these, I just pull my phone out.
if you're counting steps (dumb) or mileage for running/biking/swimming, apple watch/fitbit are your best. if you're doing HIIT, general weight training, rowing, or something cardio related and you care about calories burned/effort output, everything will fall short unless it's a chest strap based tracker.
all of the wrist based trackers are fine for resting heart rate, but the moment you get to 50% of your max, they are wildly inaccurate. I bought the latest greatest fitbit thinking I could get around this, went to the gym, compared it with my finger on my carotid and with my chest strap, and as an example when my actual rate was 160bpm, the fitbit would say 110-120. in other words, garbage in garbage out. I'm not a scientist but someone told me that the wrist based trackers use light or something to watch the pulse on your wrist which is why they're inaccurate.
there are alternatives, however. my preference is myzone. I found it through the gyms my family owns and this was further cemented by joe rogan's first sober october challenge (And now tim kennedy, UFC retiree and green beret, he uses one) which used myzone. in terms of how it pairs with the apple infrastructure, very easily pairs with your phone, its data goes into your active time, number of workouts, and so on within the Health app but I'm unsure about pairing with apple watch (I don't have one).
the way I'd think about it is this:
pick a chest strap if what you care about is your workout results - effort expended (all of them have a "point" system that's basically time spent between 70-90% of max heart rate), calories burned, etc.
stick with a wrist strap if all you care about is the quantity of activity - miles travelled, steps taken, number of active minutes, etc. this includes whoop, it's equally shitty at reading heart rate
some of these below articles go through the pros and cons of each, but you can tell where my bias is. I can work out for an hour and just be smoking p-funks on a treadmill for an hour or I can lift weights, do some kickboxing, and do a rogue assault bike for 10 min and it's still an hourlong workout, but with very different results and effort expended. in my opinion, it's not time, it's effort, and so you need an accurate heart rate monitor, so you need a chest strap.
finally, myzone has a social aspect to it as well so you can get into competitions with your friends about who works out the most/hardest
https://www.reddit.com/r/whoop/comments/dgj466/having_a_huge_variance_i…
https://www.ptdistinction.com/blog/review-myzone-vs-fitbit
interesting that you're talking about using chest straps. David Goggins also uses chest straps for his work outs to get an accurate assessment of his cardiovascular activity and sets his training routines based on his resting heart rate for the day.
what's the average distanced tracked by your fitness device when you jack off?
That's not how either of those things work.
oh... last time, my fitbit tracked a whole 25 steps before i finished. a personal record.
Buyer Beware: The Oura ring has atrocious customer service from uppity Swedes who still can't believe Ben Greenfield mentioned them twice. I sent mine back after a 3-month back and forth and they made me pay return shipping for their defective fucking underdeveloped oversold finger bagel.
Oura is on my shit list. So are Lowe's and HSBC. Fuck Lowe's.
hmm heard good things about Oura ring from many people. Peter Attia, Aubrey Marcus use and endorse it with no sponsorship. I've been interested in one for a while but never pulled the trigger. Honestly, knowing how shitty I sleep would probably just give me even more anxiety about sleeping haha. For the best...
Best running watch is the garmin forerunner
If your workouts consist or running or triathlon training, the Garmin Forerunner 935 (go 945 if you want to spend extra dime for music) is lightyears ahead of every other brand. Mobile app presents loads of data in layman's terms, has built-in HR monitor, tracks everything from running/swimming to golfing/skiing and more, monitors sleep, etc.. Also looks great. Really could not recommend this watch more. Beware, this product may cause MDs to ask about your Z2 HR and FTP.
I've had and used the Garmin Forerunner for about 4-5 years now and swear by it. It's great for activity tracking and i mainly use it as a heart rate monitor when I bike. I have other garmin computers on my bike that it syncs with.
What i will say it's not good at - It doubles as a smart watch. I never used it in that capacity so i am sure there are a lot of better smart watches out there. Garmins also tend to have some trouble syncing after 6months to a year. I don't know if thats just me, but sometimes this can be frustrating. It usually sorts it self out though, but feels like it has a mind of its own sometimes.
anyway, works for me and what i do.
I have a fitbit - personally think fitbits targets users that prioritize tracking and monitoring health activity and sleep, while apple watch targets users that prioritiz multitasking productivity (calling features, messages, etc). Fitbit takes less time to charge than the apple watch and can store information up for several days before a sync. Fitbit recently added blood oxygen tracking for breathing changes during sleep which is pretty neat. Can't go wrong with either one.
Agreed that Garmin forerunner is best for running.
I like Apple Watch for running. I’m not sure how accurate it is in terms of tracking heart rate as some others have mentioned, but it gets the job done and I love its cross functionality with iPhone notifications. I also love Strava for tracking runs. It has a social media aspect to it so it’s also really cool and motivating to see the workouts that your friends have been putting on.
Apple Watch vs. Fitbit debate, it's a common dilemma. Both are solid choices. Apple Watch is sleek and integrates well with iPhones, but Fitbit does have a reputation for precise tracking thanks to its sensors.
Yeah ok but in the Apple Watch vs Fitbit debate, the winner is Garmin.
What features does the Garmin watch have that the others dont?
Hinge. No doubt
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