Activity Trackers

[Cruiser Elite]

Cruiserette and myself recently purchased Activity Trackers - Fitbit Charge to be precise - and have started wearing / playing with them. TBH we did ZERO research re Activity Trackers prior to purchase - whilst we had discussed them on numerous occasions it was still an impulse purchase.

After wearing for only a week or so I already have serious questions. The Fitbit allegedly measures 'Steps' - but indeed I can stand stationery and move my arm in circles for 10 seconds and add 20 Steps

Now I know many other AFFers would also be using / intending to use Activity Trackers - what are you using? What are your experiences? What advice can you give us newbies please?

Note: I was thinking of posting this yesterday and decision was easy this morning after seeing Red Roo's thread re Qantas Assure.

 

[TonyHancock]

I use the Fitbit Charge HR and as you have discovered it is far from perfect. What it does do is provide the motivation for me to do more. I park my car the furthest point away in the car park from the shops I am heading too. I make a point of walking at lunchtime etc etc. I use the Fitbit app on my iPhone to track walks with the dog.

The HR has the Heart Rate monitor which is not too bad and seems to line up with the pulse monitor on gym equipment. It is a reasonable means of keeping an eye on resting heart rate...although again by no means perfect.

I think Fitbit also sell a tracker with built in GPS which would provide a more accurate means of monitoring distance covered as well as steps....but then you can do this with your smartphone too.

I'm pretty happy with my Fitbit HR I am walking much more than I did, although I cycle an average of 20km's per day, and feeling better for it.

Without it I don't think I would be so proactive so would say its biggest benefit is as a motivator. We have four or five people in the business who now take lunchtime walks and all wear a tracker - predominantly Fitbits of some kind.

 

[chelzmalee]

I use my iPhone to be honest! I love the Track My Ride app for bike riding, and if you carry your phone on you all the time it tracks your steps via the Health app. Not ideal but it gives me a good idea of how active I've been.

 

[clazman]

We had a work challenge, where we had to virtually walk from Perth to Port Hedland. One of the guys in my team struggled to walk more than 4K of steps a day which blew me away, on investigation he walked so softly it didn't register all of his steps. Moved him to a fit bit and he was doing 15K a day

 

[whatmeworry]

10k steps ≈ 8km.

 

[PLANT]

Well after much research the best device is a piece of string around wrist. Every time you look at it... MOVE!

 

[PLANT]

I used runstatic on android phone.... 43km walk from downtown San Fran across bridge and back....... Absolutely stuffed after that one.

 

[Anna]

I use the tracker on the iPhone. I average 4km a day - and that's only when I'm carrying my phone, so basically when I'm not at home, in my office or working out at the gym.

Wish it had existed when I walked from downtown San Fran across the bridge and on to Sausalito 20 years ago Or that I had it when I walked around Versailles for so long last year that my toes started to bleed :shock:

 

[sinophile888]

I have a Mio Alpha which is pretty accurate for heart rate. However, it only shows time or heart rate, not both. And it is very ugly and clunky. I wanted one which shows time and heart rate on the one screen. I also want one that measures steps or kms, which I only want to access every evening.

I found a new Garmin Forerunner 235 on Saturday; they had only come in on Friday. I seems to do the trick but has so many other capabilities, I am having trouble working my way through all the options. Much more attractive than the Mio. I does have the Mio HR technology.

Happy so far!

 

[GarrettM]

What it does do is provide the motivation for me to do more.

I'm pretty happy with my Fitbit HR I am walking much more than I did, although I cycle an average of 20km's per day, and feeling better for it.

Without it I don't think I would be so proactive so would say its biggest benefit is as a motivator. We have four or five people in the business who now take lunchtime walks and all wear a tracker - predominantly Fitbits of some kind.

I reckon that's mostly the point of them. I have a Fitbit Flex which definitely increased my motivation to get more active. Mind you I have not worn it for a few months now.
It also doesn't record SO accurately. I managed to reach my 10k step target one day while sitting in a boat casting and retreiving a fishing rod. The winding of the handle apparently counted as a "step". Not sure how this new deal would accommodate that.
I like the idea of the Charge HR but until it becomes waterproof (as much as the Flex in any case) it's not much use to me.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

I saw an ad for Jawbone when I was reading a magazine in the QF lounge in Sydney. I liked it because it actually looked like a bracelet. And it comes in 6 colours. The trouble is I don't have a smart phone so it can talk to it ! Where did I put that old pedometer ?




https://jawbone.com/fitness-tracker/up3

 

[Timtammi]

Mrs.Dr.Ron check out Tory Burch for fitbit jewellery, I have one of these bracelets for my fitbit and I love it

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Mrs.Dr.Ron check out Tory Burch for fitbit jewellery, I have one of these bracelets for my fitbit and I love it

OMG = my DIL would love one of those !

 

[robd]

I have a Mio Alpha which is pretty accurate for heart rate. However, it only shows time or heart rate, not both. And it is very ugly and clunky. I wanted one which shows time and heart rate on the one screen. I also want one that measures steps or kms, which I only want to access every evening.

I found a new Garmin Forerunner 235 on Saturday; they had only come in on Friday. I seems to do the trick but has so many other capabilities, I am having trouble working my way through all the options. Much more attractive than the Mio. I does have the Mio HR technology.

Happy so far!

I had the Mio Alpha and now I have the Mio Fuse. Accurate, water resistant, tracks steps, calories, distance & heart rate. It automatically syncs to my iPhone using the Mio Go app. Oh, and it tells the time too.

Jnr has the Fitbit and it's no where near as good as my Mio Fuse, in my opinion.

 

[samh004]

I really like my Apple Watch, does a great job of measuring my exercise and heart rate as I go, and then syncs it all back to my iPhone where I can see it all nicely presented.

 

[JohnM]

I really like my Apple Watch, does a great job of measuring my exercise and heart rate as I go, and then syncs it all back to my iPhone where I can see it all nicely presented.

Apple Watch?:shock: Sam, what happened to your update to Pebble Time . It has plenty of exercise apps - and at least I can go a week, not a day, without charging...

 

[Cruiser Elite]

NFI if these are any good but at the price it would be worth the punt IMHO - Fortis TrackFit Pro. Looks like it basically does the same as the FitBit Charge @ ~$140

 

[Timtammi]

The Tory Burch bracelet for Fitbit I have is this one:

Its a bit more understated, and adjustable as well.

 

[sinophile888]

After returning to the shop from which I purchased the device and ringing the Garmin helpline, it appears that the Forerunner 235 does not allow me to see heart rate and time simultaneously for more than 25 minutes. It has a power save setting which cannot be disabled. Also, the battery in the unit I had only lasted a few hours when I flicked back to the screen i wanted. I took the Garmin back yesterday and received a refund.

So back to the Mio Alpha!

Any suggestions?

I have a Mio Alpha which is pretty accurate for heart rate. However, it only shows time or heart rate, not both. And it is very ugly and clunky. I wanted one which shows time and heart rate on the one screen. I also want one that measures steps or kms, which I only want to access every evening.

I found a new Garmin Forerunner 235 on Saturday; they had only come in on Friday. I seems to do the trick but has so many other capabilities, I am having trouble working my way through all the options. Much more attractive than the Mio. I does have the Mio HR technology.

Happy so far!

 

[Andyc]

For those on Android, Google have recently updated their Google Fit app.
The update is a HUGE improvement on the previous version and it now does a pretty good job of tracking activity throughout the day. Then, when you run (or a heap of other activities) you can get it to monitor even closer and it does GPS, altitude etc.

It isn't a perfect solution but it's good for those starting out with Fitness tracking or who don't want to wear a watch/band/clip.