What wearable do you use to track your health/fitness/workouts?

Spleen Sauce

Spleen Sauce

Spleen Sauce

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I'm curious to know what everyone is using (or not as the case may be) to track health and wellbeing along with your fitness and workouts.
  1. What wearable do you use? (Brand/model)
  2. What do you use it for? (workouts, health monitoring, sleep tracking, nav when hiking, etc)
  3. What do you like about it?
  4. What do you dislike or would change about it?
  5. Do you think it makes a tangible difference to your health and fitness?
 
I'll go first...

1. Garmin Fenix 6 Pro/Sapphire
2. Pretty much wear it 24/7 except for showering/very occasional charging. Track daily health, all workouts (mainly tennis and the Wattbike), sleep tracking and I have used it when hiking to keep me on track.
3. The battery life. Durability/ruggedness. No subscription needed for any of the features. I really like the body battery and the training status functionality, helps me plan my workout sessions and how hard I push. Also really like that it pairs with my Wattbike and Concept2 Rower and pulls metrics like power and cadence. I really like the amount of data I get from wearing and using the watch, and that I can use both the mobile app and the web apps to view and analyse that data. I also like the fact that Garmin appear to support and release new features for their devices for a good amount of time.
4. The optical heart rate sensor is Garmin's 'last gen' sensor, and it shows. Its decent enough but for anything really 'dynamic' you need to use a chest strap. GPS accuracy is solid but convinced its not quite as good in very built up areas as my Apple Watch Series 4 that I had previously. It's a fairly chunky device, but then you are getting a lot in that shell.
5. Yes I think so. I've a tendency to either undertrain or completely overtrain and burn out, so this has definitely helped me maintain a better balance.
 
Garmin probably has the best eco system (Fenix 5S user myself and its been bombproof across multiple triathlons XC runs MTB etc) solid bit of kit. Tempted for the Fenix 6 Solar for my next watch.

Only other serious option is Polar but they lag behind somewhat in terms of functionality and Wahoo are making good advances but not quite at the level of polar/Garmin.

Apple/Google/Fitbit/Samsung are just playing in the wind at it.

Go with Garmin.
 
1. Fenix 6X Pro here
2. As above, i wear it daily, track resting HR, track runs/rides/paddleboarding trips. I have the chest strap and so also use it mounted on the bike as a cycle computer. Navigation on runs is great too. Also have spotify playlists downloaded to it for music.
3. Amount of data it can record and display. The fact is can send tracking data to my wife while i'm up in the hills on my own is a good safety feature too (when it works)
4. Not much really, the battery connector can sometimes be a bit awkward and a rubber bung would be good to keep that bit clean (I know you can get some third party ones). Probably the only other thing would be to configure the watch via the app. Using a few buttons on a small screen is a bit of a pain. Slight lack of customisation on watch faces too. I can never seem to get it "just right".
5. For sure, i previously had an apple watch and this is more accurate for GPS tracking. Being able to set alerts for HR/Pace during runs also helps you keep focussed on the activity you're doing and keeping training on track.


@SPG You've not mentioned Coros, they seem to be closer to Garmin than Polar i think, although still miss a few key features for me (i think music was one of them).
 
  1. Apple Watch s3 + Cellular
  2. Wear it once I’m up to I go to bed, when I need to charge it. To tell the time, in all honesty it’s an extension of my phone but I mainly use it for running, key for house in pocket and watch that’s all I have on me when out running. I don’t use it for sleep tracking or work outs etc I have a GPS for my hikes which I use to record the route and upload to strava.
  3. It works flawlessly with the iPhone and it’s handy for quickly checking whose phoning, emails, messages etc
  4. The battery, it’s awful, I’ve had it for a few years but it’s never been great.
  5. Nope, not in the slightest. The only thing it does for me is tracks my runs. Having said that all the data I could use would probably help if I could be bothered looking at it on strava. As long as my average pace is on track I’m good to go.
 
1. Garmin fenix 6
2. Workouts mainly (zwift and walks), but the HR, stress, sleep, and other health stats are all interesting.
3. battery life is very good (compared to previous vivoactive3 anyway), HR accuracyis good for the activities I do, ANT+ and BT connectivity to smart trainers etc., customisable screens, integration with Garmin ecosystem and ability to view data on phone or PC.
4. Not much really. A bit smaller would be good.
5. Yes, I've used the calories burnt to help with losing some weight. Training status is useful (but I'm always short on low aerobic activities). Resting HR also useful as increases seem to be an indication of overtraining or onset of illness. Nice to see the VO2max going up.
 
  1. Whoop band
  2. Everything. Never take it off.
  3. Its small so forget it's there. Can charge on the wrist. No read out on the band so can wear a watch on the other arm (although can see why some would see this as a minus). Phone interface / app and tracking of body metrics is superb. Syncs with Strava (although I turned that function off as usually have something else if I am running or riding). It knows what exercise I have done even if I dont tell it - not sure how it does that. Use as HR monitor for Zwift.
  4. Expensive subscription once the initial 12 months is up.
  5. Do you think it makes a tangible difference to your health and fitness? Absolutely. Great for tracking sleep patterns and recovery. It alters my behaviours a bit as can see the difference even having 2 or 3 drinks in the evening makes to recovery and sleep.
Also have an old Fenix5 which I use if I run, which is rare these days, but use it all the time for hiking and its great for that. Even used it to track me up Kilimanjaro although battery ran out on the way back down. Use an Edge for cycling. Dont use any for zwift as the whoop covers it.
 
Vandle said:
Whoop band
Click to expand...

I've just ordered one as I'm really interested in knowing more about recovery and such and maybe how much I should or shouldn't push when heading out for a ride. Interesting I watched a video where I think he was saying it knew the day before he would get ill. I'm not sure that helps, but very interesting! (Maybe you can start early on medication and vit c?!) Some video reviewers seem to think it saying you're not in a good way didn't often line up with how they felt. How are you finding it?

Vandle said:
Expensive subscription once the initial 12 months is up.
Click to expand...

Did you get some kind of initial deal? I got 15% off, which I thought wasn't bad, but it looks to be the same price continuing once those 12 months are up?
 
Fenix 6 Pro for me, bought used from Cex. Amazing bit of kit at that price.

I use it for mountaineering, general activity tracking, running, sleep tracking.

Take it off for showering and climbing....watches aren't really compatible with trad climbing when you're stuffing your hands into cracks (oo-err).

No complaints. The on-wrist maps are a game-changer, potentially a literal life saver in the mountains. Battery lasts forever.

I don't run a lot but when I do it works great as a tracker and to keep my desired pace. Reminds me I need to get out this week after stopping for a few weeks due to a plantar fascia injury.
 
AndyCr15 said:
I've just ordered one as I'm really interested in knowing more about recovery and such and maybe how much I should or shouldn't push when heading out for a ride. Interesting I watched a video where I think he was saying it knew the day before he would get ill. I'm not sure that helps, but very interesting! (Maybe you can start early on medication and vit c?!) Some video reviewers seem to think it saying you're not in a good way didn't often line up with how they felt. How are you finding it?



Did you get some kind of initial deal? I got 15% off, which I thought wasn't bad, but it looks to be the same price continuing once those 12 months are up?
Click to expand...
I have actually upgraded to a 4.0 (from the 3.0) since I posted that. Its has more features than the last one and is smaller too. Also bought the Mrs one so that probably answers one of your questions. :)
Yep, you can get a decent first time discount on them but after your initial pre paid period is up it auto renews at a monthly rate which seems steep - was $40 a month for me here. Its one of those things though that you say to yourself you must sort out but end up forgetting - probably what their business model is built on. Finally got round to it in January. The two new ones I got with 18 month subs I think although I couldn't use a discount for mine for not being a new customer, got a free month at the end for signing up the wife. Complicated.
They are hardy little things though, I've banged it all over during Crossfit and it hasn't broke. I'd expect it will last the 18 months easy enough.

I saw some of the athletes I follow on insta knowing they had covid before symptoms due to the poor recovery scores they were getting a day or two before getting sick. HRV down, RHR up, breathing rate up. I monitor my recovery everyday looking for the signs however I went up to the Barrier Reef last month to do a 3 day liveaboard dive trip followed by a few days in a hotel up there. Didn't take the Whoop, its fully waterproof but not depth proof. Knew I wouldn't be doing anything remotely strenuous plus holiday day drinking after the boat trip so my recovery scores would be all over the place. Caught covid after avoiding it for 2 years :D. Typical :rolleyes:
The recovery scores the pro athletes were getting when they first contracted covid are similar to the scores you get after a decent night on the booze - except this lot aren't drinking.

I find the recovery does line up with how I am feeling. I usually drink on a weekend though and often share a bottle of wine midweek. You'll find even a single drink has adverse effects on your recovery score (big surprise, right?). Raised heartrate and everything that comes with that. If I have 8 beers on a Friday then find myself struggling to keep up at Crossfit on a Saturday morning I don't need my whoop to tell me why that is. Back it up on a Saturday, add a few on a Sunday afternoon and head to the gym Monday morning with a below average recovery then spend the rest of the week clawing yourself back from there! Usually tip top by Wednesday though. My average resting heart rate is 48, it can get as high as mid 70's with a hangover.

Every few months we ditch the booze for 4 weeks or so, that's when you can really see (and feel) your training load build up as I usually gym in the morning and ride to work or zwift in the evening most days. I find the recovery to be pretty accurate without the wild fluctuations boozy weekends bring.

On the negative side our two bands are constantly disconnecting from the phones and have to forced into catching up. I think its because we have two in the same house and the phones are getting confused. It's not that much of a big deal as the nature of it is that you don't need to see instant read outs like with other wearables. Battery life isn't what they tell you, I charge every few days. It auto detects my indoor cycling as spinning where the old one would say it was cycling, not a big deal. Keep having to go to the app settings and turn on HR broadcast for connecting to zwift.

Have you read about the work they do with EF at the tour? Interesting stuff. https://www.whoop.com/en-au/thelocker/tour-de-france-cycling-strain-rhr-hrv/
 
1. Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar

2. Wear it 24/7, sleep tracking, energy tracking, 24/7 heart rate, 24/7 blood oxygen. Hiking, waking, mountain biking.
3. Super long battery, generally 30 days. Does absolutely everything, being titanium is super light weight.
4. Honestly nothing that I can think of.
5. It helps me stay on track with training with the Training Status. It keeps an on my general health.
 
I like the look of the Whoop band/Oura ring, but do you guys really find they add much more than the likes of Garmin offer from a recovery/monitoring point of view?

What is it you're actually getting on that monthly subscription as presumably the calculations etc are just done through the app the same as any other fitness tracker.
 
Martynt74 said:
do you guys really find they add much more than the likes of Garmin offer from a recovery/monitoring point of view
Click to expand...

No, I tried the Whoop (3.0) band and found it less accurate than my Fenix 6 (and then Epix 2) due to the really poor HR tracking. That may have improved since of course with the new one. I'm not really a fan of subscription services for this stuff either, feels like your health data is then held behind a bit of a paywall if you ever decided to stop.
 
Older suunto ambit; bought for the heart rate monitoring whilst swimming, caching data on the monitor when it can't communicate with the watch.
In practise, like for running, have not used hrm much, too much faff, putting/keeping the strap on; it's mostly a regular running route where I know the pace.
for swimming pool, without aggressive push-off I have to manually press button every 2 lengths.
watch has proven reliable once I realised soapy rinse and drying of buttons after swim is needed.

future - I'd love a watch that has inertial navigation so it could record swimming laps automatically, equally, sleep monitoring would be interesting, but neither functions are provided accurately by newest waches. (really need a head band with electrodes for sleep)
 
I trialled a Whoop for a couple of months and essentially found it to be a random number generator, aside from the extremely obvious situations where your recovery score would be lower (i.e. limited sleep/hangover/ill) and you knew that would be the case anyway. As an experiment, I stopped looking at the recovery score in the mornings and then tended to check it after training to see if it matched my RPE e.g. on days where I felt better than expected I wondered if my recovery score would be unusually high. It rarely was, or at least not enough to demonstrate a correlation.

I remember one Monday where I'd done 8+ hours of riding on Saturday and Sunday and woke up on Monday feeling like a shell and it said I was 90% recovered. I gave up after that point.

Essentially sleep well, eat well and don't drink (or do so in total moderation) and save yourself £30 a month.
 
jpaul said:
I'd love a watch that has inertial navigation so it could record swimming laps automatically, equally, sleep monitoring would be interesting, but neither functions are provided accurately by newest waches. (really need a head band with electrodes for sleep)
Click to expand...
looks like they have a solution to sleep monitoring , but 5 years out an in ear eeg monitor
https://sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-he...s/future-of-sleep/ear-eeg-reliable-scalp-eeg/
.....
The consumer market has identified those experiencing trouble sleeping as customers. Many gadgets, devices, and apps are available and promise information on sleep duration, sleep quality or even sleep apnea. Yet, sleep researchers and practitioners alike questioned the validity of consumer-level sleep tracking devices (3, 4). Most solutions are neither medical devices nor validated against standard procedures. Nevertheless, the marketing claims can be ambiguous, and customers may perceive the products as scientifically validated because of their appearance. Inaccurate feedback on one's sleep, however, can corrupt people's perception of their quality of sleep, worsening symptoms and hindering appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Negative feedback on sleep quality can harm daytime functioning and increase reported daytime fatigue, as tested in a sham experiment with insomniac patients (5). The development of accurate, low-threshold sleep monitoring solutions that could be self-applied and used at home may help to avoid those problems
 
What wearable do you use? (Brand/model)

Garmin Fenix 6 Pro
  1. What do you use it for? (workouts, health monitoring, sleep tracking, nav when hiking, etc)
As a watch, so tracking everything pretty much. But also Ironman training, so swimming (open water and pool), running and cycling.
  1. What do you like about it?
Insane battery life. Generally very stable. Dependable.
  1. What do you dislike or would change about it?
Not much really. Better open water tracking maybe?
  1. Do you think it makes a tangible difference to your health and fitness?
Not really. I'd still be doing all the same training, but it's good to track the activities and progress.
 
Out of curiosity, when you guys with the Fenix 6 say insane battery life, how long are you talking?

I have the 6X Pro, which is supposed to have a bigger battery vs the 6/6S and whilst it is insane during activity and can handle a run of about 60 hours if needed. I still find myself charging it maybe every 4/5 days. Obviously that's still a lot better than most watches and i do use it for ~1hr workout a day on average (Using a HR strap, no music), but i always read about people not charging theirs for 2 weeks and curious if that's actually genuine in regular use or just for people who turn everything off and don't track exercise.
 
Martynt74 said:
Out of curiosity, when you guys with the Fenix 6 say insane battery life, how long are you talking?

I have the 6X Pro, which is supposed to have a bigger battery vs the 6/6S and whilst it is insane during activity and can handle a run of about 60 hours if needed. I still find myself charging it maybe every 4/5 days. Obviously that's still a lot better than most watches and i do use it for ~1hr workout a day on average (Using a HR strap, no music), but i always read about people not charging theirs for 2 weeks and curious if that's actually genuine in regular use or just for people who turn everything off and don't track exercise.
Click to expand...
My 7x from a full charge gets 30 days+, that's with 24/7 HR, and sleep blood oxygen. Obviously then depends on activities, they will bring it down, you can really tweak the power profiles on it and each option shows the impact on battery.

A hike which I'll do once a week for maybe 6 hours might use about 8% battery, which knocks about 2-3 days off.
I have mine set to highest accuracy do that's dual satellite dual band 1 second recording so you can easily make it last longer there.
 
I charge my 7s once a week to about 80% full. It still has a few days left on the charge at the end of the week.

  1. Garmin 7s
  2. Indoor and outdoor workouts, health monitoring, sleep tracking
  3. I like the looks and features of it. I have a fair few items in the Garmin eco system now and track them all in Garmin Connect.
  4. The more insights that are possible the better, but it is already a feature rich product.
  5. Yes. I like data and seeing it makes me strive to do more exercise. I bought my first Garmin watch (vivoactive 3) on a whim to see what it was like and couldn't imagine not having it as part of my routine now.
 
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