Author Topic: Fit Bit users?  (Read 1901 times)

tom83

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Fit Bit users?
« on: 11:21:24, 19/07/19 »
Hi all,


Just after some advice really. I'm considering getting myself a fit bit, to track my fitness and gym sessions. But what I really want to know is, will it track me while I'm at work?


 I work in a very physically demanding job, where I know I'm getting my daily amount of exercise, and I want something to track thing like heart rate and calories burned etc. I know they aren't alway 100% accurate, but I'm just after a general idea.


Would a fit bit be suitable, or is there something else on the market that would be better?


Thanks


Tom

gunwharfman

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #1 on: 12:40:05, 19/07/19 »
In my humble opinion a waste of money, I'd rather spend the money on an 'experience', getting there, getting back, beer, food. coffee cake and so on. People that I know soon begin to realise that having a Fitbit on your wrist will NOT make you fit, they have to face up to the fact that to be fit, etc an EFOORT has to be made in some way or other.

I haven't worn a watch for years, I have a phone, I just tap the screen and I know the time, I don't need to know any more!  :)

photonut

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #2 on: 13:33:55, 19/07/19 »
Hi Tom,

I have had a Fitbit for about a year now.  I got it for exactly the same reasons as yourself - just an indication.

It does exactly that and although it is not accurate it still allows me to know heart rate etc when I'm walking - so I know if I can push myself a little more or whether I should back-off.   I'm sure someone will say "you should know that from how you feel", but you don't necessarily know you're in the best heart rate range for fat burn etc.

Not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure, but I find my Fitbit useful.  It's a watch, a (very) approximate distance measure and a heart rate monitor.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Lee

harland

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #3 on: 13:39:41, 19/07/19 »
I got one for free from my son that was given away through some subscription.  I use it as an indicator and a motivator.  It reminds me that I need to be active when on a day like today, wet and miserable, that I need to get off my backside.

richardh1905

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #4 on: 13:49:07, 19/07/19 »

Plenty of other brands out there - Garmin, Polar etc.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

Mel

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #5 on: 19:24:07, 19/07/19 »
Interesting thread.  I've toyed with the idea of a "fitbit" (type of thing) to monitor heart rate to try and remain in "fat burning mode", which is surprisingly difficult as you feel like you're not "doing enough".  My only experience of this so far has been on gym equipment with hand grip sensors and was quite an eye opener, so yes, I'll follow this topic with interest.




Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #6 on: 19:51:49, 19/07/19 »
I have one and it can be useful for prompting to keep moving. I set mine for 12 hours of activity in a day. If I haven’t done 250 steps in the current hour, I get an alert with 10 minutes to go. This is useful to get me away from the computer and helps my back and lessens the triggers for migraines. I tend to go for a walk around the building, getting 2 - 4 flights of stairs and 500 - 600 steps on every circuit. I then make sure I walk further than I need to at lunch time to get an indicated 10,000 step count for the day. It may not be 100% accurate, but works for me. I can also check my heart rate when out walking and make sure that I don’t overdo it too much, as an overweight middle aged man. I think the heart rate seems pretty accurate. My resting pulse rate is typically in the mid 50s, although it can go as low as high 40s when I have been exercising more and go up to the mid 60s. This matches pretty well with hospital measured pulse rate.


The Fitbit is rubbish for measuring calories, especially so for swimming where it vastly underestimates the effort expended.

richardh1905

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #7 on: 22:29:34, 19/07/19 »
The Fitbit is rubbish for measuring calories, especially so for swimming where it vastly underestimates the effort expended.



One of the reasons that I went for a Polar device is that their chest strap heart rate monitor works underwater! Without the heart rate monitoring, the Polar A300 vastly underestimated the amount of effort put in whilst swimming, but with it, it appears to give realistic results.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #8 on: 08:51:22, 20/07/19 »

One of the reasons that I went for a Polar device is that their chest strap heart rate monitor works underwater! Without the heart rate monitoring, the Polar A300 vastly underestimated the amount of effort put in whilst swimming, but with it, it appears to give realistic results.
The Fitbit Charge 3 can be worn while swimming, but the algorithm for calculating calories is just rubbish, even if you just enter the details manually. A kilometre of swimming apparently burns significantly less than walking on the flat for 20 minutes. Also, it appears to make no difference how fast or how far you swim, which is nonsense. I found other online calorie counters varied, but were reasonably similar to each other and gave much higher calorie burn figures for swimming.

hawthornpaul

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #9 on: 11:05:12, 20/07/19 »
Polar H10.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #10 on: 13:22:20, 20/07/19 »
Totally agree, Fitbits are a waste of money.
Now if they guaranteed to get you moving, and exercising your limbs, to get fit, they should be given to everyone on the NHS.

The only issue with them, is that you have to be physically active and in the mindset to get fit, in the first place.

As we all know, only a tiny minority of us are fully focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

If your the sort of person who has been active for many years, and lose sleep knowing you have not had your daily workout , or missed a walk due to over constraints, then a FitBit might be a worthy purchase.

In my opinion, the cost of a FitBit would be best put towards a great weekend away, or even another device- A device that i bet few of us here have thought about,

Instead of a Fitbit, why not invest in a high quality Pulseoxometer, the things you see on patients fingers after an operation.

Their such small devices, easily tucked away in your pocket, but they will give you an instant readout of your heartrate, and blood oxygen level.

The fitter you become, usually the lower your heart rate.

Their battery operated, and most are considerably cheaper than a fitbit, and their totally risk free, just place the device on your finger, and it measures your current pulse, and how much oxygen is in your blood.



Knowing your current heart rate without spending large amounts on costly gadgets, is money well spent, for those of us who are health conscious.
« Last Edit: 13:29:41, 20/07/19 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #11 on: 14:38:38, 20/07/19 »
I don’t agree that they are a waste of money. They can be a useful motivator to achieve a certain level of exercise each day. It is patronising to think that exercising is easy for everyone and that it is just a matter of will power, just as it is to think that all overweight people are just lazy or gluttons.

tom83

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #12 on: 14:52:33, 20/07/19 »
I think a few people have missed the initial point I was making in the OP.


I already go to the gym twice a week and swim twice a week, and work in a very physically demanding job (Im a ground driller, for those wondering). Im looking for something to show me and possibly record how my body is responding to the activities Im already doing, not something to encourage me to do more.


Its actually specifically something to wear whilst Im working, as at the end of each day, my arms and shoulders are completely spent, and I would like to know how my heart rate has been and a rough estimate of how many calories Ive burned.


Im not keen something worn around the chest, as I have to rest things on my chest, and I'd be worried I would break it. Something worn on the wrist is perfect to be honest, but I would like something fairly acturate.


Thanks

Mel

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #13 on: 15:07:58, 20/07/19 »
DA frequently misses the point  ;)


A pulse-oxymeter would be a good option if someone only wanted occasional information but it wouldn’t be very practical to wear all the time as a constant background monitor.
I'm inclined to think a cheaper "gadget" would be a better option if monitoring is all that's needed.  A fully fledged "activity tracker" might be a bit overkill if you don't need the "nagging wife" mode.
... but then I'm thinking a cheaper "gadget" might be less accurate  :-\

harland

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Re: Fit Bit users?
« Reply #14 on: 16:24:44, 20/07/19 »
Not that I know what a "ground driller" is I presume, perhaps wrongly, that there would be a fair amount of shaking/movement of the wrist. If that is correct then I think that the Fitbit would assume that you are walking and the steps measurement would be wrong and I assume that the calories burnt would also be incorrect.

 

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