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Off-Topic Sports watches for training…

Gypsyplumber

Gypsyplumber

Level 7 Valued Member
Just wondering if you all are using watches to track your fitness activity or not. I have a hard time using one during kettlebell training when I’m doing anything that involves a rack. Previously I would use an old Apple Watch during rucks, hikes, air bike, and daily movement but the battery was terrible.

I decided to invest in a garmin fenix since I ruck pretty much every week and so far it’s been awesome for me. It enables you to map your trails out first and then it makes sure your don’t get off course and the battery life is awesome. Also the heart rate sensor seems very accurate. Now it was not cheap but I’m finding it very useful for what I do.

What’s everyone else using? And what functions are you using your smart watches for? And do you find them beneficial? I didn’t think my Apple Watch was very helpful but I’m loving my garmin. Also it looks good so I can wear it at work.
 
Ive got a garmin instinct 2, battery life is brilliant, couple weeks.
I use it for the same as you hiking rucking, i do use it for strength training but only so i can see time, hr etc but i use a chest strap and take the watch off.

Ive come to realise the HRV, bodybattery and sleep are next to useless.

Ive tried different things ove the yrs to increase HRV and the only thing that increases it is if i stop training altogether lol
Body battery i can get home with 15% and feel great one day another day i can be at 40% and feel dead.

Sleep offen says ive had no rem when ive literally been dreaming as my alarm goes off.
So now i just go by how i feel, i wouldn't buy another.
 
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I've an older Suunto Ambit 3, which I'll use to track HR on some runs, and on some KB stuff ( take watch off and set nearby ) like long complexes. A client has a Fenix 6, amazing what is packed in there. And the interface/support/phone app stuff is good ridiculous.
HRV info. is interesting, but I don't use it much since it rarely syncs up with what I'm looking at, meaning the client/student. The golf app on that watch has every golf course. Shows where your ball is and distance to pin, etc. Crazy, at least to me.
 
I use a polar gritx and the h10 chest strap. I had the oh1 sensor but lost the charger so got the strap.
 
Use a garmin instinct as well (poor mans fenix). I used to track everything but to me these watches are for locomotion. All the other bells and whistles are fun at first, i even have my HRM turned off now though. If im legit marathon or aerobic base training ill use my polar strap.
 
Garmin Fenix 7. Excellent for running and hiking + general use and functions. Battery life is excellent.

I also wear it for KB workouts and track sets + HR with it. Just turn it to the inside of my wrist so it doesn't get banged up, and no problems.
 
Gypsyplumber said:
Also the heart rate sensor seems very accurate.
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what are you comparing it to in order to establish accuracy?

I have a Fenix 6x. Maps are unusable, I don't listen to music when training, the proprietary metrics are meaningless, the altimeter is a joke, and I use a chest strap for HR where possible; wrist lags changes (e.g. on hills or intervals) and is flagrantly inaccurate if I have anything in my hands, or if it's dirty. However, it's pretty easy to customize the watch and app so they only show the data you want, and it does look better than the Instinct.
 
I bought refurbished Fenix 3 few years ago. Used it a little bit for navigation when hiking in the woods, but now as an alarm clock only.
 
I wear my Garmin Fenix 6x pretty much 24/7; similar to you, it looks good enough and is tough enough that I can wear it both in the field while working or at client meetings. In fact, I've been considering getting one of the metal bands for it so I can swap out the silicone for those occasions where something a little nicer might be a plus.

As far as what I use it for - the time / timer when strength training if working on set rest periods or intervals and more general metrics (current pace, split pace, average pace, distance, time, etc.) during ruck/run training. Even though the watch was not cheap, I still don't find the HR to be very accurate during physical activity so I use a chest strap when I want to really watch HR; it seems to be pretty good during the normal day to day stuff or at rest though.

As far as the other things it tracks, it's always nice to check in and see what the watch thinks vs. how I feel or perceive things. I don't know how much credence I put into certain numbers or metrics per se but what I do like to track is the trends - is RHR going up or down, HRV up or down, what's the sleep trend been, whats training status looking like, etc. I don't necessarily base all decisions around what it says but its all good information to have.
 
psmith said:
what are you comparing it to in order to establish accuracy?

I have a Fenix 6x. Maps are unusable, I don't listen to music when training, the proprietary metrics are meaningless, the altimeter is a joke, and I use a chest strap for HR where possible; wrist lags changes (e.g. on hills or intervals) and is flagrantly inaccurate if I have anything in my hands, or if it's dirty. However, it's pretty easy to customize the watch and app so they only show the data you want, and it does look better than the Instinct.
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Compared to my Apple Watch 3 where it takes forever to detect a beat and lags a lot.
 
JPCross said:
it looks good enough and is tough enough that I can wear it both in the field while working or at client meetings
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Yeah, spot on. I also forgot to mention good battery life.

Some of Suunto's newer stuff looks pretty promising on looks and battery life, but those buttons look awfully easy to press by accident, and apparently you can't turn off the touchscreen outside of an activity.
 
psmith said:
Yeah, spot on. I also forgot to mention good battery life.

Some of Suunto's newer stuff looks pretty promising on looks and battery life, but those buttons look awfully easy to press by accident, and apparently you can't turn off the touchscreen outside of an activity.
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I’ve never had an issue pushing any of the buttons by accident. (plus you can lock the buttons) Battery life has been more than good enough for long days of HR and Navigation…
 
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psmith said:
what are you comparing it to in order to establish accuracy?

I have a Fenix 6x. Maps are unusable, I don't listen to music when training, the proprietary metrics are meaningless, the altimeter is a joke, and I use a chest strap for HR where possible; wrist lags changes (e.g. on hills or intervals) and is flagrantly inaccurate if I have anything in my hands, or if it's dirty. However, it's pretty easy to customize the watch and app so they only show the data you want, and it does look better than the Instinct.
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I’m what way are the maps unusable? My fenix 7 map works well so far. It’s obviously small on a watch but i can see trails just fine. And I love the “off course” feature where it warns if you took a wrong path.
 
I have a Whoop. Its a love hate. I had AFIB that was medically corrected. I will occassionaly go into AFIB a few times a year an the Whoop will tell me. I get a crazy 100+ HRV reading. I'm usually around 50 so its readily apparent. Wish I was that fit and young to be 100+. HRV

What I think the Whoop is good for are general trends of exertion. It will let me know when I am getting overtrained from too much volume over a few weeks. I will see it in a general downward trend of HRV. The most frustrating thing is that is doesn't really recognize weight training at all. It will give about the same reading for a 30 min classic Iron Cardio session (C&P, Squat) with 150 reps as a 30 min Iron Cardio (C&P, Squat, Snatch) with 240 reps. Also, it will track a 5 mile walk and a 5 miles 45lb ruck walk about the same strain wise.

And mostly, the Whoop tells me every time I have a couple glasses of wine how badly it impacts my sleep.

Think I'll be throwing the thing away now......
 
Gypsyplumber said:
I’m what way are the maps unusable?
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I found that I could never really see both where I was (in reasonable detail, with topography, junctions, place names, and so forth) and where I wanted to go. I suppose someone must like it or else they wouldn't put it on there, but I can't say I'd recommend it to anyone.
 
psmith said:
I found that I could never really see both where I was (in reasonable detail, with topography, junctions, place names, and so forth) and where I wanted to go. I suppose someone must like it or else they wouldn't put it on there, but I can't say I'd recommend it to anyone.
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Me neither. I have the 5+, which I purchased largely because of the map. I like the watch (looks ok, GPS is great when I want it, connects to chest strap, it feeds info to Oura and strava, etc). But I never use the map. Too small to be of use (to me, anyway).
 
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