[phamilyman]

Caveat:
Fitness is a mindset, a habit. Habits are hard to create / break

The truly fit need no alarms, no gadgets - they are truly self disciplined in every waking moment, whether it is not checking social media but running at 5am, or avoiding snacking at 11pm. Others have nurturing spouse / parents / friends who gently ensure accountability even at 11pm - "did you run today? I see today's entry is empty! If not, please go now!"

If that works for someone, sure!

Some of the rest of us are motivated but undisciplined weaklings like yours truly. We need habit forming tools which help us stay on the path every day. That is where quality smartwatches come in.

I am not implying everyone should spend money on smartwatches but those who can afford it easily and have failed to translate motivation into daily action - this thread is for them.

This is NOT a generic fitness band or smartwatch review thread. Those are over in the main thread (The Fitness Band / Smartwatch Thread).

This thread is squarely focused on answering
"What do I get when I pay 10k+ on a fitness smart watch? Even inexpensive bands (like Mi) are fairly well featured these days"
A good smartwatch makes activity recording and recognition effortless, thus easing you into the habit of working out daily, which results in better outcomes. Pleasurable habits take root!

I own a hand-me-down Garmin Forerunner 935 with a slightly wonky GPS. But in 27 days, overweight inflexible me has gone from working out once in 3 days to 41 workouts in 27 days. Before this - I have owned multiple bands (Mi Band 1/1s/2, Fitbit Charge 2, Huawei Classic) and been fatter. But none inspired me to move daily.

Why? The Garmin User Experience!

Besides a desire to get fit before turning 40, I was pulled into the lovely user experience of the Garmin apps. Garmin makes watches chock a block with features.

My Fitbit Charge 2 could do only steps or heart rate tracking - that is not exciting frankly.

Fatness and fitness start in our minds before they are manifested in our bodies.

To break out of our mental rut - many of us need a device that is effortless and tracks data beautifully to inspire us into a virtuous cycle.

Garmin hardly takes 2/3 clicks to record any workout - whether a run or weights. The insights are fun.

Here are a few actual screenshots for which I did zero effort - I just started / stopped the activity recording.

Weighted squats (Strength workout):


Restfulness assessment - very spot on:


Walking stats:




I walked a friend back to his hotel at 11:30 to sneak in ANY workout rather than break my streak! This is addictive!


PS: Garmin's sleep recording is horrible. I wear my Fitbit for that purpose at night, sadly!
PPS: Yes my averages are shamefully slow - but I'm making progress and the watch gives me a habit and gives me hope! I will get fitter soon!

[Red Liner]

Agreed. Great experience with my Amazfit trex pro as well. Been looking at the new Coros watch too, but its early days still.

I enjoy tracking my sleep, workout metrics, stress levels, and resting heart rates as well as heart rate zone training. Allows me to plan my week much more methodically.

[phamilyman]

Here's more from a revolutionary tracker called Whoop which a dear friend uses (brought over from USA! It has an expensive subscription but in the end it works out similar to mid range Garmin at the longest subscription of $18/month with free upgrades (so far!)

The typical Mi fitness band does nothing of this sadly. For those of us over 40, its a worthy investment.

A golfing enthusiast discovered they had had a heart attack via Whoop


Here's why they say they are able to detect COVID19 onset well before symptoms:


Blog post on helping a pro golfer discover COVID in advance which led to the PGA ordering them for all!

[aargee]

I simply used my smart phone & HealthifyMe app to bring down the weight from 78 Kg all the way down to 64 & now hoovering around 67 Kg. Didn't spend much with gym membership as well. So practically I spent near to nothing to get fit except watching for what I eat & how much calories I spend. Ofcourse it took a lot of time like 3+ years. Besides patience, persistence & discipline is required, hell a lot of persistence.

[jkrishnakj]

Good thread. I do use my smart watch for lot of tracking, especially my evening tennis games.

The only time I remove them is when I go to sleep. While I do agree that they track sleep patterns and give an output the next day, I had a weird thought most times -ie, the morning that I wake up super fresh and feel that I’ve had a good sleep, the smart watch will give me data otherwise. And just thinking about this I used to stress myself out that I need to sleep well. There are nights where I feel that I was rolling and disturbed and probably struggled to sleep well and wake up tired, but my watch used to tell me that my REM and Deep sleep was super good.

This confused me and I said that I won’t take my watch to bed with me.

Else, my smart watch is a good companion to me. I used a Fitbit blaze for 5 years and I’m not in to the Apple Watch since Sept this year.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by aargee

So practically I spent near to nothing to get fit except watching for what I eat & how much calories I spend.

Besides patience, persistence & discipline is required, hell a lot of persistence.

Sir,

This thread is not for badass disciplined hardmen like you :-)
Or kickass people like my wife who live and breathe fitness

This is talking to the money conscious unfit person who doesn't mind spending on a gadget that will nudge them on that journey!

Some of us are weak and need some tech help!

I wish I wasn't but sadly here I am!

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

ie, the morning that I wake up super fresh and feel that I’ve had a good sleep, the smart watch will give me data otherwise. And just thinking about this I used to stress myself out that I need to sleep well

Ah, weird. For me it is bang on. The deep sleep and REM determines how I feel.

If it stresses you out, do not bother using it for sleep tracking

The idea is purely using good tech to create great habits and move from wishing to doing.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

This thread is squarely focused on answering
"What do I get when I pay 10k+ on a fitness smart watch? Even inexpensive bands (like Mi) are fairly well featured these days"
A good smartwatch makes activity recording and recognition effortless, thus easing you into the habit of working out daily, which results in better outcomes. Pleasurable habits take root!

to the premise of this thread. Got gifted an Apple Watch on my birthday and it has helped me track my fitness a lot more. What's more, the BPM monitor reminds me to keep my cool even on hard work days. Avoiding stress is as important to good health as a gym is.

Added bonus = a nicer smartwatch looks way cooler than a cheap band. If one can spend well into the 6-figures on a Tag / Omega / Rolex (which you will wear mostly at social outings), why not 20 - 50 grand on a premium smartwatch? I view it as a fashion accessory as much as I do a smartwatch (yes, I'm a sucker for vanity).

Helps me keep calm at work:


And is the ultimate daytime / casual accessory:

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by GTO

to the premise of this thread. Got gifted an Apple Watch on my birthday and it has helped me track my fitness a lot more. What's more, the BPM monitor reminds me to keep my cool even on hard work days. Avoiding stress is as important to good health as a gym is.

I am on the fence with regards to a smart watch, been terribly tempted by the Apple Watch series for sometime. Generally love watches, but have not fully understood the value a smart watch brings besides the bling quotient. Let’s see, after the Apple Watch Series 7 is available in India, this thread may change my mind.

Thank you Phamilyman for starting this discussion.

Cheers

[jkrishnakj]

Coincidentally, when my Fitbit blaze gave up, I Was without a watch for several months and I was gifted an Apple Watch too by my wife. Having gotten used to the Fitbit, I’m struggling with the Apple. Eg. Fitbit counts steps without any action from us, whereas in Apple, I’ve to click activity and then outdoor walking. I should also remember to turn off once I get back home.

I’m sure I’ll find Apple a lot more user friendly and sophisticated than my previous one, but for now, I’m still getting used to it.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Having gotten used to the Fitbit, I’m struggling with the Apple. Eg. Fitbit counts steps without any action from us, whereas in Apple, I’ve to click activity and then outdoor walking. I should also remember to turn off once I get back home.

The Apple Watch way to count steps seems to me to be the correct way to count steps. This will give the wearer the actual exercise/walking steps and not an inflated number.

The Fitbit way (and others) is flawed since any kind of activity which does not really have anything to do with actual walking (as exercise) also gets counted with actual steps/exercise which it is not.

Please clarify if my understanding is incorrect since I have never owned a smart watch.

Cheers

[xrules]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

The Apple Watch way to count steps seems to me to be the correct way to count steps. This will give the wearer the actual exercise/walking steps and not an inflated number.

The Fitbit way (and others) is flawed since any kind of activity which does not really have anything to do with actual walking (as exercise) also gets counted with actual steps/exercise which it is not.

Please clarify if my understanding is incorrect since I have never owned a smart watch.

Cheers

I own a Samsung Gear S3 watch and it automatically detects works-outs and leasure steps. If you start a walking workout, it will bring in the GPS to map it, however if you have just been walking then after a few minutes it identifies that you are walking and continues to add to your "active" step count. Maybe good to have both monitored .

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

A golfing enthusiast discovered they had had a heart attack via Whoop
..
Blog post on helping a pro golfer discover COVID in advance which led to the PGA ordering them for all!

Both these blogs are on Whopp's website. We should discount these slightly since marketing has certainly embellished the story.

[Gansan]

Cross posting here what I posted in the smartwatch thread a few days ago. Can someone comment please?

"I don't like smart watches. I don't like digital or even analog quartz watches. My choice is always mechanical. But I have been gifted a smartwatch (Fcuk brand) by someone close and so am wearing it.

How accurate are the Bp and O2 level readings? Can one rely on them? As a hypertensive on medication, my Bp reading on the smartwatch appears to be very very optimistic. Actually it seems I don't even require medication any more! That optimistic!"

[joethomasv]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Fitbit counts steps without any action from us, whereas in Apple, I’ve to click activity and then outdoor walking. I should also remember to turn off once I get back home.

The Apple Watch also counts steps automatically. It's when you want to record any specific activity, along with GPS coordinates, heart rate etc, you'll have to select the activity.

[Thilak29]

I highly recommend watching reviews of this kind before forming any strong opinions about Health benefits of these wearables : https://youtube.com/c/TheQuantifiedScientist