What do you do with your fitness tracker?

[anonymouse1]

I wanted to track my heart rate when I exercise, so I picked up a FitBit HR Inspire on eBay, and now I see there are a zillion other things I could do with it.

Truth be told, it's a bit overwhelming, so I'm wondering what folks track with their fitness trackers, and what you do with the data.

Thanks!

[Sarcany]

Apple Watch.

In no particular order...

Heart rate, workout duration and calories, alarms, silencing alarms from my phone, timers, reminders, weather, allergy forecasts, checking sunrise/sunset times, work-calendar, controlling my music/podcasts, checking metro maps/schedules, calculator, checking on the location of my elderly mom, checking the locations of planets in the sky, messaging with friends and family, paying for groceries, silencing robocalls, answering calls from friends/family, checking stock prices, turning the lights off (they turn on via timer), subtly navigating when I'm in need of directions on unfamiliar streets, telling time.*

Looking forward to being able to take an ECG, O2, and blood glucose level in a future edition.




*Not kidding. I tried to limit the list to stuff I did just over the last week. I think it's fugly and would prefer a classic round steel watch with hands and a thick sapphire crystal, but this thing is darned handy.

Forgot: Used it as a flashlight. And had it roll some "dice" for me. And had it tell me jokes.

As for what I do with the data, it syncs to the Health app and Activity/Fitness app on my iPhone and I use it in combination with my "smart scale" and other health-devices that sync via Bluetooth to track how badly I'm keeping up with my workouts and how much my health is slipping.

'Didn't start out this way. I was just using it as a fitness tracker and watch to begin with.

[graylocks]

Apple Watch for the multitude of reasons that Sarcany listed.

if the device just does fitness i have no use for a one trick pony with my dollars.

[Markintosh]

Third for the Apple watch, especially given this is a Mac-centric forum.

I'm still at Series 3, so I am tracking exercise duration for the most part. It's such and easy way to see where I am at. During ski season, it's not a problem because I am out literally every day.

During bike and hike season, I pay attention to my heart rate to make sure I am getting a good amount of aerobic exercise daily.

A newer Apple watch is on my list of upgrades...as I get into my 6th decade soon, I would like to have the more specific monitoring of heart rhythms and blood oxygen.

[davemchine]

I use the Apple Watch. I've had some heart rate issues so I like being able to monitor it wether I'm exercising or not. I do enjoy when it tells me I've hit my move or exercise goal for the day. In the earlier days I also liked it when the Watch would suggest I increase my goals. Satisfying to see progress.

[anonymouse1]

Well, show me an AW worth buying for $25 (which is what I paid for the FitBit)....

graylocks wrote:
Apple Watch for the multitude of reasons that Sarcany listed.

if the device just does fitness i have no use for a one trick pony with my dollars.

[NewtonMP2100]

.....track your spouse...........................

[graylocks]

anonymouse1 wrote:
Well, show me an AW worth buying for $25 (which is what I paid for the FitBit)....

[quote=graylocks]
Apple Watch for the multitude of reasons that Sarcany listed.

if the device just does fitness i have no use for a one trick pony with my dollars.

$25 for a one trick pony is great if that's all you require. i'm sure there's a reddit forum that can help you with ideas of how to use the data. what zillion other things does it do? tell the time is one i assume.

[mattkime]

I almost wasn't going to reply to the thread because I though the topic would be too basic.

WELCOME TO THE QUANTIFIED SELF

IMO, these things make the most sense when they're used to inform future actions. Otherwise its just data hoarding.

It sounds like for your purposes you'll set heart rate zones and might target them when you work out. That alone is very helpful.

For me, I use a heart rate strap when I ride my bike. It tracks how hard I work and for how long. helping me to determine when I need a rest and when I should go hard. Particularly useful if you follow a training plan.