Best fitness smart watch.

[SpideyMom]

hiya

Just that. Looking for recommendations please? I would prefer a larger watch face but not huge. Ive had the band type before and dont really like them.
Ideally not looking to pay more than £250. It doesn't need to be all signing and dancing. Im not a fitness fanatic but would like to start adopting a healthier lifestyle and keep on track of things.

Any recommendations would be fab.

Thank you

[SpideyMom]

I really like mine. I know its only been early days for me but I really do like it. Im glad I went with the larger face. I dont think it looks out of place. Its so comfortable too. Im not sure about battery life yet but in the last 24 hours mines gone down 12% which I thought was good?
I'm really pleased with mine though and would recommend it. I went with a Garmin as they tend to be the front runners with these sort of things apparently

[googlepoodle]

Hi
Following this as have some birthday money and want to treat myself to a Garmin - but couldnt make up my mind which one. So do you all recommend the va4? I like an all black running watch - have small wrists too but looks like should go for the larger face.

[SpideyMom]

Oh brilliant. But will it stay in the box lol.

The white and rose gold one is lovely. Ive always had a thing for grey myself.

Already achieved my targets for today but my god my legs are aching so much.

I've ended up getting my DS a Garmin Vivofit jr 2. I like that its a more fun version for him to keep him active as if he had his way he would do very little

[nbee84]

Well I've just gone ahead and ordered one! I really wanted the white and rose gold and they seem to be a bit hard to get hold of. I found one tonight with a bit of a discount so dh told me to go ahead and order it and he'd give me the money. It's gonna sit in it's box taunting me til my birthday
The always on screen appealed to me too. I used to have a fitbit and you had to turn your wrist a certain way or tap it just to see what the time was.

[SpideyMom]

Another thing, I was worried about was the screen. The screen on the Venu is beautiful but I didn't like that it turns off to black hiding the time etc. I actually really love the reflective screen on the VA4. I think this is pretty standard, and was worried I'd be disappointed but I actually prefer it.

[SpideyMom]

I miss cycling. I cant wait for my boy to be confident riding a bike as I will get back to it myself.

I'm working up to 5k. Never been a good runner unfortunately. Really hurts my ankles but if I get to 5k I will be happy and then will push for more.

I love that this watch gives you workouts to do too. It will be years before I step foot back in a gym due to sons age and it being just be at home. The goal is to try and be active every day

[nbee84]

I'm sure it'll make me continue with my outdoor fitness. I'm a regular gym goer, love the classes but through lockdown I've been running and cycling (as well as a bit of LMOD at home) I really want to keep up with the running as it's made a big difference to my cardio fitness. I ran 10k this morning and did a 30k bike ride this afternoon and it's such a shame I haven't got my watch yet as I would have loved viewing all the stats

[SpideyMom]

I kid you not, I have just spent the last 50 minutes exercising in my kitchen because I have been unable to motivate my little boy to go out for a jog with me. Usually I would use that as an excuse to not bother. I don't know why but there's something about having this watch attached to my wrist that's making me want to exercise anyway just so I can achieve my goals and targets.

I admit I am a total newbie to these watches but I love how it is motivating me to exercise and move around more. Which is one of the reasons why I made the purchase. I really missed fitness but my motivation has been zero for a long time.

I'm currently sweating like a pig but this is the first time in a long time where I have actually exercised and not taken my son's answer 'no' as an excuse to sit on my bottom and try again tomorrow.

Im never going to he the best runner or a fitness fanatic, but hopefully today is the start of many where exercise is included in in each of my days.

This was a really big purchase for me. I couldn't really afford it to be honest but I'm so glad I went for it. I will have to report back in a few weeks with how things are going.

Bet you can't wait for your birthday.

[nbee84]

Thanks for coming back to update us. Still got 3 and a half weeks til my birthday and I'm still set on the va4

[SpideyMom]

Quick update. Been using my Vivoactive 4 for a few days now and love it. Today is the first day I'm using it properly though (had a bad few days binging on the night).
Was easy to set up and plan workouts ahead. Set up the Couch to 5k one ready to start Tuesday. But I love it. It's so easy to use and love the download able watchfaces.
Its obviously too early days to give it any kind of review, especially after not using it properly yet, but so far I am so glad I went for is, as its already doing part of what I wanted it to do, and be more aware of myself and what I am actually doing.

Also im really pleased I went for the larger watchface. When I went to collect it I had a quick look at the smaller one which was on show and thought that looked the better size as I do only have small wrists. But I am used to bigger watches, so I am really glad I went with the larger one as it doesn't look out of place. Looks beautiful and smart

[temproasted]

@Passmeabrew great thank you

[Passmeabrew]

@temproasted use the blue light card app or webpage, search Garmin and it should give you a link to a page on Garmin's website that lists the items included. Not all items are included but a few different smart watches/fitness trackers were and a few other types of things. Some good savings to be had!

[temproasted]

@Passmeabrew which website did you get the discount? (I have that card). Was it Garmin direct?

[SpideyMom]

Thank you x

[Passmeabrew]

Some people do seem to have few yes, I think they like a backup or different styles for different things, but the vivoactive is a good all rounder and you should be fine with it for a while. It records enough data for you to work with, even if you get quite into fitness and want to progress, has a wide range of sports on there, decent battery life, GPS independent of phone, waterproof of you want to swim......you should be good!

[Passmeabrew]

The 4 just has a few extra features like body battery, respiratory rate and things like that really. I only upgraded because I had the vivoactive 3 - not the VA3music and I wanted to be able to listen to music on it without my phone. When I upgraded to the VA3, the 4 was quite new and price difference was more and I couldn't get the VA3music in the colour I wanted. If you have the VA3music then it's probably not worth the extra money, but if you can get it at a good (I got mine using a Blue Light discount card ) then I would recommend going for the newer model. I'm also a bit of an addict and will probably have my eye on another one by the end of the year

[SpideyMom]

Good point @RooKangaroo

I have to admit I just went with the newer model. The reviews I have seen suggest to get the updated model if you don't already have the 3, however mostly say its worth the upgrade too. However particulars of whats different or better I cant remember, sorry.

Something that has surprised me, though I am happy to admit I am very new to these things, the amount of people who say they own a few fitness watches? Is this really a thing? Presumably its due to upgrades etc but I hope this watch will last me a while

[RooKangaroo]

This is really helpful. Hadn't properly considered Garmin before.

What does the VA4 have that the 3 doesn't?

[temproasted]

I'm interested to know how good the HR tracker is on these watches. I have had a few fitbits and most recently the Versa Lite and the HR function is not great. I can be doing a HIIT workout and totally out of breath and I'll check my HR and it'll be just coming into fat burning mode (ie 120bpm when I know it's really 150bpm)

[temproasted]

I'm interested to know how good the HR tracker is on these watches. I have had a few fitbits and most recently the Versa Lite and the HR function is not great. I can be doing a HIIT workout and totally out of breath and I'll check my HR and it'll be just coming into fat burning mode (ie 120bpm when I know it's really 150bpm)

[SpideyMom]

Brilliant thank you. Really glad I went with the 4. Fingers crossed I like it

[Passmeabrew]

I opened this up to recommend the vivoactive 3 or 4! Love mine! Enjoy! There's a group on Facebook called Garmin connect that's really helpful if you need any help with it, also very good for motivation! People join up with each other via the for challenges as well for an extra motivation boost. I've had a couple of Garmin's now and I've really found them brilliant for helping me get moving and see my progress as I've got more and more into my health and fitness

[Sammysquiz]

Ooh thanks @MrsJamin, that’s a great tip! Can’t wait to get playing with all the features

[SpideyMom]

I will have to check out Fiit. I am seeing so many online things lately, plus I know someone who is amazing at training and goes live with 1 hour classes to his Instagram so ive started doing those. It actually makes me miss the gym despite it being years since I stepped foot in one.

Running is something i would like to take up and I'm really interested with the watch's tracking. Ive never been a good runner. My ankles literally hurt when I do lol, but running 5k and then more would be such an achievement for me.

Enjoy your watch too

[MrsJamin]

@Sammysquiz when you get the watch, set up a training plan for a 5k and it'll set up a great timetable of runs, you say how many times a week you can go and it plans it for you on your watch. I feel like I have to go and run when my watch says so! Of course you can reschedule a run if you really can't do it that day but it's a super helpful way of committing to a goal.