Activity Tracker - worth it or pointless?

[Squigget]

I'm pretty new to exercise and am currently doing a short HIIT workout 3-4 times a week and trying to walk more. I tried C25K but it hurt my knees, however, I've lost almost a stone in the last 6 weeks and am keen to have another go soon now I'm not so hefty. I'd love an activity tracker to count my steps and see my heart rate etc but the more I read up on them the more confused I am. Everything seems to point to them being frequently inaccurate and prone to breaking after a couple of years . I could spend up to about £100 on one but will I just be wasting my money?

Get one with a GPS. It is so much more motivating to know your pace and distance if you are running. Or download Strava onto your phone and measure it that way.

Well done on losing a stone - that's brilliant!!

I was just wondering if you need a tracker at all. Do you usually have your phone with you?

@AuntieStella yes I tend to have my phone with me if out the house and it has a step counter on it, but ideally I'd like to know how many steps I'm doing as I'm pottering around at home also (currently WFH) and I don't always have my phone on me in the house.

My fitness journey started with a basic fitbit. I loved to see how many steps I was doing each day and to see if I could beat my previous day or week. I loved the app of my phone and looking up all the data. I got involved in the challenges you can set up with friends (got my 1st fitbit friends from mumsnet) and found out I was quite competitive Feeling fitter from all the walking led me into other activities and I'm now fitter than I've ever been before.

Pottering around the house steps aren't useful steps for health so if it's just steps you're interested in, I'd just stick to your phone too. I'd agree activity trackers are a bit useless without their own GPS. It really helps learning how to run if you know your pace as it makes sure you don't go too fast for the distance you're attempting.

I have a Garmin (the 35) because use a fair number of its features when I run. I don't think that's the brand for you, because it won't display on your wrist the number of paces you've done when not actively logging (you only get them wh you sync to the app) and, although you can customise activity data fields for when you are walking, step count isn't a choice, so again you have to wait until you sync.

So you're probably better off with a Fitbit, but I really don't know which to recommend (never had one)

have you checked out www.whoop.com
it has changed my life, literally refocused my workouts etc, it's so in-depth.

your sleep, strain, calorie burn, HRV, respiratory rate etc, maps your runs/ bike rides etc

it even checks your respiratory level which users have been able to find out they have got corona.

it's $30 a month but so worth it, if you fancy trying it here's a code for us both to get a free month

Get a free WHOOP strap and your first month free when you join with my link: join.whoop.com/#/123AB4

the strap is free

just to show you some data, i used to have a fit bit but found the calories burned were just way off

I wouldn't pay for that sort of data! Comes as standard with most Garmin watches (features vary according to watch) on their app and from what I've seen on Fitbit and apple watches, it's standard on there as well.....why pay monthly?!

All the main sports trackers do the stuff mentioned about whoop, and there is no subscription - you buy the watch/tracker, then download app (eg Garmin Connect) which is free and provides all the performance data analysis.

Not pay for the data, ongoing, with 'free' watch (inverted commas because the subscription cost will outstrip the cost of even a good watch in less than a year)

i love the whoop as it helps me plan for competitions, pbs etc, but i do compete in my sport a lot. it is a lot of data etc. for my sport i have to plan weight/ training etc prior to a comp so it's invaluable.

Yup, Garmin does multi-sport training plans too.

With no subscription.

I don't think subscription services have really taken off in UK ($ pricing suggests it's not aimed at British market)

Serious athletes I know use Garmin or Suunto, and others use Fitbits or Apple watches, and there's sometimes a TomTom. App/website, analysis, training plans etc are all free, it's just initial purchase.

OP is however not interested in anything other than step counting (though t's a slippery slope, once you start collecting data....) which is why I think a Fitbit is likely to be best. And probably one with a fairly basic spec - prices for these start at £20 (less than one month of whoop)

Thanks everyone. I have no desire to pay a monthly subscription given that most of the data is already collated by the apps for most trackers in any case.
I can definitely see the benefit of a tracker with GPS. Are the sub £100 ones accurate though and is the HR, sleep tracking bit accurate too? Also does it automatically track the distance you travel or do you have to tell it to start measuring?

I got a Fitbit Charge HR about 6 weeks ago. I'm quite a bit overweight. I realised I was pretty much sedentary, and it's helped me make little changes. It reminds you to move every hour for example. I do the challenges to do virtual hikes.

Accuracy... Well it regularly congratulates me on my swimming... Sometimes we put music on Alexa and dance around the kitchen which it picks up as swimming! And making the bed yesterday gave me 200 steps. But as a general overall measure, it helps.

A lot of my 'walks' are around the house and garden when children are in bed.... But I can spend an hour going up and down the garden with a book.

i think fitbit s are great for motivating you to keep moving and step count

I use a cheaper Garmin (viviosport) with no gps but I take my phone and it works the same then.

The app is really good, the watch tracks O2, sleep, steps, stress, calories burned and lots more.

I’m a keen runner so to me it’s invaluable.

@Squigget check out DC Rainmaker's recommendations for activity trackers. His blog is a good source of info for sports related tech.

A lot of what you might consider 'premium' features are available at fairly low price points these days. If you can stretch your budget a bit £150 will get you something that lasts a decade and in terms of cost per wear that's extremely good value.

I got a Garmin Vivosport and I’m really pleased with it. It has GPS and links to Strava so it’s easy to track runs just using the watch (it updates to strava when you syncs the watch in the Garmin app). One of my favourite things for running is you can set your pace on the watch and it notifies you if you are getting behind, I find it really helps me push myself.

It tracks steps and you can see these on the watch display. It motivates me to move more when I see that I’ve not done many steps that day.

I don’t think the calorie calculations are ever 100% on these things but I’d say it’s a good guide.

I’ve had a Fitbit in the past, but I prefer the Garmin.

It also links with apps like MyFitnessPal so if you are using that to track calories it puts how many calories you have burned from exercise into the daily allowance.

Sorry to butt in. I was thinking of getting one that counts steps and measures heart rate - this is because I have done some Popsugar workouts where they are promoting them and talk about getting your heart rate up. Could I get one quite cheap?

Depends what you define as quite cheap as @earlydoors42 I paid £80 for the vivosport, which is a lot cheaper than some of the high end trackers with all bells and whistles.... but also a lot more than the £20 you get on Amazon!

I’m not sure the HR monitors are very accurate on the cheap ones though. To be honest I think even the more expensive ones aren’t completely accurate, you need one of those chest strap HR monitors for a really accurate reading.

To be honest, if you’re doing a work out and you’re short of breath you know your heart rate will be up. That said, I do love my tracker 😀

Wrist worn heart rate trackers aren't particularly accurate, even the expensive ones.

But you might spot trends - resting heart rate will be lower when you are fitter, and you can see the difference, but the actual number may well not be right

I use a Myzone chest strap when exercising. It links in to my gym system. For running, I use that and a Strava app on my phone. It works and is free.

I just researched good value fitness trackers and went for the Huawei Band 4 Pro. It has built-in GPS and a heart rate monitor. There's a good deal on Amazon atm, it's only £45.

I got myself a fitness tracker a few years back. Think I paid £49.99 for it and it was poor. I ended up having to return it as it kept stopping tracking. Id be doing exercise for 30 to 60 minutes and it wasn't tracking anything or if it did it was way off. That kind of put me off them but recently I invested in a garmin vivoactive 4. I appreciate this is out of your price range but I am amazed at what it can do. I have struggled with motivation for years now and so far everyday I have pushed myself to achieve my daily goals and work out. Tonight is the first night I used the GPS properly and loved reviewing the stats after being out for 90 minutes. I feel its really pushing me to continue to be active more.