Heart rate monitors/fitness watches etc ?

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stevewestern

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I'd quite like to try a fitness thingie.
There seem to be loads of cheap ones and a few expensive one's which I assume are worth it if you want all the features.
I want to lower my visceral fat (the main goal) so am currently doing some sort of HIIT stuff on my exercise bike, I try to walk a fair bit and I lift a few gentle weights when my body allows (shoulder tendon problems etc)
Exercise bike is a cheapish DKN and the display is my constant - ie I use it to see if i am improving or not, and have a set of Eufy smart scales that tell me I am going to die in a few minutes.
Sleep monitoring would be interesting for a few nights but otherwise I don't need much, and certainly don't want a watch to tell the time with/text/call etc.
Any suggestions on what to try ?
I'd be happy not to spend too much, but if £150 or so would get me something good then fine, even more if needed. £30 would be even better...
 
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Fitbit have the best app by far, it’s all very well having the data, but if you can’t view it in a easy way, it’s pointless.
I have the charge 4, but the charge 3 is just as good, it just lacks the inbuilt gps.. It links with my eufy scales too So the fitbit app knows how fat I am.

24/7 heart rate, lots of different fitness activities to track, connected gps to track runs etc..
 
Thank you both - I'll take a look.
The Polar one appeals in terms of shape, but the fitbit appeals if it tells me how fat I am - the app has to be solid as I can fuss about with a flaky one, but guess the Polar is pretty good on that front too - time to do some reading.......
 
Xiaomi miband 4 or 5 will give heart rate tracking, GPS distance with the phone etc. Around £25-£35 from Amazon or the mistore. I had a miband 3 which was ok and had a decent app. I have the Amazfit ( :rolleyes: ) bip with built-in GPS etc, and it works well but the app sucks. Huawei also make decent band at sensible prices.

If you're planning to use Strava or similar for tracking, you should be aware that they only work with a limited number of usually expensive devices.
 
Cex currently have fenix 5+ grade c for £175. You'd be very hard pressed to find anything better for the money. It's an investing will feature watch including vo2 max calculations and sat nav :)

The lifestyle bands are perfect for daily general wear, but for things like hiit they won't really keep up.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Cex currently have fenix 5+ grade c for £175. You'd be very hard pressed to find anything better for the money. It's an investing will feature watch including vo2 max calculations and sat nav :)

The lifestyle bands are perfect for daily general wear, but for things like hiit they won't really keep up.
Click to expand...
So the fenix5+will keep up with HIIT?
That is my main objective as my temple is otherwise magnificent.
For an old man that is..
 
stevewestern said:
So the fenix5+will keep up with HIIT?
That is my main objective as my temple is otherwise magnificent.
For an old man that is..
Click to expand...

Yes. It will take heart rate from the wrist. For hiit you are probably better with a chest strap bit that's true for any watch. Fenix you can always add a chest strap if you want.

You could either select cardio mode or strength. Strength will ATTEMPT to track reps and sets of you are lifting stuff. Mine was spookily able to spot when I did press ups.

You can also build a custom mode. The mode is really about what data it shows you rather than what it captures. You can look at more data post workout in Garmin connect (a phone app).

5+ is amazing for that money. I only traded mine for a 6 because the 5+ battery only lasts about 15 hours in active mode.

Cex have like a week to change your mind and a 2 year warranty.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Yes. It will take heart rate from the wrist. For hiit you are probably better with a chest strap bit that's true for any watch. Fenix you can always add a chest strap if you want.

You could either select cardio mode or strength. Strength will ATTEMPT to track reps and sets of you are lifting stuff. Mine was spookily able to spot when I did press ups.

You can also build a custom mode. The mode is really about what data it shows you rather than what it captures. You can look at more data post workout in Garmin connect (a phone app).

5+ is amazing for that money. I only traded mine for a 6 because the 5+ battery only lasts about 15 hours in active mode.

Cex have like a week to change your mind and a 2 year warranty.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
JonathanRyan said:
Cex currently have fenix 5+ grade c for £175. You'd be very hard pressed to find anything better for the money. It's an investing will feature watch including vo2 max calculations and sat nav :)

The lifestyle bands are perfect for daily general wear, but for things like hiit they won't really keep up.
Click to expand...
I have a FENIX 5 and have used this for a couple of years, I really like it as I can wear it pretty much all of the time without shouting 'fitness watch'. The app isn't quite as good as the Fitbit version, and I use it with a chest strap for serious training. I'll be upgrading to another Garmin when I need to replace it for sure.
 
Withings - I have the Move ECG and the ScanWatch - the latter will take an ECG and oxygen level. Bit marmite reading on their Forum but I generally get on OK with mine. I wonder, though on their algorithm for step counts. I generally walk the same paths twice a day - in the days of FitBit and Garmin I used to average 14-15K, but the Withings rarely gets above 10K.

I thought I'd give them a try as they are a European Firm, (France) rather than US/Asia....
 
I have the Fitbit charge 4 as I mentioned and I also have a Fenix 6x as a daily wearer. The heart rate difference between the two are negligible except when doing things like weight lifting when your wrist is bending, or in my case, drumming. Both then vary but the Fenix seems more reliable. As been mentioned, for things like this, chest strap is better.

Ive trail run with both and they both seem to keep up, but the gps on the Fenix is better by far. The gamin connect app is ok, but not as good as the Fitbit app.

You need to keep in mind, all fitness watches are not 100% accurate to real life, but, they generally are accurate within themselves, meaning your heart rate might really be 150 when running but the watch might show it as 160.. but it will be consistent in showing it at 160 when its really 150, if that makes sense. You can still progress in the increase in your fitness as the heart rate data will still reflect changes, they might just be a bit out from what is actually the real bpm.
 
TCR4x4 said:
I have the Fitbit charge 4 as I mentioned and I also have a Fenix 6x as a daily wearer. The heart rate difference between the two are negligible except when doing things like weight lifting when your wrist is bending, or in my case, drumming. Both then vary but the Fenix seems more reliable. As been mentioned, for things like this, chest strap is better.

Ive trail run with both and they both seem to keep up, but the gps on the Fenix is better by far. The gamin connect app is ok, but not as good as the Fitbit app.

You need to keep in mind, all fitness watches are not 100% accurate to real life, but, they generally are accurate within themselves, meaning your heart rate might really be 150 when running but the watch might show it as 160.. but it will be consistent in showing it at 160 when its really 150, if that makes sense. You can still progress in the increase in your fitness as the heart rate data will still reflect changes, they might just be a bit out from what is actually the real bpm.
Click to expand...

Interesting to see a comparison from somebody who owns both a Fenix and a Fitbit. Yeah, the gps on a Fenix is going to kill pretty much anything else. Garmin could do with improving their app, but the more I dig into it the more I like it. Of course if you really want to geek out, you want Golden Cheetah :) https://www.goldencheetah.org/
 
Again, thank you all for the replies and help - much appreciated.
Clearly most of you are way more dedicated, or at least able-bodied than me, although that isn't difficult as I've got a torn tendon in my shoulder and nerve problems in both feet (3 operations potentially before Christmas !)
@TCR4x4 - accuracy isn't important but as you say, a constant is, and currently my exercise bike provides that while on it - a watch seems to be the way to go for me.
I'm tempted to get a second hand fitbit versa 1 or 2 as they are cheap enough on ebay (does anyone here have one they no longer use - I'll put a wanted thread up in a mo) and take it from there, maybe get something better in a few months once I'm more active again
 
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