Fitness trackers can be a helpful tool for monitoring your health and fine-tuning your fitness routine. In fact, many of them are designed for specific sports and offer a variety of features, including sleep tracking, integrated heart rate monitors, and water resistance.
However, picking a product that’s right for you can be challenging, as there are so many choices available.
Athletic Department Manager Malcolm took a look through everything that is on the market and came up with his choices for best for running, swimming and cycling.
Malcolm selected the products based on the following criteria: product features including; activity tracking, GPS navigation, and heart rate monitoring.
Here are his choices:
Running – Garmin Forerunner 245
Featuring GPS navigation, smartphone connectivity, and advanced performance analytics, the Garmin Forerunner 245 is a great choice for runners. This top-notch fitness tracker provides feedback on your current training status and offers custom workouts and adaptive training plans to help ramp up your run. It also uses a wrist sensor to track your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and V̇O₂ max — a measure of cardiorespiratory fitness. The device may also help you improve your form by providing detailed information on your stride length, balance, cadence, and vertical oscillation — the amount that your torso moves up and down with each step.
The watch also offers the ‘Garmin Coach’ feature, which provides personalised guidance and training plans from an expert running coach. In addition to running, the Garmin Forerunner 245 includes features that are tailored to other forms of cardio workouts, including swimming, cycling, hiking, and more.
To receive notifications, you can pair the watch with your phone using the Garmin Connect app. The battery is said to last up to 7 days, but that’s with minimal usage. With music, GPS, and wrist monitoring running simultaneously, you can expect it to last closer to 6 hours.
This watch retails at around the $350 mark, and we think; worth it!
Swimming – Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro
If you’re frequently swimming laps, you’ll want to consider the Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro.
Water-resistant up to 164 feet (50 meters), this smartwatch is one of the few options on the market that provides continuous heart rate monitoring while you swim.
Swimmers will also appreciate the device’s automatic stroke recognition and pace monitoring.
Furthermore, the device provides valuable insights into your performance by calculating your SWOLF score — a measure of your efficiency based on how long it takes you to swim a certain number of strokes.
One thing to note is while most users rave about the watch’s accuracy for swimmers, some complain that it’s not the best fit if you’re doing laps in pools smaller than 25 metres. So it’s fine for the Tatts pool!
This watch retails for around $200, so good value for all that it offers.
Cycling – Polar Vantage M
The Polar Vantage M is ideal for cyclists seeking a sports watch that’s slim, lightweight, and less expensive than its competitors.
The watch boasts over 130 sport profiles available to download, including one that’s tailored to cycling.
In addition to measuring your heart rate, the watch keeps tabs on your speed, distance travelled, the time elapsed, calories burned, and changes in altitude as you ride.
Additionally, in the background, the Polar Vantage M records your GPS trace, which can be synced with apps like Strava for a detailed report of your training session.
Other notable features include V̇O₂ max tracking, continuous heart rate monitoring, personalised training plans, and guided breathing exercises.
This watch works well with a variety of other activities too, including running and swimming. It also boasts a long battery life of up to 30 hours per charge when used in training mode.
Retailing at around $399, the Vantage M is priced significantly lower than the Vantage V, making it a compelling choice.
