Fitness junkies that switched from Fitbit or other fitness band

[NinerJet9]

I know the Apple Watch offer a lot more general functionality than a fitness focused band like Fitbit or the Microsoft Band. My question is this: Are you satisfied w the fitness aspect of the AW? Is there anything you feel like you've given up that were better on a prior fitness focused band? I'm sure I'll love some of the other conveniences of the AW but my priority is the fitness functionality for cycling, running and guided workouts like Tabata.

 

[anon(631408)]

I can tell you for cycling it has been great. I believe running would be the same. You do have to calibrate it with a 20 minute walk or run. Once I did that the mileage was pretty accurate. I am not sure what Tabata is so I really can't comment on that. The only thing I really miss is an online dashboard but that isn't a big deal. I think more apps will be coming out soon and will make the watch something you will forget all the other fitness bands IMO.

 

[eb_therebel]

I know the Apple Watch offer a lot more general functionality than a fitness focused band like Fitbit or the Microsoft Band. My question is this: Are you satisfied w the fitness aspect of the AW? Is there anything you feel like you've given up that were better on a prior fitness focused band? I'm sure I'll love some of the other conveniences of the AW but my priority is the fitness functionality for cycling, running and guided workouts like Tabata.

The only thing I miss about my band is the gps and the guided workouts but I use mine to run and after calibrating it, it's pretty close to being accurate so I'm happy I made the switch

 

[bamf-hacker]

I am a huge fitness buff and quantifier. I love the Watch for fitness tracking etc. The only thing I really miss is sleep tracking, and for now I am still putting on a separate band at night to track that.

 

[tcuprof]

Are you satisfied w the fitness aspect of the AW? Is there anything you feel like you've given up that were better on a prior fitness focused band?

I'm very satisfied with the fitness aspect of the AW. For me, it is THE most important function. As others have said, it's only shortcoming which I would expect to be addressed in AW2 is a GPS. If you don't mind running with your phone, then that's no issue. The other thing I miss from when I ran with my Garmin Forerunner is the detailed stats.

 

[mamuwaldie]

I had the Nike watch but the AW is more reliable. I wish the AW had the map of your run like the Nike watch did, where you could see what pace you ran at certain points and distance.

 

[NinerJet9]

Thanks for all the responses. It seems like you guys are pretty happy w the AW for a fitness device. I'm guessing most of you are using specific apps for running,cycling and sleep to get your data points (like Strava for mileage, elevation, mapping, etc) and then have that app dump the data to a central location like the Apple Health app. Is that working as expected? One thing I do not like about the Apple health app, is that the data is vague because it's in the form of a graph rather than actual broken down values.

 

[tcuprof]

I'm guessing most of you are using specific apps for running,cycling and sleep to get your data points (like Strava for mileage, elevation, mapping, etc) and then have that app dump the data to a central location like the Apple Health app.

Actually, no. I'm using the Apple Workout app and I'm very happy with it.

 

[eb_therebel]

Thanks for all the responses. It seems like you guys are pretty happy w the AW for a fitness device. I'm guessing most of you are using specific apps for running,cycling and sleep to get your data points (like Strava for mileage, elevation, mapping, etc) and then have that app dump the data to a central location like the Apple Health app. Is that working as expected? One thing I do not like about the Apple health app, is that the data is vague because it's in the form of a graph rather than actual broken down values.

I'm using the Apple Workout app and it does the job at least until Nike+ or Runkeeper updates for watchos2

 

[dcscott]

I tend to be rather competitive and frankly don't much care if I take 10,000 steps today or 14,000. I just want to take more steps then my friends and spouse. I really miss the competitive aspect of Fitbit. I tried using Sync Solver to feed step data to Fitbit but found it unreliable.

 

[NinerJet9]

Fitbit definitely has the lock on the social aspect. I'm competitive like you and would it would be nice to be able to compare and challenge friends, family and spouse.

What was the problem w sync solver?

 

[robertk328]

I tend to be rather competitive and frankly don't much care if I take 10,000 steps today or 14,000. I just want to take more steps then my friends and spouse. I really miss the competitive aspect of Fitbit. I tried using Sync Solver to feed step data to Fitbit but found it unreliable.

Have you tried setting up your phone in the Fitbit app as a MobileTrack device? It would allow your phone (as long as you have it on you) to track your progress. It keeps track when you aren't using a Fitbit device.

I've seen this as a workaround.

 

[dcscott]

............. What was the problem w sync solver?

Perhaps I have simply been unable to figure out how to set it up. It seems like I need to manually request a sync rather than having it automatic, and when I do sync my step counts never make it to Fitbit. Fitbit has showed me at zero steps since I strapped on the AW and took off my Fitbit.

 

[tcuprof]

Have you tried setting up your phone in the Fitbit app as a MobileTrack device? It would allow your phone (as long as you have it on you) to track your progress. It keeps track when you aren't using a Fitbit device.

I've seen this as a workaround.

Thanks for the idea Robert! My wife has a Fitbit and we've been wondering how we could track each other's steps. I didn't even think about installing a Fitbit app on my iPhone. One quirk I've noticed already, even though the Fitbit app gets data from the iPhone (which is getting it's data from the Apple Watch), the Fitbit steps match neither the iPhone nor the Apple Watch. For example, right now my Health app reports 15,037 steps, my Apple Watch shows 15,013 steps, and the Fitbit app shows 16,083. Odd right?

 

[robertk328]

Hard to know which one is most accurate! But see how it works in your day to day it may all even out. And you'll get to participate in the challenges plus if you're showing higher you'll motivate the others. If you're lower you'll motivate yourself

 

[Daniel Broad]

There are apps on the store that will load the Apple Watch steps into your Fitbit account, i do that so i can still track against my friends and family

 

[gmabev]

I have loved the activity app. I had used the Nike+ app since the days of the chip in the shoe with my iPod. I also had worn a Fitbit for 2 years prior to getting my Apple Watch. But I have really enjoyed using the app for indoor/outdoor walks, indoor/outdoor cycling and eliptical. Because I have friends with Fitbits I also use Sync Solver to send my watch data to my Fitbit so I can keep track. I'm not a hard core fitness buff but do enjoy my gym workouts and walks, etc. Just lik to stay active and see the results on my watch.

 

[lavonda]

I tend to be rather competitive and frankly don't much care if I take 10,000 steps today or 14,000. I just want to take more steps then my friends and spouse. I really miss the competitive aspect of Fitbit. I tried using Sync Solver to feed step data to Fitbit but found it unreliable.

Check out the app, Matchup.