Just who uses a fitness band?

[etphoto]

I go to the local gym at least 3 times a week and have been seriously considering getting a band 2. Because of my interest I started paying attention to the people at the gym to see what kind of fitness bands they are wearing and I never see anyone wearing one. I see people on their phones (sometimes) and it looks like they are adding stuff to probably some fitness app, but never have seen a fitness band much less a MS Band. I've seen them in the wild, but just not at the gym, strange.

 

[Samuel Hernandez1]

I use mine for mostly ourdoor jogging in NYC. Have to admit I've never seen another band in the wild, hopefully that changes with the band 2. I've seen plenty of other fitness bands mostly on people counting steps or calories.

 

[anon(5383410)]

I still see no practical application for them. I thought Band 2 would be different (don't know why) but I'm still not sold. Your smartphone and sensible diet/workout should be enough. To each his own though.

 

[poit57]

I use the Band mostly for tracking running. I got my first one about a month before running a half marathon and will soon start training for a full marathon next spring. I have used it to track gym workouts and other recreational sports, but I haven't tracked my calories in very consistently since before I got the Band, so tracking my calories burned hasn't really benefitted me losing weight like it ideally should have.

Other than that, I also find it very useful for phone notifications when I'm not tracking a workout.

 

[etphoto]

So, they are used mostly for cardiovascular type workouts? One would think think you'd see them in a gym.

 

[Nate Silver]

There is some question about the value of fitness bands for gym type exercise. They track cardio step-based (walking/running) and cycling activities (and in some cases swimming activity) quite well, but body weight/free weight/weight machine activities are fairly difficult for them to quantify. I briefly used an Amiigo device, which had some ability to 'learn' various exercises that you performed, and count repetitions, but it certainly wasn't perfect. There are a few other devices that claim to be made for lifting and such, but lets face it, heart rate based devices are best for detecting and tracking elevated heart rate......and very often resistance training doesn't really raise heart rate all that much, unless you're doing Insanity or some lift-until-you-puke high intensity stuff. Its just harder to measure and quantify the calorie burn and benefit; and much easier to do so with strictly cardio. I think devices will evolve and become better at tracking a larger range of exercise, but they're not there yet.

 

[anon(8555314)]

The genre is still emerging. I'm a huge fan of business concepts that bridge or switch between multiple genres. I really like the way MS is creating a fitness band for people who want to be productive at work. I think the Band 1&2 add tremendous value in the following ways:

1) first and foremost, the Band is great for those who bike, run or hike and want to track GPS and HR. I can track biking with my phone, but the band is vastly superior since it is easier to glance for updates, includes HR, and is easier to start, pause, and stop.
2) second, this particular device maximizes the usefulness of your smartphone in ways I hadn't imagined. I love that I can keep my phone volume turned off and still see what my phone is trying to tell me when I'm in a meeting. Reminders and notifications are so much better on the wrist with haptic alerts.
3) The band has improved my sleep quality, which is really important for me, and I am liking the new wake up alarm that optimizes wake up with the level of sleep.
4) The band motivates me to exercise more and make healthy choices.
5) Compared with a chest strap, the optical HR monitor is far less obtrusive, and compared with launching an app on a smartphone, it is way quicker to tap the screen, scroll to your bike or run tile, tap GPS and hit start.
6) The MS Health Dashboard is becoming a very cool place to collect and monitor health stats, and MS is constantly upgrading this. No doubt more upgrades and connected apps are coming soon.
7) I use Uber so I'll be very happy when that rolls out to the Band as well. I missed a ride recently since I walked away from my phone when they came to pick me up. That can't happen now.

For a person who only works out at the gym, and who doesn't need the smartwatch functions, the Band probably doesn't make that much sense.

 

[anon(5383410)]

So, they are used mostly for cardiovascular type workouts? One would think think you'd see them in a gym.

All cardio equipment in even the cheapest gym can monitor virtually everything a band can.

 

[RyanJo]

I workout 3-5 times per week and I track all of my workouts with it. Mostly to just see calories burned and how intense my workouts have been. It doesn't necessarily give me a huge amount of additional information but I just like to have it for fun.

 

[Dave47]

All cardio equipment in even the cheapest gym can monitor virtually everything a band can.

The Band can always be with/on you. The gym cannot.

 

[anon(5383410)]

The Band can always be with/on you. The gym cannot.

If you have a solid exercise and diet routine you have no need for Fitness tracking outside of a gym. If you eat healthy today you've done good for the day. If you inhale some Chipotle for lunch it doesn't matter how comprehensive the data your Band provides. Your day is lost. Track all the steps you want, it won't help.

 

[luxnws]

If you have a solid exercise and diet routine you have no need for Fitness tracking outside of a gym. If you eat healthy today you've done good for the day. If you inhale some Chipotle for lunch it doesn't matter how comprehensive the data your Band provides. Your day is lost. Track all the steps you want, it won't help.

No, using a fitness band won't make people healthy overnight. No, the hard core, disciplined gym rats won't benefit as much from tracking their activity outside the gym.

For most casual fitness buffs, the idea is to get them to be more active. Fitness trackers allow people establish a baseline then motivate them to do more. That's why fitness trackers are now a billion dollar industry. Even if people ate at Chipotle for lunch, if the bands get them to stand up and take the stairs or walk an extra thousand more steps per day than they did before they began using a fitness band, it's a plus for their health.

 

[jimmib]

I am 70 years old and the Band 2 is my first fitness tracker because I wanted something that will track my heart rate and sleep. I have been very happy with this band as it does more than I expected. It even compares me to others in my age group. I use the run app to record my walks and it works well for this. I used the GPS for two days so my stride is correct and then turned it off to keep battery use down. I think anyone that needs a baseline to build an exercise program around will benefit from the Band 2.

 

[mkg3]

...............but body weight/free weight/weight machine activities are fairly difficult for them to quantify............and very often resistance training doesn't really raise heart rate all that much, unless you're doing Insanity or some lift-until-you-puke high intensity stuff...........

My experience, after wearing Band everyday since Xmas, and working out both weights and cardio, is that it does pretty good job of tracking calories burned and HR during workouts. I average 5 days/wk workout schedule between weights and cardio types.

While its true that pure cardio gets the HR up much quicker, using resistance such as weight also do the same job. Unless one is taking a very long break between sets, the Band tracks the tempo of lifting by measuring HR and showing graphically as it track (after syncing).

When I do elliptical or stationary bike, the measured calories are much higher than just lifting but in reality, that makes sense since there are lots of highs and lows in terms of HR. It also tracks cross-fit/interval type of training pretty well. Band measures the spike in HR and keeps up with all the activities accordingly - mixture of resistance/sprinting/isometrics.

About the only thing I haven't done with Band is actual jogging/running and outdoor bicycling. Plenty of stationary bike and treadmill at the gym but not outside, as I tend to do more of crossfit type of workout and weights than just running or bicycling.

 

[Nate Silver]

My experience, after wearing Band everyday since Xmas, and working out both weights and cardio, is that it does pretty good job of tracking calories burned and HR during workouts. I average 5 days/wk workout schedule between weights and cardio types.

While its true that pure cardio gets the HR up much quicker, using resistance such as weight also do the same job. Unless one is taking a very long break between sets, the Band tracks the tempo of lifting by measuring HR and showing graphically as it track (after syncing).

When I do elliptical or stationary bike, the measured calories are much higher than just lifting but in reality, that makes sense since there are lots of highs and lows in terms of HR. It also tracks cross-fit/interval type of training pretty well. Band measures the spike in HR and keeps up with all the activities accordingly - mixture of resistance/sprinting/isometrics.

About the only thing I haven't done with Band is actual jogging/running and outdoor bicycling. Plenty of stationary bike and treadmill at the gym but not outside, as I tend to do more of crossfit type of workout and weights than just running or bicycling.

Yes, I should have mentioned that the Band will track higher calorie burn through increased HR during resistance training. One issue, as I understand it, is that there is some thought that resistance training has long lasting benefits that are not accurately accounted for by the modest (by pure cardio exercise standards) increase in HR (when compared to high cardio exercise like running or cycling - think V02 max or FTP based training). Probably until there is some medical consensus about this, we can't expect these devices to figure out a way to quantify it. But at the very least, the Band (and other trackers) at least allow us to show some gain, as well as the ability to document the activity. Its enough to convince me to use the Band for tracking resistance training as well as cardio. What we need is a Power Meter (strain gauge) that will measure the effort of weight training in wattage!

 

[mkg3]

Nate, since you try many new trackers, what's your thought on Polar A360 (https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...n%2Fproducts%2Fsport%2FA360%29&token=4LcBlhUj I'm debating between Band2 or A360. My Band 1 is falling apart. It finally peeled inside and its starting to separate here and there. I haven't walked into MS store, since I still trying to figure out which to go with.

I wonder if Polar will give more accurate HR readings, given their chest strap experience and algorithms? Also, it appears to be better integrated with iOS (for those of us w/iPhones).

But its another 1st gen product like Band 1 so who knows...

 

[DroidUser42]

I wonder if Polar will give more accurate HR readings, given their chest strap experience and algorithms?

I doubt if chest strap experience translates well to wrist optical. At best it would be testing the kinds of things that gave the chest strap problems.

 

[Nate Silver]

Nate, since you try many new trackers, what's your thought on Polar A360 (https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...n%2Fproducts%2Fsport%2FA360%29&token=DTZzBfcK I'm debating between Band2 or A360. My Band 1 is falling apart. It finally peeled inside and its starting to separate here and there. I haven't walked into MS store, since I still trying to figure out which to go with.

I wonder if Polar will give more accurate HR readings, given their chest strap experience and algorithms? Also, it appears to be better integrated with iOS (for those of us w/iPhones).

But its another 1st gen product like Band 1 so who knows...

I don't have experience with any Polar products. I've looked at some reviews, and I know many folks are very satisfied with them. They've been in the business pretty much since the start, so I'd think they'd be pretty solid. Integration with IOS doesn't interest me since I don't have any Apple devices. One of the things that has kept me away from their fitness offerings is that they are pretty much Bluetooth only when it comes to sensors, and all my bike sensors are Ant+.

One thing to look at is whether Polar has developed their own optical sensor, or is incorporating one developed by one of the handful of optical hr manufacturers (like MIO). I know Garmin has supposedly developed their own sensor for their new optical hr watch line; don't know if Polar has done the same.

As DroidUser pointed out, (and I agree); there is likely no correlation between a company's experience with conventional hr trackers and their foray into the optical world. Its a whole different world, since conventional trackers operate by measuring electrical pulses directly from the heart, while optical attempts to measure the emptying and filling of capillary vessels, and then interpreting this data in such a way as to (hopefully accurately) measure heart rate. This is one of the reasons for the lag in readings by optical tracking when compared with a chest strap. It takes a bit of time for the software/algorithms to massage the data into shape. The other reason being that the readings are being taken from an extremity (wrist, usually), rather than right over the heart muscle, so its natural that changes would be noticed slightly after the fact.

That's the challenge faced by optical sensors., Along with coming up with the hardware to accurately 'see' the capillary action, that information then needs to be interpreted and reported quickly enough to compete with a sensor that is reading electrical impulses directly from the heart. But there are advantages as well, providing they can make it work. Much more convenient and comfortable to wear a wrist strap rather than a conventional hr monitor around the chest, particularly if you're trying to monitor hr on a 24/7 basis.

If you decide to give the Polar a try, I'd be interested in hearing about your experience!

 

[etphoto]

I went to the gym today and see three different people wearing a fit band. Of course, none of the were MS's band. So, there are people wearing them in the gym. I just got to pay more attention.

 

[Mendzapp]

I have a FitBit Flex, and I agree they're not very prevalent. Working for a digital agency I did see a few people with them (Nike Bands, FitBits and Microsoft Bands were the most common) but most of these people worked on the account for the company in question. I very rarely see anyone wearing them in the gym, I think I'm often quite safely the only one.

I'm under the impression wearables haven't quite had their "iPhone" moment yet.