Wearable Tech To Improve Your Health

Ahh....its only a spam post. Relax.

Scott Adams says it best.

www.dil-23/bert.com/strips/2014-05

Actually I don't think it is a spam post. We are about to find out.

The fitness trackers are a big market. But there is a plethora of options out there.

Chelsey H: I have a Fitbit one and like it. Pros: It tracks sleep, I am prone to sleep apnea, and having something to track that is a big bonus to me. Cons: There is no heartrate monitor. I (and my wife) don't need to track it 24/7, but it would be nice to see what you get your heartrate up to, and how fast it comes down. As far as the App, it is nice to be able sync to my smartphone. Unfortunately, it is geared (as most of them are) to weight loss. I am 6' tall, and weigh 150 pounds. I don't need, or want, a weight loss program. At work they tell me I would have to "stand up twice to make a shadow!".

My wife on the other hand, would like to track (in order): 1. Sleep 2. Varied activity. She goes to the gym 2-3 times a week, and one of the exercises is the stationary bike, unfortunately, most fitness trackers don't work/play well with that exercise. 3. Heartrate monitor. 4. Lastly, the website options. Sleep tracking, weight loss (she doesn't need it in my opinion - but it seems to be a recurring theme with most women I know, so I just tell her that - and shut my mouth), nutrition...

We both started out 3-4 years ago with the Striiv. It only tracks steps, stairs, and distance; but the accuracy was, IMHO, excellent. And as a bonus, you could use your activity for charities. That was a big point, especially for my wife. I only had 2 things against it: 1. The, lets call it endurance - they died fairly regularly ( 2 each during that time - partly our fault, partly their's). 2. The holder for them was a POS in my opinion. The last one I had, must have popped off of my belt (and been retrieved), at least 20 times - until the last time. To be clear though, we are pretty active (hiking - in Death Valley for our anniversaries, biking...), but it still was a minus in my book. To be honest though, they have a new one (just found it while I was composing this), that is a wrist band. Might be worth a look see?

I bought my wife a Withings Pulse O2 for mothers day, after her last Striiv died. It has some good things to look at: Sleep tracking, Heartrate (at least on demand), If you strap it to your ankle, I am guessing it would track biking fairly well. And the website looked pretty good. Unfortunately, that was where it broke down: Her smartphone would recognize the tracker, but their App would not (#@%*@)(&%). I sent it back. To be clear, this was 2-3 weeks after it first hit the market, so I'm guessing the app will be updated to handle it, but the warranty was running out, and I wasn't going to take a chance on a maybe. That was poor planning on their part (IMHO).

I have looked (both for me and my wife), at the Basis fitness tracker. It has a lot of things going for it. And the reviews I have read say it does a good job tracking different activities, even though they (admittedly) don't know how it can accomplish the task. My guess, is that because it monitors heartrate continuously, it knows that you are working out - somehow, and tracks it. My concern with are 2: 1. you cannot tell from the pictures, whether you are strapping a somewhat large watch to your wrist - or a grandfather clock. 2. If (as I suspect), its ability to discern your activity is derived from the heartrate monitor, then if it is the slightest bit loose, or if sweat interferes with its ability to read, then it will be inaccurate.

* I have NO vested interest in any of these companies.

That is just my (very limited) take on what is out there. Take this CR4 review with 2 cents.

I regard a review of only one product to pretty much be a spam post. A commercial disguised as a product review. Now, if it was a comparative review...cars are an example like "the new Mustang is more fuel efficient than the old Mustang, but the Chevette has it beat" ....then it is a review. Otherwise, it simply looked exactly like an infomercial. Your post compared a couple of different monitoring devices. At least thats what I get from that, I admit I didn't bother reading it really closely. But I think your post was a nice little essay on comparative items. And well written I might add.

A magazine article is a different thing yet. Most of Chelsey's quite enjoyable posts resemble magazine articles more than anything else. Training will always tell.

Yusef1

I don't understand this desire to be enslaved by a machine.

I too consider it spam. Why can't people just enjoy life without listening to anyone who claims to be able to extend their life.

I've also heard good things about the fitbit and know several people with them (which I mention in the post). I wish I could review multiple products but since this isn't actually a commercial or spam post, I don't get paid extra for the review or the products.

Thank you very much for your review of fitbit and other trackers kilowatt0! I think the technology is continuing to improve, and like anything else, will take time to workout all the kinks.

A tip for your wife - I do the spin bike too and I have found that if you hook the device to your sneaker it tracks the movement much better. (like the other brand you mentioned) You can also sync it with an app like runkeeper to track the activity.

More than anything, I think they are a neat way to take a look at your activity level. Maybe you don't need this and you can keep track on your own- good for you! Sounds like you don't need to be reading these product reviews.

Well written though.....