Fitness tech shoutout!

[BrianHG]

Do you use any fitness technology when you exercise?
Share the product you use and how it worked for you.

It can be anything, hardware like smart watches, fitness trackers, bike computers, power meter pedals, Peloton bikes, electronic resistive weights, treadmills, rowers.

Or it can be software like caloric monitoring apps, sports timer . media player apps, even Strava or Zwift.

Let us know what has worked for you, the good and the flops.  What you would like to be better.

[nctnico]

I'm still looking for a swim distance meter which doesn't rely on turning around violently and assuming you swam an entire lap between turns.

[BrianHG]

I'm still looking for a swim distance meter which doesn't rely on turning around violently and assuming you swam an entire lap between turns.

Thank you.  I didn't even know that such a thing existed.
I guess GPS signals cannot be received through a bit of water.

[nctnico]

I'm still looking for a swim distance meter which doesn't rely on turning around violently and assuming you swam an entire lap between turns.

Thank you.  I didn't even know that such a thing existed.

That is the point: it doesn't exist  And GPS isn't really helping when swimming indoor.

[jpanhalt]

I use one or more of the following with various attachments: Case DX40 Compact tractor, Komatsu MRX30 mini-excavator, New Holland L170 skid steer, Echo 20" chain saw, Echo pruner, Echo bush/shrub trimmer, Echo line trimmer and flexible power rake, and my most used is a Grasshopper 25 HP 60" mower.  I don't have time for anything else.  My weight is the same as when I graduated college, but it's redistributed in places.
 

[Benta]

Do you use any fitness technology when you exercise?
Share the product you use and how it worked for you.

No.

But the question indicates a mid-life crisis brewing...

[Halcyon]

I use the Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar and it has been excellent. Supports a wide variety of sports and recreation. Battery life is well over a week (depending on how long you spend outside).

[paul@yahrprobert.com]

I use a Garmin Instinct (one of their cheaper ones) watch for when I'm running:
1) The thing picks up the heart rate from my wrist by shining some green led's into the skin
     a) After you start using it, it takes a couple minutes before the heart rate doesn't look like I'm dying from tachycardia.
     b) The heart rate doesn't work when swimming
2) You can supposedly pair the watch with an app on a smartphone, but I don't use apps, so I download the .fit files to my linux computer and load them into the connect.garmin.com website and that gives me a pretty good summary of my workout with a nice map of where I went if outside.

The user interface, where you have 5 buttons to control an extremely complicated piece of software, it difficult.  Probably using the app would help with this.

[BrianHG]

Do you use any fitness technology when you exercise?
Share the product you use and how it worked for you.

No.

But the question indicates a mid-life crisis brewing...

No, I've developed my own fitness tech over the past decade.
I was just awarded 2 patents regarding syncing workout music with exercise hardware.
I'll be seeking VC funding this fall.
I'm curious what kind of experiences some of us techies have had with the toys in this sector.
(You could say my mid life crisis happened 10 years ago.  Now I'm trying to cash-out on my discovery.)

[Postal2]

My friend says that vodka helps him lose weight. And he really has become thin and wrinkled.

[BrianHG]

My friend says that vodka helps him lose weight. And he really has become thin and wrinkled.

Not really any technology involved here, right?
Maybe that's why he became all wrinkled...

[Postal2]

...Not really any technology involved here, right? ...

He says that he drinks vodka using a special technology, which includes a large amount of vodka and dilution with beer.

He recently successfully passed the liver and head vessel test with an excellent result. From the outside I see that he drinks a lot in 1 day (5 bottles of vodka of 0.5 liters), then he reduces the amount for 2 days, and from 2 weeks to 2 months he is completely sober. But I can clarify the technology with him, if it is interesting.

I would also like to clarify that he has a well-functioning gag reflex, which he does not suppress. Therefore, not all the vodka enters the body. That is, he does not interfere with the brain in regulating the amount. The use of an antiemetic drug would presumably be fatal.

[deadlylover]

Apple watch 7 for heart rate tracking while doing cardio, good for staying in zone 2. I used to use a Polar Verity Sense optical arm band, but the Apple watch is more accurate and since it's always on you and charged (since you have to every day lol).
For an optical sensor they get awfully close to an ECG strap, "the quantified scientist" does a lot of reviews on YouTube for fitness trackers. There's bugger all improvement year on year so you can often pick up a used watch 2 or 3 models older at an excellent price, even the higher end material options lose a lot in value on the used market.

I didn't think I'd like a smartwatch so much but it has become essential tech now, if it were to let out the magic smoke I'd immediately order a replacement.

I got a Precor treadmill for basically free but the controller was dead, so I shoved an Omron VFD in there and it works beautifully. I might have lost a phase in the motor but it still works, for now...

I have a Keiser M3 spin bike as well, but the computer is only good for a basic timer and showing the resistance and power level, it doesn't have that video game like feature where you can pretend to ride or time attack with your mates haha.

[Xena E]

Traditional push bike, exercise and travel combined, don't see the point of continually monitoring.

BMI is good, (my health problems can't be improved with exercise).

[mendip_discovery]

I don't do fitness. Anyone who has met me will agree.

I do wear a first gen samsung smart watch. This allowed me to be aware of when I push >200bpm and need to stop to recover. I am one of those people who just keep plodding along trying to keep up and end up getting rather messed up by it.

The step count is a joke, the number of stairs climbed is even worse. The app has limited graphing stuff and I cant view it online. The app has a competition features but it's mostly got Asian names at the leaderboard with some scary numbers and unachievable goals.

[BrianHG]

Apple watch 7 for heart rate tracking while doing cardio, good for staying in zone 2.

The stationary exercise bike I have been prototyping since 2009 was engineered to generate a super-enhance calorie burn.  I though I was the only one who discovered something novel about the way I was exercising, however, I found out about a year ago that what I was doing closely resembles a concept known in the fitness world as zone 2 training.  Once my music app gets started, I'm going to design a real commercial version of my exercise bike.  It's special bike's high contrast zone2-zone4/5 will blow users away.

(My prototype bike is a retrofitted spinner tied to a treadmill motor with my own electronic braking control processor board which is USB linked to my PC for control, chart logging and music syncing.)

[BrianHG]

The step count is a joke, the number of stairs climbed is even worse. The app has limited graphing stuff and I cant view it online. The app has a competition features but it's mostly got Asian names at the leaderboard with some scary numbers and unachievable goals.

I have seen Youtube video reviewers test the accuracy of smart-watch's accelerometers to count walking steps taken.  They are inaccurate and if you drive a car in a city with a lot of potholes, the count may go haywire.  (I have a 375lb/170kg friend who thinks he is doing great because of his watch...)

I personally do not consider general walking a measure of any physical activity worthy of counting steps.  I think it is BS unless you are carrying a heavy backpack, hiking up and down hills or small mountains out in the wild.

The king of fitness smartwatch tracking apps is Strava.  However, it is for runners & bicyclers and many of them are amateur or pro athletes.  If you use Strava, don't even try to compare with any pro-cyclists and pro-distant runners.  They are not human.  Us mere mortals don't even come close, especially the Tour De France grade cyclists.

[nctnico]

One gadget I would like is a water depth meter I can use while swimming in open water. Preferably with an alarm that goes off when the depth is less than 150cm to avoid obstacles. Bonus points for water temperature.

[m98]

If you do any form of serious endurance training, an accurate chest strap heart rate sensor like the Polar H10 is very useful and much cheaper than smartwatches with a usable optical heart rate sensor.

[BrianHG]

One gadget I would like is a water depth meter I can use while swimming in open water. Preferably with an alarm that goes off when the depth is less than 150cm to avoid obstacles. Bonus points for water temperature.

Look for dive computers, for shallow waters.  Maybe you will find something there.
Also, I think some of the later models of Apple Watch supposedly has a depth gauge and swim tracking.

[bookaboo]

I think it's vital for engineer types to offset the time spent tied to the bench with some regular exercise. Really like my Garmin Forerunner 265, I find tracking the runs I've been doing keeps me accountable. I did look at the higher end Garmin ranges, but couldn't see any features worth the extra cost. App is decent too.

I've  a Polar H10 HR strap but I''d only go to the trouble of wearing that if I was doing some sort of zone testing, having been running for about 4 years I can stick to zones off feel and I know if the watch HR is a little off (which it can do occasionally in the rain).

[nctnico]

One gadget I would like is a water depth meter I can use while swimming in open water. Preferably with an alarm that goes off when the depth is less than 150cm to avoid obstacles. Bonus points for water temperature.

Look for dive computers, for shallow waters.  Maybe you will find something there.
Also, I think some of the later models of Apple Watch supposedly has a depth gauge and swim tracking.

I don't want to know how deep I am as I'm always at the surface, I want to know how much water is beneath me. Swimming in shallow water can be quite dangerous as some mussels have shells with razor sharp edges. It doesn't take much force to get a deep & nasty cut.

[Postal2]

I called my friend and he said he bought 5 bottles but only drank 3 on the first day. He had also been trying to lose weight for about 6 years and has several smart watches, 2 treadmills, 1 exercise bike, weights and a barbell. He also went to the gym. All this led to some problems with his joints, and as soon as he needed a massage therapist, he reconsidered his approach.

[mengfei]

i use my phone + pedometer app but predominantly to play techno & rave music to push me to exercise  

[BrianHG]

@Postal2, one more post from you in this thread and I will report you to the mods.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.