Hey Athletes! Do you have a wearable? Thinking about getting one? Then don’t miss this episode on advice on best wearables!
Episode 59 of Ask Me Anything is up!
Our Advice On Best Wearables
This week’s question is from Steven. He asks “what’s a good place to start with wearables?” The guys dive in and give their advice on the best wearables out there!
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To becoming better!
Jerred
Transcript:
Jerred Moon
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the garage mathlete podcast. Jerred. Moon here with Joe Courtney. Sup, Joe?
Joe Courtney
Happy Wednesday. It’s Wednesday. Yeah, it’s Wednesday.
Jerred Moon
Not for me.
Joe Courtney
Well today publishes.
Jerred Moon
Oh, yeah. We, we we record and publish these on the same day.
Joe Courtney
Yeah, yeah.
Jerred Moon
That’d be impressive. But let’s get into it. We have a question. All Our Questions are coming from some variation of Steven. Yeah, we’ll just go with that from now. So it’s pretty simple question, what’s a good place to start with wearables? So wearables are really a big thing in our community. I feel like everyone has some version of some type of wearable between me you and the team. We’ve worn basically every single wearable on the planet. So we probably are good people to ask, Where to start with wearable, what’s a good wearable? And also we have absolutely no bias. I will talk about how awesome one is and then immediately change my allegiance and talk about how crappy it is. I’ve done that before, multiple times. So Joe, where do you think people should start with wearables?
Joe Courtney
Well, first, I guess you got a start of what do you want in a wearable? What are you looking to track? What are you looking to gain out of it and because that’s going to be the big factor in a lot of them because either you want a smartwatch that if you just want something for your heart rate, but you know you like smartwatch features, then that could that’s a different thing. If you just want the like data and stuff for, for running for doing things. That’s another direction. And the other one be if you just want recovery metrics and recovery data. That’s that’s another one. So I think there’s there’s a distinct fork in the road, when it comes to what you want in a wearable. For starters, a lot of a lot of you with obviously Apple Watches because there’s smartwatches. And generally those type of smartwatch because they’re so versatile, they’re probably going to be the more expensive ones. But a lot of times you get them like sick like past generations for cheaper. And they, as long as it’s not for more than three years old, then you’re usually pretty fine. When it comes to wearables, they, they always say they’re updating this, that and the other with you know, with the GPS or heart rate tracking, but it’s a lot of it’s just minor and you can get it at least that’ll get your foot in the door for a wearables. So before I go off in too much of specifics, whatever you say,
Jerred Moon
yeah, I think you kind of have to make that decision on Am I looking for a smartwatch? Or am I looking for, you know, something to use during training because when I started I had a very basic like a long time ago, like polar heart rate monitors, it came with like a chest strap, and then you wore the watch, but it didn’t do much else other than track your heart rate during the workout. In with the type of training I was doing at the time, it wasn’t actually very, very helpful. I was like, only lifting but wearing a heart rate monitor for no reason at all wasn’t super beneficial. But if you want just to track heart rate, or something during your workout, meaning like you actually will only put this on during training you might even wear a different watch during the day or something like that. Or if you want a smartwatch that does all this other crap. I would make that decision and distinction. So yeah, I kind of agree with you there you have to decide what you’re what you’re looking for. I personally am not a fan of the smartwatch. I guess I technically have a smartwatch, but I don’t like my watch being smarter than I am. And that can happen with someone. Yeah,
Joe Courtney
yeah. So I would say I guess because I don’t really I never used a smartwatch for what it was like sometimes I would flip through things on my watch. But if I wanted to do something, I’m just gonna pick up my phone and do it. I don’t want to mess with that I don’t want to I don’t I never really talked. Like there were times where I missed, I can respond to a text by talking to it, but they would always get it wrong. So I don’t really care for anything like that. But I will say if this is your first trackable watch, and you just want to get into the heart rate game, and want something that’s easy to use, and just like on the go or just to jump right into it, I would say a smartwatch like apple or something similar in that caliber, because they’re going to be more user friendly. The all you’re doing is just getting your feet wet into the heart rate tracking. And you could use it for other stuff if you find but after that, I will still say Garmin is the best overall for fitness. The reason why I don’t recommend it first is because I mean you know, there’s a big learning curve or a little bit of learning curve with with Garmin, there’s so much that it can do. It’s great that it can customize but there’s still a lot that you have to get used to with garmins. And all depending on what kind of fitness you’re doing. You might pretty much need a chest strap if you want to accurate heart rate unless you’re just running or like biking. Then it’s kind of annoying that hey, I just got this expensive watch. Oh, you need a heart rate. Monitor still, like it’s kind of annoying in that regard. And I guess now I will say for recovery because we didn’t really touch on that. We both went through boot for a long time. But I guess I’m going to say even though I’ve only had it for a week now, or is is pretty great for just for the recovery side, and there’s not a monthly recurring membership in order to use it. Once you buy it, you got it.
Jerred Moon
Yeah, so we both wore whoop for a long time. I know that’s a big name on the block. But I would my experience with Garmin now and aura ring, I completely, I mean, whoops, like fourth place on my wearable list. So I think if you’re getting started, you mentioned Garmin being kind of complicated or whatever. But Garmin has so many different models, Garmin might be a good place to start, because I I haven’t experienced You and I both have like they’re more top end, like ones that can do. Like everything except for cookie breakfast, you know, like it does a lot of stuff. But I know Garmin has some lower end models that might be worth checking out. Polar also has some great stuff if you’re just looking to get into some basic heart rate tracking, and whatnot, which I think is a great place to start is when I do athlete briefs for zone two, I always say you got the heart rate monitor great than be in zone two, if you don’t have the heart rate monitor, then you know, I want you at a conversational pace. Or look out for you know, muscle burn, things like that trying to make sure that you’re maintains on to but with how affordable just basic heart rate monitors are, I think that you should start with probably like a polar or a lower end Garmin. And I think Apple Watch is pretty awesome. So I went from polar way back in the day. And then I went to whoop for a long time. Like I think it’s like two years. And then Apple Watch for like a year and a half. And now I’ve been on Garmin, I don’t know I’m probably close to a year, something like that. And Garmin is by far the best. So and I have a ring to throw in there but or is like different. I only wear my aura ring during sleep and then I wear my Garmin throughout the day. And that’s not something I actually recommend. You could just wear your Garmin all the time, it does pretty decent sleep tracking, not as good as like the aura ring. But the reason I put whoop down on my list is just having experienced everything else now like I think I think Apple Watch does a better job than whoop for like in workout stuff. You can like just see it on your on your wrist. It’s pretty accurate without having to have a heart rate monitor. That’s my favorite thing about the Apple Watch is I never wear a heart rate monitor with Apple Watch. And my heart rate was always really accurate auras recovery metrics and sleep tracking is unmatched. Like no one I don’t think any any other wearable can touch it. But it sucks at being an activity tracker like it does it basically doesn’t do that it’s a glorified step counter. And that’s just something you have to get in you have to like realize when you’re getting it but then the Garmin does everything and tracks everything really well. There is a huge learning curve so many like it took me like two weeks even find out like a separate sub menu I didn’t know about you know, like there’s a there’s a lot of things to go on with. With Garmin. So if you’re going to recovery tracking, I go or ring overall fitness tracking Garmin I don’t really recommend whoop anymore. Apple Watch would be my other place. So you mentioned getting older models, I think you’d get like the Apple Watch Series three or four or something like that for really good prices right now. So that is where I would officially start just because it’s such a robust thing without having to get the chest strap it’s accurate. And it can do some other cool stuff. I don’t like all that other stuff that connects to my phone. Like I when I had the Apple Watch i didn’t i didn’t allow it to alert me on text messages. Excuse me and that was the same exact thing for my Garmin It was like during the setup process. It’s like let’s connect to your phone so you can get your messages and I was like Absolutely not. I don’t want any of that. So I shut all that stuff down. I really just want a fitness tracker and a good watch and the Garmin battery life is probably my favorite thing about it.
Joe Courtney
Oh yeah big time. And yeah, there are a good call on the the lower models for Garmin and stuff they do have like regular smartwatches with like touchscreen so if you like touchscreens they have that a lot of people go to like the vivoactive and it also seems at least like with our community because more we get into hard stuff the more people are getting are getting into these and it seems they might start off with like an apple watch or something basic and then there’s like a divide. It’s almost like there’s our our athletes our athletes are in two groups are either in the Garmin or the polar group. And then that’s kind of where where the allegiance lies. But either way, you can’t really go wrong. It’s just a fun, you know, sibling rivalry, most but we’re, that seems to be where most people go and one that we haven’t mentioned is Fitbit and according to older say somebody on the team, I won’t name names. If it isn’t that isn’t that great. So
Jerred Moon
we didn’t even recommend that in our conversation here. Yeah. I would not touch Fitbit. Sorry, Fitbit. And yeah, none of these people sponsored the podcast. That’s why we can talk trash about the ones we don’t like and promote the ones we we do like to think if there’s anything else on wearables you need to know.
Joe Courtney
Like, we just have to do an annual episode with the team every year because they always change so much and updating and I just got the aura and now I’m pairing it with the Garmin. So dude, from here,
Jerred Moon
it’ll be no wearable for me. Like that’s, that’s my next stop. It’s not what’s next I’m, I’m already kind of sick of all the wearables. But I also love it. It’s like a it’s like a double edged sword I love love all the data, but then I really just hate having to charge anything. That’s why I do like the Garmin because it’ll last whatever close to a week without me having to charge it but I still have to charge it. I like just putting a watch on and never never worrying about it. So I made a lot of gains in my fitness for like a decade with just Iron Man Timex watch and that’s like, probably my all time favorite fitness watch. But doesn’t track jack.
Joe Courtney
Yet I just had a you know g shock for a while and that’s about it. Yeah. All right, simpler times.
Jerred Moon
Yeah, that’s it that those are wearables good places to start. gotta realize what you want. Without a lot of names there. You could pick one and do your research. But that’s it for this one guys. Appreciate the question. If you guys do have any other questions, go to garage mathlete.com slash ama. And we’ll get your question answered. If you’re on the podcast, feed please positive comment. five star review really helps us out and if you’re watching on YouTube, please subscribe to the channel so you get notified of new episodes. Give us a thumbs up and leave us a comment. All that good stuff either way. Thanks for watching or listening