Fitness tracker recommendations

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dclegg

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#173175 14-May-2015 09:41

I'm looking for fitness tracker recommendations. The wearer will be my 13 year old daughter, and our primary goal is to gamify the process of getting her fit for netball. Her go to means of exercise is currently running, so something that will work well with that would be best. I'm hoping to keep it under $150, and am not really interested in a smart watch for her.

I'm currently leaning towards the Fitbit Flex, but are there other devices I should be considering? Ideally it would be something with an iOS companion app. Working with the iPhone 4 would be nice, but not essential if there is an app for the latest iPad Mini.

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#1304932 14-May-2015 09:51

My wife recently got a Fitbit zip. Counts steps primarily. Does not track flights of stairs climbed or sleep or stuff like that. Has a pretty good iPhone app and syncs via Bluetooth. A basic activity tracker, very small and just lives inside her bra all day. Nice and cheap too, about $90.

Cheers,
Joseph

geekiegeek

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#1304938 14-May-2015 09:59

I've been using a flex for a few weeks now and think it would do nicely for what you are after. I use it to track my daily steps and my running (currently training for a marathon)

freitasm

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#1304960 14-May-2015 10:08

For a young person the Fitbit Flex is probably the best option - both for gamification and for being a durable little pebble thing. Watch out for the strap which is a clip-on instead of a clasp, so it can fall without you noticing it if you pull it hard or not appropriately done up.

Other ones have displays, cost more and I wouldn't hand to a teenager...

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#1304968 14-May-2015 10:16

For that price, you get get the fitbit Charge HR (got mine for $150) which would do Heart Rate as well.

sidefx

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#1304971 14-May-2015 10:17

The fitbit Charge HR was $158 a few days ago at Harvey Norman. I was quite tempted. Perhaps you could talk them back down?

Also might be worth looking at:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=77&topicid=172121

And if you have access to GPforums BST someone on there was selling onto too I think.

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#1304981 14-May-2015 10:21

My wife likes her fitbit one, US$98 from Amazon. It takes hills and stairs into account.

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freitasm

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#1304982 14-May-2015 10:22

There's a problem to consider too: one thing is getting kids "fit" if they need some help with for health reasons. Another thing is getting kids to think that "fit" is a requirement for life and then taking this to extremes - don't need kids having disorders such as anorexia or bulimia because they're trying to reach an ideal they don't fit.

Thread carefully here.

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dclegg

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#1304989 14-May-2015 10:34

freitasm: There's a problem to consider too: one thing is getting kids "fit" if they need some help with for health reasons. Another thing is getting kids to think that "fit" is a requirement for life and then taking this to extremes - don't need kids having disorders such as anorexia or bulimia because they're trying to reach an ideal they don't fit.

Thread carefully here.

Yeah, I get what you're saying, and these are concerns I've considered. For that reason, I'm wary of any devices that heavily promote calorie counting.

The problem we're trying to address is getting her fitness up for netball. She is now at that age where she can no longer just rock up on game day and expect to perform well (although she's still having problems admitting that to herself). She plays centre, which is a pretty demanding position. As a result, she currently starts to fade 1/2 way through the match, with her performance dropping as a result. We're looking for a way to encourage her to increase her fitness, and are hoping that bringing a gamification aspect into this would be a good motivator for her.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I'm still leaning towards the Flex, although the Charge HR may be worth investigating. That being said, I'm trying to stay away from anything that can also act as a watch, as she's asked for a Casio Baby G for her birthday.

HcoNmeM

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#1305012 14-May-2015 11:17

I got the Charge HR but gave that to the wife..
Tried out the Gear Fit.. stay away from it.. doesn't sync well and just had heaps of issues..
Fitbit ftw imho..
I'm buying the Fitbit Surge tomorrow, looking forward to that..
Would like to get the scales too..
With the trackers help I've seen that I'm doing well but need to do more.. so am pushing myself harder..
They do bring to light info you'd never have known otherwise..

geekiegeek

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#1305017 14-May-2015 11:21

HcoNmeM: I got the Charge HR but gave that to the wife..
Tried out the Gear Fit.. stay away from it.. doesn't sync well and just had heaps of issues..
Fitbit ftw imho..
I'm buying the Fitbit Surge tomorrow, looking forward to that..
Would like to get the scales too..
With the trackers help I've seen that I'm doing well but need to do more.. so am pushing myself harder..
They do bring to light info you'd never have known otherwise..

The scales are great.

geekiegeek

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#1305019 14-May-2015 11:24

freitasm: There's a problem to consider too: one thing is getting kids "fit" if they need some help with for health reasons. Another thing is getting kids to think that "fit" is a requirement for life and then taking this to extremes - don't need kids having disorders such as anorexia or bulimia because they're trying to reach an ideal they don't fit.

Thread carefully here.

Whilst I agree that it has the possibility to go wrong I also think it IS important to teach kids that "fit" is indeed a requirement for life. Maybe if more parents did this we wouldn't have the obesity problems we see in society now.

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JWR

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#1305033 14-May-2015 11:43

Are any of the wrist bands any good for heartbeat monitoring or is a chest band still far better?

geekiegeek

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#1305073 14-May-2015 12:12

JWR:
Are any of the wrist bands any good for heartbeat monitoring or is a chest band still far better?

From what I have read chest band is the way to go.

wasabi2k

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#1305084 14-May-2015 12:29

dclegg:
freitasm: There's a problem to consider too: one thing is getting kids "fit" if they need some help with for health reasons. Another thing is getting kids to think that "fit" is a requirement for life and then taking this to extremes - don't need kids having disorders such as anorexia or bulimia because they're trying to reach an ideal they don't fit.

Thread carefully here.

Yeah, I get what you're saying, and these are concerns I've considered. For that reason, I'm wary of any devices that heavily promote calorie counting.

The problem we're trying to address is getting her fitness up for netball. She is now at that age where she can no longer just rock up on game day and expect to perform well (although she's still having problems admitting that to herself). She plays centre, which is a pretty demanding position. As a result, she currently starts to fade 1/2 way through the match, with her performance dropping as a result. We're looking for a way to encourage her to increase her fitness, and are hoping that bringing a gamification aspect into this would be a good motivator for her.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I'm still leaning towards the Flex, although the Charge HR may be worth investigating. That being said, I'm trying to stay away from anything that can also act as a watch, as she's asked for a Casio Baby G for her birthday.

As a parent with a teenager - unless they are willing to accept it is an issue and take responsibility for it, you would have better luck slamming your head into a wall for 8 hours a day.

But good on you for looking for a novel approach to motivation.

dclegg

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#1305089 14-May-2015 12:35

wasabi2k:
As a parent with a teenager - unless they are willing to accept it is an issue and take responsibility for it, you would have better luck slamming your head into a wall for 8 hours a day.

But good on you for looking for a novel approach to motivation.

Well, the nagging isn't working (does it ever? ;-)), so we're hoping to tap into her competitive nature. If she can see clear progress, and set goals to strive for, perhaps she'll be more motivated.

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