Smartwatch and heart monitoring
By: Rocco Barbieri
Tags: Heart

The Garmin Vivoactive is among the first company’s new smartwatches to enter the market. It has some important new features when compared with its predecessor, such as two size choices, new on-screen exercises, and music playback is now common. Admittedly, those are some major upgrades, but for the most part, they come at no charge. You can also obtain a free heart rate monitor, though the watch is not yet available in the UK. You do have to pay for the workouts via an app, but that’s about it.

The heart-rate monitor is a fantastic addition. If you’re into high intensity workouts, then this feature is perfect for you. Before, when you were just starting out, tracking your heart-rate during a workout was next to impossible. But now, with the new line of fitness GPS watches from the brand, you can be assured of continuous tracking of your pulse rate throughout your routine. This includes during your actual workout. In case you don’t constantly monitor your pulse rate during your workout though, then you’ll miss out on vital training sessions.

One area that Garmin has really improved with the Vivoactive is music storage. You can now get more than enough songs loaded on your watch, letting you listen to them while you’re running, jogging, or doing other fitness routines. Not only that, but the fitness smartwatch comes with an already-updating database of MP3s, letting you download any music that you might want to have around during your workouts. At the end of the day though, the watch can play any music that you want as long as it’s not over 4.2 MBs in size.

Another improvement that Garmin has integrated into their fitness smartwares is the heart rate monitor. It’s been a standard requirement for all fitness smartwares these days that they have a way to track your heart rate during your workout. The new Garmin Vivaactive can boast of one of the best heart rate monitors around. Of course, the actual number will vary from model to model. But you can be sure that Garmin has made sure that they are one of the most accurate when it comes to tracking your heart rate.

Perhaps, the biggest fitness features that the Fitbit Olear and the Vivaactive boast are the onboard GPS that allows you to map out your fitness goals for the week. You can also keep track of your laps, runs, hikes, and even whether or not you’ve actually lost any weight or burned any calories during your workout. The fitbit therefore acts more like a personal trainer that can motivate you by helping you map out your fitness goals and help you achieve them.

One of the biggest complaints people had about the iPod was the fact that it constantly had to be charged. These smartwares resolve that by letting you use them on the go as you go about your day. Because they are built-in with a battery, you can thus walk while on your daily commute or simply charge your smartwatch while you’re at home before you go out for the evening. This is something that no other smartwatch on the market can boast.

Finally, in terms of GPS functionality, the Fitbit Olear and the Vivaactive are unique. They have both heart rate and distance applications as well as the standard map applications. However, the Olear has the better display due to its larger size and the fact that it is waterproof as well. The Vivaactive on the other hand is only water resistant to a certain depth, but it is larger than the clear and thus offers you more features. It has the better battery life, though, so you don’t have to worry as much about constantly having to replace it.

As you can see, smartwatches today offer you more than just a fitness tool. They can also serve as a fashion accessory, as well as serve as a form of calorie counters and can even track your sleeping patterns. Only thing is, all of these activities require you to wear a protective covering which can easily get worn out. Hence, it is highly recommended that you buy a device that is built-in with a long battery life. Not only will you save money in the long run, but you won’t have to deal with constant replacement costs.