The Battle of the Fitness Trackers

About 2 1/2 months ago I started back up working out. It had been 7 months and I was just in a rut. I was used to going to classes and I couldn’t find anything around I really loved. I got on insta and was talking about how I wished there was an Orange Theory around and one of my followers let me know there was one about 20 min away! I joined immediately.

I absolutely LOVE it. Seriously it is the best workout I have ever had in 1 hour. Its half treadmill half interval training…it’s different every class so I can’t explain what goes into each class but I just love it. It doesn’t matter what size you are and it doesn’t matter where you are in your fitness journey you can do it! There is a 74 year old in my classes and she kicks my ass! You can start anywhere!

ANYWAY the reason why we are here is because I have recently switched from the Fitbit Versa to the Apple Watch Series 5. Also while you are at Orange Theory you wear one of their bands that also tracks your stats.

You aren’t required to buy one of their bands they range from $65 for the waist band and I believe $110 for the arm band. They do the same thing so I got the waist one and saved some money! They track your stats but also track your “splat points” which are points you earn for the different heart rate zones, the higher your heart rate the higher your splat points!

I have been using my Fitbit for about 7 months and I really do love it. It does what I need it to do, it tracks my fitness, lets me know when I have texts and notifications, tracks my sleep, period, and more! My favorite thing about it is it lasts like 6 days without charging!! You can wear it in the shower and just forget about it for like a week! In my workout on Monday here is what the Fitbit tracked:

To break this down:

I burned 795 Calories

My average heart rate was 136 beats per minute

I had 45min in the fat burn zone

31min in cardio

2min in peak

At this point I had my Apple Watch Series 5 for 4 days….So far I love it. It does EVERYTHING. I have the cellular version so I can call and text. It also had some amazing features like SOS where if I am in an emergency it will send my location to my emergency contacts and it will also call the police. It also has a hard fall detection so if it detects I have had a hard fall and am not moving it will call the police and give them my location…pretty amazing especially since I am clumsy! The activity tracker has a million workouts to choose from including indoor and outdoor walks/runs, swimming, interval training, mixed cardio, etc. My favorite is the furbo feature because when I am gone I need to know if the puppy wakes up and starts to bark. It has a ton of watch face and app options as well. It for sure does ALOT more then the Fitbit BUT it needs to be charged every night and is $200-$300 more….

To break this down:

I burned 896 calories (74 calories more then the Fitbit)

My average heart rate was 146 beats per minute (10 more then the Fitbit)

Does not break down the different heart rate zones at one glance

This is the Orange Theory tracker. You can not buy this at any store it must be purchased at an orange theory. It does not have an interactive face it is just a small black circle but you can see your results on the screen while you are working out. Like I said above you do not have to purchase one but I like to see my splat points!

To break this down:

I burned 417 calories (479 calories less then the apple watch and 378 less then the Fitbit)

My average heart rate was 147 beats per minute (1 off from the Apple Watch and 11 more then the Fitbit)

I had 35 min in the fat burn zone

13 min in cardio zone

0 min in peak

Obviously the Orange Theory one is the MAJOR difference in calories, which I find very interesting because my avg heart rate was very similar to the other trackers. I did ask them about this and they didn’t have an explanation. OBVIOUSLY I will be going with what the Fitbit and Apple Watch say hehe. Also interesting because if my heart rate was less on the Fitbit then the OT band wouldn’t that mean I burned less calories?

For reference I am around 255 lbs, 5’5, and 26 years old. Obviously this is going to be different if you are an inch, a pound, and a year different then me but I wanted to show you the differences!

I am very happy with my Apple Watch and I am glad I got it, I really love being able to talk on the phone without holding my phone, and being able to text Jared while walking the dogs outside without my phone around. You can hook it up to your Airpods and listen to music while exercising without your phone also! It definitely has a lot more options BUT if you want to save $200-300 go with the Fitbit.

I also want to mention that Fitbit just came out with a Versa 2, here are some upgrades from the original Versa:

-Comes with built in Amazon Alexa

-Can use Spotify and Pandora

-More Watch Face designs

-All phone notifications

-Lighter watch

-Bluetooth (can also connect to Airpods)

-Always on display

-Even better battery life

LORD that was long! I hope this explains everything and breaks down everything you guys need to know when choosing a fitness tracker!

This is the new Fitbit Versa 2 which is $199

This is the original Versa and it is now $169

Here is the Apple Watch Series 5 with Cellular, it goes for $499

Here is the Apple Watch Series 5 without cellular and it is $399

xx, Em