Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » Fitness » This Fitness Tracker Wants to Tell You How Stressed You Are About Not Being Fit – Gizmodo

Staying active is a big part of staying healthy, and thats often the reason given for why you should wear a fitness tracker; theyre a constant reminder to get up off the couch. But stress can be just as detrimental to your health as sloth, so Garmin hopes its new vivosmart 3 will finally quantify what you already know: you need a vacation. Besides all the features weve comes to expect from a fitness tracker, the vivosmart 3 has a stress tracker built in too.

The Garmin vvosmart 3 is an update to the late 2015 eyesore, thevvosmart HR. Like the vvosmart HR, the new vvosmart 3 doesnt include any GPS hardware for tracking a running or cycling route. Thats odd coming from Garmina company notable for its GPS tech. Yet its also a minor trade-off which results in a fitness tracker that doesnt look as bulky as a smartwatch, despite also being able to receive vibrating alerts for emails, messages, phone calls, and appointments when connected to the Garmin app on a smartphone.

The lack of bulk isnt just a welcome change from other smartwatches, but the vvosmart HR as well. A year and a half of technological advancement has resulted in a smaller, sleeker fitness tracker that, among other improvements, is just more comfortable to wear.

Though thats not a terribly difficult feat to accomplish. The vvosmart HR is monstrous compared to the new vvosmart 3. The protruding heart rate sensor and LEDs on the older model dug into my wrist, making it uncomfortable for me to wear.

In the vvosmart 3 that lump has been reduced to a barely noticable bump more in line with heart rate trackers on other wearables. Garmin claims the new model measures everything youd expect a fitness tracker equipped with a heart rate sensor to quantify, but Garmin is also introducing two additional metrics for VO2 max levels and stress.

VO2 max (also known as maximal oxygen consumption) is a metric designed to give athletes an indication of their overall physical fitness. If youve ever seen a professional athlete running on a treadmill while wearing a breathing apparatus, that device is calculating their VO2 max. Last year Fitbit claimed to be able to measure the number with nothing but a heart rate monitor, and Garmin is now making the same claim, helpfully translating the number to a fitness level score ranging from poor to superior. Until we get a chance to hop on a treadmill and pick up an oxygen mask youll want to take that metric with a grain of salt.

More useful to non-athletes struggling to find the time (and motivation) to stay fit, is the vvosmart 3's claimed ability to assess stress levels by measuring variations in a wearers heart rate. The results are delivered via a simple graph, and the wearable can even walk you through breathing exercises to help you relax. Its a clever way to reinterpret a users heart rate data, and a feature that companies like Fitbit dont offer yet. Yet a couple of goofy Kickstarters have made similar claims, and were quickly noted to be virtually incapable of accuracy. Without additional context about someones lifestyle and health, measure stress via heart rate is far from being an accurate, and definitely not a replacement for doctors consultation.

The vvosmart 3 also includes a mostly-improved display compared to the always-on but unlit LCD display on the vvosmart HR, which was occasionally hard to see indoors. However, the glowing display on the new vvosmart 3, which automatically turns on when you raise your wrist, is hidden behind a thin layer of smoky rubber. As a result the display always looks a little fuzzy (I swear its not a problem with my camera) but is also very difficult to read outdoors in the sun, despite it being so bright indoors. If youre primarily a runner, that could very well be a deal breaker.

Available now for $140, the vvosmart 3 comes in at $10 cheaper than the new Fitbit Alta HR, while doing essentially the same types of fitness and activity tracking. But as we pointed out in our review of the Alta HR, the popularity of fitness trackers has been in decline since the resurgence of smartwatches, and Fitbit recently laid off six percent of its staff. So if youre still in the market for a fitness tracker, and want to guarantee your investment will be supported for at least a few years, Garmin always has its GPS business to keep it afloat. One less thing to keep your stress levels in check.

[Garmin]

Read the rest here:
This Fitness Tracker Wants to Tell You How Stressed You Are About Not Being Fit - Gizmodo

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » Fitness » This Fitness Tracker Wants to Tell You How Stressed You Are About Not Being Fit – Gizmodo