Activity tracker for the active cyclst

[Matthew Strongin]

About a week ago I posted about my recently acquired Withings Activite in the what did the postman bring thread. I was skeptical at first, but wanted to give one a try to see if I could better understand my general, non-riding activity and sleep patterns. Despite riding a fair amount I still feel that I've become way too lethargic most of the day. I sit at a desk or conference table all day and plop down on the sofa as soon as I finish dinner (sometimes before dinner). And I'm pretty tired most of the time. Lately I've really started noticing that I can't stay up late and still put in a hard ride the next day. Long? Sure. I can ride for hours, but staying with, let alone sharing the work, on hammerhead rides or races is getting tougher without proper rest.

I know the data collection stuff isn't for everybody, but I'm a tech geek by day so I enjoy it. Plus, this is in the training sub-forum, so if you're reading this you're probably a numbers nerd too. I already train with power and HR most days, so I hoped the general activity data would compliment what I already track. So far I'm into it. I've only taken the watch off twice since getting it last week. Both evenings this weekend I had parties to attend so I wore a dressier watch. As soon as I got home and took off my watch the Activite went back on. Turns out I really like to have as much of a complete picture as possible. I don't have experience with others like fitbit or the garmin equivalent, but I'm liking the Withings so far. It even passed the watch-snob approval test when I wore it around some family members this weekend.

It's been interesting to get some data to validate or help explain my suspicions. Bottom line, I'm way too stagnant at work and I don't sleep well often enough. No surprises there. An interesting observation on the sleep front is seeing the amount of deep sleep, or lack of it, and how it seems to have the most correlation to how I feel the next day rather than the total time asleep. Here's where I'm at today:



I didn't have time to ride or workout today, it's the evening and my biggest "event" was walking a block away to get lunch. Not exactly active.

Anyway, I'm curious if anyone else is using an activity tracker and whether it helped change any behaviors or habits? A bunch of people at work use them and all had very positive things to say, but they're not generally a bunch that participates in physical pursuits on their own. I'm more curious about the usage of already active individuals. Are you integrating the data closely with other training data, wearing the tracker but ignoring the data, or something in between? I'm only a week in so I figured I could maybe get some tips or ideas from those of you with more experience.

PS - Apologies for the novel. The corresponding photos of me collecting sleep data turned out to be creepy.

[e-RICHIE]

I dunno how to do screen shots from my iPad.
But my page for today says
9,233 steps
1922 calories burned
9 hours 19 minutes sleep (29 min awake, 4:23 light, and 3:46 heavy)
64.1 kg weight
5.7% body fat

[progetto]

I notice that I don't sleep anywhere near as well now compared to even five years ago, not as active as I've gone from a physical job to a relatively inactive one. Much more lethargic than previously, the less I do the less I want to do. I have had a fair amount of stress in my life the past bit though. A lot of things factor in to general well being me thinks.

[Brandon White]

I've been casually comparing options for an activity tracker. I'd like to see how active I really am during the various days of the week since I do so many different activities: I mainly want to know how many calories I burn getting up to get cookies. I'd like a product that doesn't serve as a main watch though because I already have a watch I like to wear. I think the fitbit is small enough that I could wear it on my other arm and it wouldn't be obtrusive.

[Bewheels]

I wore a Jawbone for over a year when they first came out (also in the tech industry). It was primarily to look at sleep patterns. I was not concerned about activities patterns because while I too have a "desk job" that requires many meetings, I take the stairs, have a height adjustable desk (can stand or sit), and am 'that guy' who will get up and stand if the meeting is long.

While tracking sleep patterns (length/quality) was interesting it was also the hardest to do anything about. Generally if I was having a bad stretch of sleep I did not need a device to tell me this. And the causes were work/stress/travel related. There are some things that can help but other then quitting my job there was not much I was going to do about it.

[Matthew Strongin]

I wore a Jawbone for over a year when they first came out (also in the tech industry). It was primarily to look at sleep patterns. I was not concerned about activities patterns because while I too have a "desk job" that requires many meetings, I take the stairs, have a height adjustable desk (can stand or sit), and am 'that guy' who will get up and stand if the meeting is long.

I need to get back in the habit of this. When I started my career I did a lot of training. Presenting to a class kept me on my feet a fair amount. And I lived in a city and walked to and from work or to the train station most days. Now I work in an office park that requires a 45 minute drive to get to and at a company where we regularly do large, long group meetings. I think I'm going to start with standing more during meetings and maybe give a height adjustable desk a try.

[dashDustin]

5.7% body fat

damn! is that fighting percentage, or typical year round for you? that's impressively lean.




so I've been looking at activity trackers for the same reasons. this sitting at a desk thing is getting to me, and if i were honest with myself, that plus lack of riding, plus hating my job, is causing me to teeter on the slim line of situational depression. i'll spare the details. anyway, activity trackers for cyclists...do any of these track either HR or activity while riding? it doesn't appear that the Withings does. I'd like something that provides as complete of a picture as possible, including riding. I'm assuming most of these use some sort of accelerometer to calculate steps. if not, i'll likely end up with some sort of Garmin device since I can EP them.

[e-RICHIE]

To be clear, the weight and body fat percentage information I posted about come from the scale (Smart Body Analyzer) not the watch (Activité or Activité Pop). I use the two products as part of a system. The scale can be synced with your iPad to read info as "normal" or "athlete". My settings are switched to "athlete".

[Matthew Strongin]

<snip>anyway, activity trackers for cyclists...do any of these track either HR or activity while riding? it doesn't appear that the Withings does. I'd like something that provides as complete of a picture as possible, including riding. I'm assuming most of these use some sort of accelerometer to calculate steps. if not, i'll likely end up with some sort of Garmin device since I can EP them.

The Withings Activite doesn't track HR. It does record activity while riding, but not in a cycling specific way. I rode for 2 hours this morning and it tracked around 3K steps. Clearly I wasn't stepping and 3K is only about 1/5th of the amount of times I stomped down on the pedals, but it does reflect that I was moving and being active. The 1/5 percentage of steps while riding seems to be pretty consistent, but that may just be based on how I move around while riding. Detection of cadence, duration, or some other cycling specific metrics would be pretty sweet. I know the Withings can integrate with some other fitness apps, I just haven't delved into it enough to see how it paints the full picture with my cycling data. I have some time off starting next week so I'll play around with it some more then.

[chrisn]

I dunno how to do screen shots from my iPad.

^^didn't see anyone answer this previously... Apologies of I missed it but here you go: Press the home button and on/off button together for about a second until the screen 'flashes'. The screenshot will automatically be saved in the 'photos' app.

I got a Fenix 3 watch about 3 or 4 months ago. Pretty big and bulky but I needed something that would work when swimming too. Works nicely with the iphone app and /or web portal. Since having it I've become less interested in data from bike rides, and more about other 'life' activity. lets face it that's what you're doing more of the time, so potentially has the biggest gains. I seem to average about 10-15k steps most days. I was amazed that I can clock up a few thousand steps in the morning rushing around the house getting the boys ready for school etc. Seems like a lot but the house is quite a large footprint (for the UK) I suppose which helps, and I'm probably running around like a headless chicken, so I think its accurate. And walking the dog once a day when working from home easily adds another few thousand steps. After a while, when the trends have been observed and most days are roughly similar there is less feeling of obligation to wear it all the time, and I prefer the look of a traditional swiss chrono watch. It has confirmed though that I don't get enough sleep, but I knew that already - for which I mostly blame our two year old! At least I can show both boys my sleep data when they are old enough to understand, to prepare them for parenthood (and make them feel guilty :-)

[Matthew Strongin]

Bumping this now that I've had the scale for a couple months. I've never been someone to weigh myself regularly or track my weight too closely, but I'm now finding that the Withings scale has become a regular part of my routine. It's been nice to see the data in the same app I use for the watch. For me, having the data all in one place has made me more aware of how my sleep, training, general activity and nutrition all fit together. As a result I'm sleeping about 30-60 minutes more a night and I've lost about 3-5 lbs and a couple percentage points of fat mass. It's not that I needed to lose weight, but just being more aware of where things stand has led to better food choices and helped me get leaner than I've been in years. I have some pretty big life changes coming so I'm interested in seeing how the scale and watch help me stay on top of things.

[AngryScientist]

Interesting Matt, and i've been using the scale now for a few months too.

i am more interested in a total integration typed "unit", likely something that uses gps as well as accelerometers to track movement. i would like to see, all in one place how much i move weekly, including bike miles. i figure some device must do gps + steps counted. also, i just cant make myself wear an activity tracker watch, i'm too hooked on mechanical watches to just give them up for a gizmo.

does anyone know of a tracker that will do all the usual sleep+steps+cycling miles all in one, and NOT be a watch?

[Matthew Strongin]

I'm hooked on my mechanical watches too, but the Withings has found a regular place in the rotation. Most days I wear it all the time. Fortunately I work remotely a couple days a week so I'm pretty casually dressed those days. On days I go to the office I put on an automatic, but the Withings is worn as soon as I get home until I get dressed for work in the morning. Sure I'm missing some of the data, but I get it for enough days a week that I'm comfortable with the trends. The upcoming Withings Go might be a cool option for something that you can toss in your pocket and not wear as a watch. I don't think it captures cycling, at least not like a GPS would.

[MisterDangerPants]

Anyway, I'm curious if anyone else is using an activity tracker and whether it helped change any behaviors or habits?

Nice review. My wife is on her second Jawbone UP24. The first one stopped working and the second one is flaky. We're done with it and I thought she would benefit from the Withings Activité Pop so she's getting the Wild Sand model as a holiday gift from me. She really only wants a step and sleep tracker and she likes the fact that the Pop has a battery that lasts several months. Bonus points for being stylish. She really likes having the step goals to the point where she'll walk around the house to get the last small percentage. The Jawbone definitely changed her walking habits and I'm hoping the Pop will continue this trend and make life a little easier.

[j44ke]

I am back to trying the Apple Watch, because well, long story. But I like the short cuts it provides to my phone, which counter-intuitively (for me at least) make me less "involved" with my phone. Lately it has been very hard to get away from a seemingly unending stream of emails. Not all of them are important, but enough of them are that I have to look when one arrives. The watch makes looking and deleting easy quick and I don't get distracted by an offer for bike stuff at 10% off.

The Activity Monitor is irritating. I really don't like the whole focus on calories, which I think is basically meaningless. One, I doubt the accuracy of the calculations almost entirely. Two, even if accurate, burning calories doesn't have a lot to do with fitness. I wish the calories part could be switched off or changed to some other factor. If heart rate and steps were matched up along with hours of activity so that you could get a 24 hour view of when you were active and moving around what your heart rate was doing, that would actually be interesting. And if the Apple Watch had an actual sleep monitor built into the Activity Monitor or the Workout app that blended all the stats together. Sleep as an Activity or as a Workout even, would be a lot healthier than calories, which seems to so much more about food than health.

But I am guessing calories sells watches.

Strava and the goals I set in Strava have the biggest effect on my activity level. I set a rather modest 150 mile/week goal, and that keeps my attention focused (at least) on the need to ride, even if I don't manage to get out and ride due to responsibilities. And I know that if I am focused on the need to ride, I will eventually get back into the rhythm of riding more regularly - like when I used to ride 4-6 days a week for at least 25 miles/day a few years ago. Anyway, so I have shut off the Activity Monitor on the watch and put Strava front and center in the way the apps are organized so that the goals there take a prominent position in how I interact with the watch. And that seems better than wrestling with the Activity Monitor.

So I vote for no calorie measurements on these things.

[j44ke]

P.S. I think the best part of the Withings is that it does not appear to be a device, and the display and the information it records does not intrude into your visual space all the time. We now have doctors treating neck maladies and prescribing very different sorts of glasses in order to compensate for the shift in where/which direction we look most often (down) and how close to our head we focus our eyes (very near.) One of the best exercises one can do is to go out into a big field and concentrate at focusing on things that are farther away than across the street. Doesn't mean I think we shouldn't use these activity trackers - I think they are great actually, my wife being proof of how they can make someone more engaged in being active - but there is something to having a device that encourages activity without focusing your activity on itself. I worry that psychologically (if not physically) we are becoming short-sighted introverts with smaller and smaller spheres of awareness and it shows in our attitudes and politics.

[Matthew Strongin]

My girlfriend just got a fitbit. She's really enjoying it. I'm curious about how I might incorporate one into my training.

How are you guys incorporating this into your training? Do these things just serve to make you more aware of your activity outside of cycling or have you been able to incorporate the data into your on the bike work? Any clue how calorie counts, HR zones, etc are calculated?

Some of both, but mostly to gauge and track overall activity and, most importantly for me, recovery. I've just set up the Withings, garmin connect, and MyFitnessPal integration to start seeing the complete picture and not just my on the bike data. I have a scale on the way too, which should be a cool addition.

[Tamu8104]

For me it helps to provide a better view of my overall activity which leads to better calorie management and also better rest management. It can also be interesting to look at a dip in recent power curve and then look at the recent rest pattern. I often find a correlation.

[Matthew Strongin]

So I added the Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale to the mix last week. I'm still in the new toy phase, which means I've been weighing myself much more than I might normally. It's quite the upgrade from the simple scale we've been using for the last 10 years. Usually I'll weigh myself once or twice over the course of a week, but out of curiosity I've been weighing myself before and after rides. During shorter weekday rides there isn't much of a change. After today's 5 hour century I had dropped almost 4 pounds and just under a percent of body fat. I'm sure it wasn't a legit baseline weight loss and more a combination of dehydration and a very empty tank. Thinking back on the ride I didn't drink nearly enough. Probably only 3-4 bottles worth. I'm going to keep playing around to see what the numbers say on days I'm better about hydrating. Anyway, in addition to the general purpose data for keeping an eye on my weight and body composition, I think this may end up helping keep me on top of better nutrition and hydration practices during harder rides. So far it's been a good addition.

[e-RICHIE]

So I added the Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale to the mix last week. <cut>

My observation is that the scale (the Withings Smart Body Analyzer) is the brain trust, Ground Zero, the mind behind the beauty, and the glue that holds all the salient information together. You're system is now complete according to my opinion. PS 64 kilograms tonight.