[nradov]

Fitness trackers are hardly idiotic for those of us who are at least semi serious about endurance sports. Of course you can train and race without one but you'll be less efficient. If you go to any major race just about everyone who podiums will be wearing a fitness tracker. That's because they actually work.

[ptmcc]

I'm not even competitive, but my tracker devices are hugely motivational for me. And having useful metrics like heart rate as a tachometer for my body is immensely valuable for all sorts of activities.

I'm healthier and more active now because of them, and they've gotten me more in tune with my body, not less.

[The_Colonel]

I agree. Simply measuring something brings a lot of motivation on its own.

Over the years, I've found that simply forcing myself every morning to step on the weight scale is a keystone habit in keeping my weight in check.

I do this with other things which I consider important as well, like tracking the finances.

[lozenge]

The brands and models they are wearing are different than the rest of us.

Most of the industry subsides on the aspirational user who doesn't make any lifestyle change and stops wearing the device after a year or less. The vague idea that it'll find some magic ingredient for improving your sleep or exercise.

Even Garmin is getting in on it trying to sell activity trackers for parents to put on their kids. When it's parents who are in full control of their kids' time and activity.

Of course it has a use for people training but that's a small minority of customers.

Here's the copy on a recent device:

"Meet our most advanced fitness & health tracker with tools like an on-wrist ECG app for heart health,* EDA Scan app for stress management and more. Get a 6-month membership of Fitbit Premium™** and optimize your routine with Daily Readiness Score.◆‡ Add a 6-month Premium membership for advanced insights & tools to improve your health"

Guaranteed most customers would benefit from finding exercise they enjoy, drinking less alcohol and worrying less about their sleep rather than being presented with Scores and Goals whose novelty and thus salience will quickly wear off. But that isn't something that can be sold so...

[nradov]

I've seen the race winners wearing the same Garmin, Suunto, and Coros device models as the rest of us. Hardly anyone who actually competes uses Fitbit, it's kind of a toy.

[lozenge]

Sounds like we're vigorously agreeing. If you Google "fitness trackers", you might get a Garmin and after a few minutes I found a Coros. But it's mostly Apple, Fitbit, Xiaomi, Withings, Garmin's more fashionable/smartwatch line. If that's what the tech mags are reviewing (for they come up top on search, not fitness websites) that's where the money is.

[Joker_vD]

So, uh, how much less efficient, exactly? 5%? 10%? 90%? How is this efficiency even measured? You improve twice as slow, or the end results are twice as bad, or?..

[nradov]

I'm afraid I can't quantify it for you, but subjectively I'm completely confident that using a high end fitness tracker for training and racing makes me faster in triathlons. Other than that I'm not interested in trying to measure efficiency with versus without the device as that would be a total waste of my time.

[iamacyborg]

This could be pretty easily quantified if you look at how world records have progressed over the years.

Better fitness technology leads to faster times across the board.

[nradov]

Technology has also improved in many other areas: exercise physiology knowledge, nutrition, aerodynamics, lab testing, PEDs, bouncy shoes, etc. It's tough to isolate how much of the total improvement was caused by fitness trackers.

[howaboutnope]

All pro endurance sports could end this instant, forever, and humanity would be fine. Humanity will not be fine if some of the points raised in that comment keep getting ignored.

[necovek]

You underestimate humanity. It will be fine.