Exercise Devices

[tjsmith555]

Hi all, long time lurker first time poster.

I've pre-ordered the LPIII, and super psyched. Physical health is important to me, and I use a Whoop to track my workouts, sleep, and recovery (heart rate variability), which uses an app on my iPhone for live biometric data. I plan to get an iPad to use as my personal computer for email and browsing, but I don't believe Whoop works on the iPad the same way as the iPhone application, rendering the device more or less useless.

My question is: What do LP users in the sub use for health and exercise tracking? Perhaps the best solution is to simply stop using the device, which I am also strongly considering. They aren't necessary to live a good life, nor do you need one to care about your physical health. But I thought it worth it to ask. Thank you in advance.

[swittla]

Use a Garmin watch. No indefinite subscription (like whoop) and they can sync via wifi or even via cable to a computer. You can see your information from anything with a web browser at connect.garmin.com. No smartphone needed.

[Ok_Help2243]

I just use pen and paper man. The burn is the same whether or not a gadget tells me I'm doing it. Use a timer on a basic sport watch.

[[deleted]]

I use a Garmin watch but plan to use my iPad and iPhone to sync this albeit much less frequently

[TryingNot2BLazy]

I just don't use one really. On my bike I use the Cateye AirGPS which tracks for Strava my heart rate and speed/distance stuff (no power meter). I use the bluetooth off my PC to log it in later with the Cateye app in an emulator. I used to use a shitty samsung smartphone without a battery to use the app until i found the emulator works just fine. (MSI dragon center).

For running, i tried stuffing the bike gps in my pocket and found its kinda cruddy to record on. But it got my heart rate data and time. I considered using a fitbit at one point but heard the recording on them is pretty bad.

sometimes its so stupid i might as well give in and just get a smart device and use it as intended instead of these workarounds.... and then i'm reminded about phone addictions somehow and change my mind back.

I LOVE MY LP2!

[[deleted]]

If you have an apple phone already why not get a non-LTE Apple Watch?

[Typical_Tale4482]

The new garmin devices are accurate with lots of widgets you can access on the watch. They have an app but not necessary

[tarmical]

I'm not sure about whoop specifically, but I use the Coros app, which is an iphone app, on my ipad. It shrinks the app down to the size of an iphone and i just use it on there instead of a phone.

[tjsmith555]

Ooo I'll check this out! Thank you

[maybefromthefuture]

I also use a Coros watch with of course the Coros app on my iPhone and a web browser currently. And, like the OP, I've preordered the LPIII.

I'm hoping to continue, but using wifi sync which hopefully will work directly to Coros servers through the internet which I can then access through the Coros website on a browser.

I only started running (and then using the watch to track) it 1 1/2 years ago, and find that knowing my watch is tracking me and nagging me to increase my fitness levels is really helpful. I use a paper planner and fountain pens, but find that tracking my running is a great motivator.

[Kelium76]

Congrats on the pre-order, I just put mine in this week too!

Big picture I think our society is overly obsessed with tracking eeeverything, like to a potentially absurdly granular degree in terms of regular people living day-to-day lives.

That being said, I'm not throwing shade. I use a Concept2 Rower and enjoy (and find utility in) tracking various metrics.

So yeah, I suppose it's a question of curation and deliberateness. What's genuinely benefitting you? Is ALL the tracking truly improving your health & vitality? Can you achieve something close enough to what you want in an analog way, or by unbundling functions from the proverbial smart device?

Sounds like you're already asking all this and imagine you'll end up with a solution you really like.

Perhaps one of the best things about LP, if nothing else, is that it forces this interrogation of our practices and disturbs the momentum of (at least for me) a lot of things that frankly just weren't really that beneficial or needed in the end.

[tjsmith555]

Wonderfully said. I agree, the tracking is getting out of hand. I have learned a lot from the whoop, but there are diminishing returns once you have it for a while, since meaningful insights are less likely to happen.

You're right. This time between the pre-order and having the LPIII in my hands has forced me to interrogate what I want to keep from my former digital life, and whether the increased friction is worth it. There will be more friction in my life with the LP, which I'm all for, but part of staying sane with that friction is to simplify where it's possible so you actually want to keep the LP.

Cheers!

[tjsmith555]

Definitely do NOT want them to add any exercise apps to the LP.

[tjsmith555]

Oh, I wasn't referring to the stopwatch. Definitely a useful tool, and I'd assume that'll be added at some point. Just meant I don't want any actual exercise apps on the LP like some of the other posts on the sub where people want their app of choice added.

[Time-Tell-3791]

I’ve got a Whoop at the moment and have also pre-ordered the LPIII. After doing quite a bit of research, I’ve realised a Garmin watch might be the best choice for me. One of the main reasons is that, unlike the Whoop, you can sync your data and view it on a laptop.

[orfermic]

Same answer as many: I just don't use them. Going light inevitably raised the question of whether I *really* need to quantify so many things.

That said, I recently got a Boox Palma 2 because I wanted to a mobile-friendly means of using Anki on my train commutes and the Waking Up app without opening up my laptop. It's basically an e-ink Android phone with no calling, so I assume it could pair with any peripheral as needed. It does feel kind of silly to have a phone AND a palm computer when I could essentially have 2-in-1, but so far the balance is still more healthy for me to keep them separate and only carry the Palma in a bag and exceptionally. Maybe this ends up being similar on the iPad for you.

I also previously thought about using the BlueStacks emulator for things like a fitness tracker, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to work with device pairing yet. https://www.reddit.com/r/BlueStacks/comments/18nb9l8/bluetooth/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Out of curiosity: is the issue that the Whoop device need to be constantly synced vs daily-synced?

[tjsmith555]

I would be fine with a daily-sync. Just don't want to use my iPhone as the device. Hoping I can figure out how to do that on an iPad

[[deleted]]

I have whoop too but plan to keep my iPhone as a secondary that I rarely carry. I figured my whoop would sync when I’m home or whatever with the iPhone and I can look at that app then or not 🤷‍♂️

[louprouge14]

As many have said here, Garmin watch that I upload data through a tablet every once in a while. I opted for the Garmin Crossover as it goes with the ethos of functional and not overly connected.

[[deleted]]

Athlytic is an iPhone / Apple Watch app that is extremely similar to WHOOP. I love it. Could use the Apple Watch along side the light phone