Garmin

All posts tagged Garmin

November 2022 Stats

Posted by Richard on 30th November 2022
Posted in: Diary, Fitness, LEJOG, Weight. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Well thanks to that utter shitshow that is Brexit, we had to fly back to the UK mid-November so as not to outstay our welcome in the EU.

This meant that there was a switch from the longer real-world rides I was doing on a relatively heavy mountain bike back to indoor cycling on the Schwinn, so it was back to using FulGaz again.  I’ve mentioned I decided – very rashly – to do their “LEJOG Challenge“, so the mileage (and time in our gym) has risen a tad…

This month’s total therefore is up to 554.59km.

My weight at the start of the month was 91kg and at the end it had surpassed my first goal and stood at 88.9kg.  This is down from 98.2kg as recently as mid-August (1 stone 4lbs weight loss).

FulGaz LEJOG Challenge

Posted by Richard on 18th November 2022
Posted in: challenge, Diary, events, Fitness, Gear, John O'Groats, Land's End. Tagged: , , , .

If you’ve been checking in on this blog with my monthly workout stats and/or following my latest individual workout activities over here, then you’ll know that while I’m in the UK, I tend to just use our Schwinn 800IC static bike and I’m pretty much settling for FulGaz as my preferred workout program, given its “adaptive” video rides.

I’ve received an update from FulGaz today about the “LEJOG Challenge“: Land’s End to John O’Groats over 500km and 20 stages, most being over an hour and some like Hardknott Pass being a little bit ‘bumpy’ too…

Still, what could possibly go wrong?

September 2022 Stats

Posted by Richard on 1st October 2022
Posted in: Cycling, Diary, Fitness, Gear, Weight. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

With the Schwinn’s arrival came physiotherapy, pain consultations and then experiments with Apple Fitness+, the first year’s free subscription to Bowflex’s JRNY app, and a trial of FulGaz.  The latter two are different from Fitness+ in that Apple are offering different duration classes only whereas the other two offer virtual rides using video of the actual routes.

In FulGaz’s case, they are adaptive workouts: speeding up or slowing down the videos to suit your pace/power which the app reads from the Schwinn.  They’re also linked to my Garmin fēnix 7S for my heart rate.

The other benefit of using FulGaz is that after each ride, it emails you a FIT file which you can import into Garmin Connect giving you the full details of the ride.  JRNY does not do this, sadly.

So hitting the Schwinn every has been beneficial for me, but also for my weight which has been coming down slowly, thereby improving the load on my knee.

Here’s my stats for the 399km – mainly virtual/indoor – in September 2022:

September 2022 Statistics

Garmin fēnix 7S

Posted by Richard on 9th February 2022
Posted in: Gear. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

I’ve been using a Garmin fēnix 3 Sapphire for quite a while now; it’s a big, chunky lump of a fitness watch but then it is feature-packed and suitable for many forms of exercise.  I also have an Apple Watch Series 4 which works really well, but doesn’t measure blood oxygen levels like my wife’s latest one does.

I pair it with a heart rate monitor that clips to a strap you wear around your chest and then shower and dry it after exercising. We bought my wife a Garmin Forerunner 735XT a few years back and that has heart rate measuring built in (like the Apple Watch).

Now that we’re splitting our time between the UK and Fuerteventura I’m having to cart the Garmin back and forth, so I decided to leave it there where I work out more and use the Apple Watch in the UK. That’s not perfect because I then have to manually add each one to Garmin Connect.

So for my 60th birthday, Alison has bought me the new Garmin fēnix 7S, choosing the smaller S model so it’s not as chunky and large, especially as it encourages you to wear it 24/7 to monitor heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep tracking, etc.  It’s early days yet but the results are fascinating. I expect over the next few weeks it should get to know me properly and calibrate all its reports around me.

Garmin fēnix 7S

Watch Out!

Posted by Richard on 9th March 2015
Posted in: Cycling, Fitness, Gear, Running. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

So Apple has today announced its new Apple Watch.

Now previously, I’d said I was going to get one when they came out, pairing it with my iPhone 6 to do all sort of smart watch stuff but with the added health and fitness features. But I’ve changed my mind.

Instead, I’ll be upgrading my Garmin Forerunner 410 to the new Garmin Fenix 3.

Why? Well the Apple Watch isn’t capable of acting as a standalone fitness device as it relies on a Bluetooth connection to your iPhone for WiFi (understandable) and GPS (no, just no). Add to that the battery life of the Apple Watch being “up to 18 hours” (yeah, right) as opposed to the Fenix 3’s 6 weeks (!) and it’s a no-brainer. On my run-commute, linkage to my iPhone 6 isn’t a problem, other than battery life for any devices, but on a fitness/general run, I don’t want to have to have the iPhone strapped to my arm. No, I’d rather rely on the watch’s own GPS noting my distance.

And the Fenix also links via ANT+ to my footpod, heart rate monitor and bike cadence to measure a range of metrics. And the Apple Watch isn’t even waterproof!

Price? Well like for like (ish) you’re looking at £899 for the Apple Watch and £450 for the Fenix 3 Sapphire. Half the price.