‘Tis the season for spring training! Many of our ITS team members are avid runners/bikers/swimmers, and use GPS watches to track workouts and record valuable metrics to optimize their workouts. Our team shared the watches they use to track their workouts, and what they like or dislike about the watches they use.

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is a great option for many athletes. While primarily a smart watch, the Apple Watch has many features and downloadable apps to allow it to double as a fitness and GPS watch.

What ITS team members say…

Cons:

Battery is unpredictable and sometimes does not last a 20+ mile run.
Lacks capabilities to read and interpret the data it collects. This can be solved by installing numerous apps, but it doesn’t work as seamlessly as some dedicated GPS Fitness watches would.
No traditional lap/reset button

Pros:

Widely used and allows interaction with friends who also have the watch.
Less bulky than most other GPS watches, and better for everyday wear.

Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music

The Garmin Vivoactive lets you download music directly to your watch so you can connect Bluetooth headphones and listen to music while leaving your phone at home. This Garmin GPS watch also has a lot of smart watch features like downloading apps; Garmin Pay, which allows you to make convenient payments through your watch; and customizing features. It also features preloaded sports apps including yoga, running, swimming, strength training and many more. If the watch doesn’t have the sport you’re looking for preloaded, you can create or download custom ones.

What ITS team members say…

Pros:

This watch is great for listening to music as you run because you don’t need to carry your phone. Bluetooth headphones connect directly to the watch.
Low price point.

Cons:

Since this watch is at a low price point some features are cut out. It’s a pretty basic multisport watch. For sports beyond running, the features are pretty minimal.

Garmin Forerunner 920XT

The Garmin Forerunner is a multisport watch great for any activity. A member of our staff has the 920XT model that he likes to use for swimming. This watch has stroke recognition, counts your laps and records your distance. It’s dedicated buttons make it easy to operate when wet. This watch is also great for running and biking. There are a couple of newer models now in this series, the 935XT and the 945XT, along with the little brother/sister the 735XT. These watches have a lot of the same features, but with updated appearances. The 920XT has a square face, while the 935XT and 945XT have round faces. The buttons are also a bit different to avoid accidental presses. The 920XT still has an impressive battery life that will outlast is successors. The 735XT is smaller, is at a lower price-point, and like the 935XT and 945 XT has an integrated optical heart rate reader. However, you do lose some of the bells and whistles at the lower price-point.

Garmin Forerunner 245

The Garmin Forerunner 245 is a multisport watch great for running, swimming, and biking. For swimming, this watch will track your laps (as long as you’re swimming in a pool and not open water) and detect your stoke. There is also a music version available that will allow you to connect Bluetooth earbuds directly to the watch. The child of an ITS team member uses this model.

What an ITS team member says about their kids’ watch...

My 12 year old son enjoys running 5k races and training for them.
He also participates in swim team and is getting into triathlons – the swim workout data/option pointed him toward this model.
He enjoys syncing with Strava, a social platform for athletes, and participating in challenges.

Garmin Edge 520

Not in the watch department but still a recommended product from our bikers at ITS is the Garmin Edge 520. This product is basically a computer for your bike. The device offers in-ride challenges through Strava, a social platform for athletes. Your starred Strava segments will sync with the 520 and give you live feedback during your ride. Through Strava, you can also see leaderboard rankings on the Garmin Edge once you complete a segment. Our ITS team member said he likes to use this for his bike rides instead of a watch because it can be mounted on the handlebars and he can more easily interact with the device there than if he was wearing a device on his wrist.

Garmin Vivofit Jr. 2

Garmin’s fitness tracker for kids is also an entertaining experience on app. After 60 minutes of activity, kids can unlock adventure in companion app, making exercise a rewarding experience.

What an ITS team member says about their kids’ watch...

My 7 year old son can independently track his movement during the day.
He can toggle through to the stop watch on his own and start/stop workouts. He enjoys timing himself when running, biking, scootering or even just doing chores.
He enjoys the companion app that allows him to earn points after completing chores, meeting step goals, etc. Together we can plan a menu for redeeming the points.