Garmin Vivoactive HR - Fitness REVIEW
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ม.ค. 2025
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The Garmin Vivoactive HR is Garmin's latest in the Vivo series. This is part smart watch, and all fitness. It features various sports profiles, onboard GPS, sleep tracking, and an optical heart rate sensor.
How does this fully featured fitness tracker / band / watch stack up? Watch the video and find out!
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Just ordered mine from Amazon thanks to your video and replies in the comments section, thank you so much for helping me make up my mind, can't wait to get it and start using it!
+Delay of Upload Awesome! Best of luck to you using it, let me know if you have any questions!
Thank you for the review. This definitely helped me with my decision on the purchase. I've had it for about 3 weeks and used it for different activities such as running, cycling and bootcamp training and it works great. Thanks again for an honest, unbiased review.
I ordered this through my Insurance rewards program and I am looking forward to using it. This review confirmed my thoughts about the Vivoactive HR...Thanks
+Leighton Carter 👍
Great review...Had mine now three days and managed to get in a number of Cycling, Running and Walking Activities. Great watch with a few bugs when set up in metric the laps notification stays in Imperial, can be altered. After an hour plus of Cycling twice its stopped recording, the time continues and the Speed shows zero so the distance doesn't increment. Stopping/Starting the Activity did not resolve the issue. When the watch is taken off for an hour or two the battery flattens quiet quickly, must go into a 'Search mode'. On a positive note, vast amounts of data is recorded.
+Ian Berkley thanks for sharing your experience. Has the heart rate monitor performed as you expected?
+Techy Agent generally the HRM is good in comparison to my Polar H7 Chest strap. I tighten the watch strap by one notch before a Run to ensure its tight, otherwise the HRM results are sporadic.
Ps - Other people are reporting 'GPS loss' i.e Activity recording problems on the Garmin Forum. From further investigations I think this is related to the 'Auto pause' function not restarting the GPS. So hopefully can be resolved with a software update.
Have you found any bugs?
What's that icon at 6:29? :O Seems like a weightlifting workout profile, but I don't have it in my VAHR! And i'm up to date with my software (2.20)
+Daniele Cavoli yes, it is a strength training profile. To enable it you'll need to do the following: activate your workout menu (press right button). Scroll to the bottom of the menu and select "Add new". Scroll until you see strength and select it. Now you can set up a strength training profile.
Now that's weird. I've been trying to do that already. My VA is in italian, and I just realized they translated "strenght" with "vogatore" which would actually translate to rowing machine or rower. That's just hilarious. Thanks for making me notice that, even if unintentionally. And yes I'll stick to english language from now on lol
+Daniele Cavoli Great! Glad it worked out for you!
re HR accuracy: The watch is blinking/measuring at high speed, if you put it on the table like you did. It doesn't mean it will do it the same, after attaching it to your arm. The rate is ~1 time every 10min according to a GARMIN sales rep in resting mode, faster in activity mode. Basically it's adaptive, which is good
+cyberryderfx correct, however I wasn't measuring how often it checks the heart rate, I was checking the frequency refresh rate. Even if it only checks once every 10 minutes when it's in resting mode, it still has to determine the time length between your heartbeat, and it does that by taking 110 measurements per second. All that to say: it does a really good job determining the time elapsed between heart beats, which translates to accurate bpm data. When the watch is in a sports mode, actively tracking exercise, it is constantly taking a real time measurement of your heart rate.
Techy Agent aaah, understood your approach now. this was not clear to me. tnx
Outstanding! Very thorough, straightforward and efficient presentation.
+William Arrowsmiith thanks!
Hi Eric, I'm planning to buy a fitness tracker for running and weightlifting so I'll buy Vivoactive HR for running and will add a HRM band for other high intensity activities. I saw in other review that you pair it with Rhythm+ while I was tinking about wahoo tickr chest band. Which one do you think is more accurate? I also like the double connection BT and Ant+ of tickr.
Thanks for attention and sorry for my poor english.
The Wahoo is more accurate by far. I simply prefer the Rhythm+ because it's more comfortable, and doesn't get in the way when I'm doing bench press. It's good, but not as good as the Wahoo.
How would you rate the HR tracking compared to the Microsoft band. You really didn't say in the review.
+Witcherworks For weight lifting, it's about the same. For steady state cardio (jogging, cycling, etc) it's much better.
Nice review, I was really close to upgrading from my First Gen VivoActive and going with the new Garmin VivoActive HR but I found a way to make the Apple Watch work for me. Garmin products do rock though! Good to know the optical sensors are getting better all the time.
+getfitover40 The Apple Watch is still a fantastic choice. I saw your recent video, and I think you've dialed in how to use the Apple Watch in a workout context better than anyone else I've seen. Plus, The optical sensor on the Apple Watch isn't half bad for things like jogging and cycling, it hangs right in there with Garmin sensors. Plus it's ability to pair with a chest strap make it a very versatile option.
Thank you!!!!! I've been trying to find a review for this with weight lifting!
+Fibro Fighter Cool, glad you found my channel!
I have a question and please answer asap, on the old Garmin vivoactive it used gps to get elevation info for the cycle activity does this use the more accurate barometric pressure sensor for the cycling activity? Thanks.
+Jay Koolkid My understanding is that it uses both. It has an algorithm that takes into consideration the barometric sensor and the GPS location. So it is going to be more accurate than the previous version watch.
you never mentioned any app compatibility, does it have a companion phone app? will it show your cycling route? connect with Strava or Map my Ride?
I purchased this device yesterday. What activity app would you pick for a DM class? I selected cardio but I know that can't be the best choice. Thanks for your review!
+Maria Hart I set up a custom cardio profile for DM by clicking the right button and scrolling to the bottom and selecting "add new". There I selected "cardio" and made sure the GPS settings were turned off. In this mode, use the heart rate sensor to determine a calorie burn. It also uses the movements detected by the accelerometer.
You will get even more accuracy if you pair this with a third-party chest strap or arm band for heart rate monitoring, but the built-in optical heart rate sensor is pretty good too.
In the app, you can change the name of your custom work out cardio profile to whatever you want.
Is there a continuous, also in rest, measurement (110 flashes) of HR or is it just when you're starting a workout/run and press recording?
Thanks for the insight on the Garmin Vivoactive HR's activity tracking. By wearing the Garmin Vivoactive HR during sleep to monitor sleep, 1) how well of a job does it do? 2) are there positions -- during sleep -- where the Garmin Vivoactive HR feels uncomfortable? and 3) due to the sensors being a bit raised, will it leave indentations -- semi-permanent or otherwise -- in the wrist area?
+Vincent Mancini 1) it does a good job tracking sleep, very accurate. 2) I have never felt that it was uncomfortable to wear while sleeping. If you are not use to wearing a watch, perhaps it would take a little time getting used to it, but since use to wearing a watch all the time it hasn't bothered me at all. 3) The sensor will leave a temporary indentation after I wear it working out when the band is tighter. But I usually loosen it one notch after working out, and the indentation goes away
Fabulous answer
Does this count reps? for basic movement like squats, curls, bench etc and complex movement like clean and jerks?
how does this work for stair master? does it keep track of it pretty accurately?
Thank you for the awesome review. I just purchased this (waiting for it to arrive). I would love to see a swimming review on it. That's my main workout, although all of them (except golf) will likely get plenty of use as well.
+Tami Parrington great! I have taken mine swimming and used that feature, and it performs flawlessly. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to make a swimming video yet.
Thanks for letting me know! I am so anxious for it. I can't wait to use it. I have a "lightweight" fitness watch now, the LifeTrak Zone, but the VA has SOO much more I am on pins and needles. Nice to know it works so well in the water.
Great review Eric, I like the use of the Phantom Footage in this one. I have the VivoActive, looks like this might be worth the upgrade for the HR data as I hate chest straps
+baze187 Exactly, chest straps are great when you need perfect data, but when all you need is something close to accurate, this does nicely.
Hi there. I'm impressed by this device. I would like to know if it has an automatic exercise detector. For example if I was doing some yard work or helped in some moving, will the device record that data without me having to set up any option.
Thanks.
+Joel Joseph it's only designed to track certain exercises if you've been doing them for so long. So if you start to go on a jog, and forget to turn on the exercise tracking, it will still be attacked that you are jogging and automatically track it. But if you only jog for about three or four minutes, and then stop, it will not track that. Additionally, it's not designed to track things like yardwork or moving, it really only does automatic detection for things like jogging in riding a bike.
Good review. If you are considering a chest strap, the wahoo tickr series of chest straps are compatible and dual band (ant+ and bluetooth) so you can use with Garmin or Polar devices or phone apps. Useful to avoid lock in.
+kierenkd good point. I like the scosche rhythms plus too, it's also dual band (Bluetooth and ant+). I like it for weightlifting because it is worn on your arm rather than chest, so it won't get in the way for things like benchpress. But it's more expensive than the TICKR, and arguably less accurate.
Hey !! great review. I want to know about Move IQ feature. Did you use that feature?
+Kushal Dave I haven't yet just because it's so easy to manually initiate a workout with the push of a button, I haven't yet bothered to see if it can automatically detect things like jogging
Could you do a swim review of this? I've taken this swimming a couple times and I haven't been able to see my stroke type in the metrics, so I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong.
+Carmen Staunton I'm hoping to soon, weather permitting. It's been rainy and cold, hopefully it warms up soon!
How about that drone footage of that run! Nice!
+Patrick Handy thanks! I had my drone follow me for a portion of the run
Great review. You think that i could use it during kiteboarding sessions to track my session and watch it later in the app? Speed, distance, time etc etc? Thanks
+Yosue Caridad you could turn on a gps mode (like cycling) and use it to track speed, distance, time. It wouldn't be a perfect solution, but you could definitely make it workable.
thanks for your tip and answer!
Hi Eric took ur advice there b4 xmass nd got my self a Microsoft band 2. Was very happy with it up to few days ago, battery stopped charging. relay only problem it gave me was the battery, having to charge it every was day bit of a pain. thinking about changing to something different now. looking at the vivoactive hr, u also recommended it at the time I bought the Microsoft band. just wondering anything new out this year that covers weights crossfit nd running as good. For around the same price range
+John Cronogue unfortunately nothing yet, although I'm hoping that we get some sort of announcement from Garmin regarding the next gen Vivoactive. It's been over a year now, so I'm sure they're working on something.
Sound thanks for ur reply, Will go for the vivoactive hr so. just after watching ur review on it there again. great review, does Garmin du a arm heart rate sencer or only chest sencer
+John Cronogue the Garmin does have a built-in heart rate sensor on the wrist, but it will pair with ANT+ chest straps and other ANT+ external sensors
Forgot to text ya back few day ago thanks again for reply. was watching ur review earlier on the scosche rhythm heart rate monator. Got good review Will try that one, thanks again for the replyes. cheers
+John Cronogue you bet! 👍
+Techy Agent what fitness tracker would you recommend for someone who lifts weights, walks, and runs? I need something with a good heart rate monitor and step counter.
+Josh Bailey the Garmin Vivactive HR or Garmin Vivosmart HR+. If you want to save some money. The Garmin Vivosmart HR is good too. I also like the Polar A360 and Mio Fuse
Hey techyagent has any of the firmware updates improved the screen accuracy with backlight as on garmins website it shows that thebupdates have addressed that along with all other issues with connectivity so how has it held up has it improved with updates as i am going to buy one soon....You also mentioned that the 225 is better than this ine in temrs of accuracy with weight lifting,how do u track that as that one is more so of a running watch if i understand correctly
The 225 had a heart rate sensor from MIO, and it was better than the what Garmin uses now. That being said, the current Garmin hr sensor is still really really good, and it continues to get better with every firmware update.
Can you download workouts onto the vivoactive HR like you could in the microsoft band? I had the Microsoft band 2 and the silicon band broke in several spots...need to replace it with a new watch
+BigDRunnin No, it doesn't have downloadable workouts. That's too bad that your Microsoft band broke, so far mine is still going strong.
+Techy Agent is there another fitness tracker that have the downloaded
/guided workouts like the Microsoft band 2? I lost my Microsoft band and am looking at other options that are a little more comfortable.
I broke the bank and got the Garmin Fenix 3....its AWESOME! I had a MS Band 2 and it broke...sent it back, they sent me a new one...2 weeks later, it broke. Fenix 3 running programs are awesome and the hardware is durable and far superior to the MS band. Unfortunately its like $350 more than MS band 2, but i was so pissed off after the second time mine broke that I said "the hell with it".
+Techy Agent have you used this for indoor cycling? Curious how it works in the indoor cycling mode. I am trying to find something I can use on a spin bike. Seems most sensors only attach to rode bikes and not indoor spin bikes with the solid wheel. I have looked at wahoo and garmin products. I saw this had an actual indoor biking mode and wondered what it captured and how it worked. Any advice on something for an indoor spin bike? Would ideally like to capture heart rate, calories, cadence and speed. Anything out there that would capture these for an indoor spin bike? TIA
+Angela R I have not used this for indoor cycling, only outdoor cycling with gps turned on. I believe that the indoor cycling mode likely only tracks your heart rate, calories, and time elapsed.
+Techy Agent thank you. Are you still using this as your daily wearable or have you found something you like better?
I am kind of leaning towards this on as I run in the warmer months outside, hike, lift weights and indoor cycle. I am thinking of pairing it with a heart rate strap for a more accurate reading during workouts. I also wondered about using it with the Garmin cadence sensor or Wahoo cadence sensor if they would pair together on the bike.
nice one Eric. who does the drone flying and which drone are you using for that? would you still take this Garmin over the polar a360
+TheIndusCivilization yes, I'd still take this over the a360. The screen isn't as bright, but the overall platform edges out the Polar on every other aspect. I use the DJI Phantom 3 standard, with a litchi app, the drone is programs to have the camera focus on me while it flies in close proximity he. So it's actually flying itself
I tried it but returned it because of the dim display in low lighting. Some of my workouts are in low lighting and coming from the band 2, I struggled with the display. I'll stick with the Microsoft band 2 for now, hopefully the band 3 will loose the stupid wrist bulge. Another great review.
+Jonnah T thanks! And I agree: if the Microsoft band wants to stay competitive as a fitness tracker, they need to finally ditch the bulky bulge it has had for the last couple of years. That and the terrible battery life. I feel like the Microsoft band 2 came really really close to being a game changer, and it was good enough for me to wear it for six months...BUT it needs to be sleeker, waterproof, and get at least 5 days battery life.
You can actually increase the display's light intensity & duration in the settings. By default it is on level 2.
Nice review thanks. I'm in the market for a fitness wearable, and this device is definitely on my radar. I'm very interested in how the golf function performs, I realise Garmin has golf specific watches and gps devices however they are typically expensive and not the most attractive items. If you could post a review using the golf function that would be most appreciated.
Thanks again and good work!
+Shaun Smith i'll actually be taking this golfing tomorrow and trying out the golf features. I should have a golf review up sometime next week.
I don't know if you still have your vivoactive hr to compare but after wearing mine for the last 10 days or so I notice that most of the time the green optical led hr sensors are not on most of the time and only visibly turn on when I manually set it to an activity (eg run) or swipe down from the watch face widget to the heart rate widget after which it turns off again.. Maybe I'm mistaken but I could swear when I first got it the green optical led hr sensors were on all the time.. If not on all the time how can it be sold as 24/7 hr monitoring? I'm still getting all day hr data in Garmin connect somehow but can I trust that data if as I say most of the time I check (in non manually started activities) the LEDs aren't on? Does it sneak in a quick reading once in a while (every 6 or 10 minutes only) momentarily turning on and off the LEDs every so often to conserve battery power or is there something faulty and my all day hr data is off? Thank you
+justinspirational so even though it’s advertised as 24/7, the sample rate is closer to every 3 minutes. It also bases the sample rate on your movement. So if you increase your activity for a couple of minutes by walking, it will begin taking constant readings in case you begin an activity and forgot to turn on an exercise mode. Then, when you stop moving so much, it will take an occasional reading about every two or three minutes in order to get an estimate of your resting heart rate.
The heart rate sensor can also detect ambient light. So if you take the watch off the sensors will turn off automatically after a few seconds.
Techy Agent thank you for taking the time to do generously answer my questions- you Rock! So hopefully my vivoactive hr isn't at fault then.. I'll check to see if I can see the optical hr sensors lighting up more as I walk around (but not manually set to an activity) then.. Still tempted to try the forerunner 935, Fenix 3 hr or even Fenix 5 but trying to avoid that higher price tag (especially after getting the whoop 2.0) and the vivoactive hr covers most of what I need though I'm interested in the hrv stress data and anaerobic/aerobic and vo2 max data the advanced wearables have..
I'm trying to decide between Vivoactive Hr+ GPS and the Garmin Forerunner 235. I plan on wearing the chest strap for more accurate readings during workouts. You can buy both for $250 right now. That being said which one would you still prefer for running and cross fit type workouts?
+Tim Hamsa I'd prefer the HR+ because it offers a wider variety of use. Don't get me wrong, the 235 is great, but it's designed for running and cycling activities.
Thanks! Love all your reviews they help out a lot. I would love the fenix 3 if the price wasn't so steep. Looks like the vivioactive hr is the way to go for me.
one more thing in what way is the gps useful can you use it for much more accurate calculation of the distance u covered jogging
+User One yes, I recommend using the GPS when you are jogging outdoor because it will make your distance tracking much more accurate
+Techy Agent thank you my awesome fellow human
Hello there, great review!
I'm looking to mainly use it for cycling and was wondering if it tracks my route via the GPS? Would be nice to be able to go over my route and see where my heart rate is at various stages.
Thanks again!
+Mustang Nut yes, it will track your route via GPS and you'll be able to see an overlay showing your heart rate at various points on the route
Perfect, thank you for the reply!
If I want to use this for interval training, can I set a heart rate or HR% at which point it vibrates when my HR drops below that threshold? I want to run for 2min then walk until my heart rate drops to75% of Max HR (225-age), for instance.
+Sonny Arcilla it does not provide any sort of alert when your heart rate hits a certain point or heart rate zone. It does do heart rate zones, you can manually adjust the zones to fit your preferred range, but you will have to keep an eye on it because it will not alert you.
Excellent review... my only concern is just how dim that display is while inside. If it's the same as the original Vivoactive, I had a real issue with it. But I may check this out regardless. Looks like a winner!
+Tom F. Yes, the screen is a little more touch responsive than the last gen vivoactive, however in terms of brightness, I'd say they are about the same. While that's disappointing, it seems like thats what Garmin has to do in order to achieve it's good battery life.
Did you do a review of the other sport profiles?
+Meari S unfortunately I did not have a chance to work those in a video. But I have used many of them personally, and I love this watch. Outside of the Garmin Fénix 5, it's my all time favorite.
do you think without the gps always on it can pull more than 7 days ? also does it have a silent alarms ? count down timer ?
+User One yes, it does have a silent alarm, a countdown timer, and a stopwatch. If you were not using the GPS, yes I think it would easily get seven days
how does his hold up for obstacle races. I was looking into the fit bit blaze, but heard it's pretty fragil.
+Joshua Sandoval I've beat the snot out of mine, and with a little washing and scrubbing, it always comes out looking nearly new. The Fitbit blaze is fragile compared to this, which is one of the reasons I decided to go with the Garmin over the Fitbit.
+Techy Agent thanks for the reply. I think I'll go with the hr. thanks again for all you vids!!
I own the Microsoft band 2 ,but I thinking of purchasing the Garmin vivoactive HR. I haven't found any videos or written reviews comparing the two. I would like to know what you think of this comparison. Which is overall the better product
+Tavon Scott they each have certain strengths and weaknesses: MB2 has worse battery life and is bulky and uncomfortable compared to the Garmin Vivoactive hr. But it has better smart notifications and a better built in heart rate sensor. But the Garmin can pair with an external heart rate sensor, or other external accessories. Also, the Garmin is much more durable and has better GPS and is waterproof (the MB2 is not). Overall, I find the Garmin more compelling, but it's a personal choice.
Nice review. Is the Vivoactive HR able to show your current altitude real time? This could be useful during hiking.
+Hendrik Caron yes, it can. I love using mine for hiking. You can customize what data you are seeing (altitude, distance, pace, etc) on the Vivoactive as well. If I remember correctly, altitude is not one they include on the standard hiking mode, you have to add it in. (But it's not too hard to figure out.)
Eric, I currently wear the fitbit surge. Would you say this is an upgrade from that in every way??
+alex b yes, I would say that it's an upgrade in every way except for the app. The Fitbit app is much better.
Great review ! How good is the screen compared to Fitbit Surge's ?
+jaya chakravarthy It's better than the Surge, but worse than the Blaze
But to me, Blaze looks lame. Thanks bud, for the quick reply.
Is there any alternative with same spec (GPS + HRM), primarily for cycling and swimming ?
+jaya chakravarthy Garmin does offer some triathlon watches that include both built-in GPS and heart rate monitor. Most of them are designed for triathlon sports (running, cycling, swimming) but the Garmin App will also allow you to install other sports profiles on the watch. Here is one, for example:
th-cam.com/video/sikB-hKo2kU/w-d-xo.html
what would be better for 24/7 monitoring and heavy arm wrestling weight practice, the vivoactive hr or the polar m600?
+Chris Kiri the Vivoactive HR has some of the best 24/7 monitoring, imho. Either one of these are well suited for weight lifting IF you pair them with an external heart rate sensor. The Garmin is a little bit better at pairing with external sensors though.
Techy Agent thank you very much.
Nice review Eric. I'm looking at the vivoactive hr, but I do not have a smartphone. Would this watch be able to use with a computer? I'm unable to find an answer from Garmin. Thanks.
+Lynn Dippel From what I can see online, you do have to have a smart phone to sync the data. While you can view the data online on your computer, you must sync via a Bluetooth connection on your phone with the Garmin Connect app
Thanks Eric. Bummer.. I do not own a smartphone, must be the only person who doesn't own one. :D
+Lynn Dippel You can sync without a smartphone, simply plug the watch into your computer and use Garmin express, thats the main app that connects to your phone. Theres also Garmin connect web app to use for everything else. Hope this helps!
Thank you pwashington99.
Great stuff Eric ! What size is your wrist by the way?
+Ralph Arellano I have a smaller wrist for my size (I'm 6 foot tall). I purchased the "regular" sizing for the Vivoactive HR.
does it auto track sleep or anything else or does sleep and everything else need to been manually tracked manually? thank you
+justinspirational Yes, it does auto track sleep, steps, stairs, calories, and resting heart rate. You do have to manually start a workout.
Techy Agent thank you
Do have one questing, when the batteries on the HR Sensor need changing do you have to send it off to polar, this is the only problem with this watch.
+Running4 Fun Well, since they are rechargeable they shouldn't need changed. But if they fail for some reason, yes, you'll have to exchange it with Garmin.
Do you wear this in a "business" setting, or at the office? I've had the Vivoactive for the last year and it's my every day watch at home, the gym and the office. Will the new HR version stick out more as a "fitness watch" or about that same?
+Todd Wall I would say that it is about the same, it definitely has improved on the responsiveness of the smart features, but it also has improved on the fitness tracking features as well. They made gradual but consistent improvements across the board
Nice review Eric. What activity program did you use for the gym? I tried the strength program, but it didn't seem to record any distance. I found that to be odd.
+John Manley yes, I use the strength profile and as you mentioned, it doesn't record distance. I guess Garmin figures if you are strength training, you are concerned with building muscle and don't care about distance, but it would've been nice for them to include that feature for when someone does CrossFit or boot camp exercise that might include sprints or smaller distance runs.
+Techy Agent That's interesting. Thanks for the quick reply. I think what I will end up doing is use that profile for when I'm using weights and then switch to walk indoors when I'm on the treadmill.
Yes, you can actually customize the Strength Profile to use GPS if you want to measure your distance. Just tap on the Strength Profile, once on the start screen just press and hold the Start Button for 1 second and a "Strength Settings" option will appear, click on it and scroll down to GPS and enable it. You can actually modify all the workout profiles to add things like laps, auto-laps, auto-stops, GPS, etc.
+LatinHeat GPS won't work if you are indoors though.
great video!😊 my vivoactive hr will be delivered tomorrow 💪 greets!
+Kingsheart awesome! I've been loving mine
techy agent I love your reviews man. I am training for a triathlon and I wonder if you think this vivoactive HR is a good one for that. But also, when I am done with the triathlon I will go back to mountain biking, running, and weight lifting. Would you recommend this Fitness tracker over the polar a360 for those activities?
+Scott Reid Yes, I think it's a good choice for all of those things. A couple considerations though: for weight lifting, the HR sensor can experience dropouts and inaccuracies. To get accurate weight lifting heart rate data, I suggest using an external hr sensor. I use the Scosche Rhythm Plus. For all of the other activities you mentioned, the built-in heart rate sensor should work perfectly.
Thank you for the quick response I actually bought it last night because of your Channel and review. Keep up the good work
I'm not all intrested in all the fancy gadgets of notifications and calls on watches.
What would you suggest for me?
Just want a good tracker for training like crossfit
Good heart monitor and sleep patterns?
The heart rate sensor on this is starting to feel "old", as odd as that sounds. If I was you, I'd look for something a little newer. The latest HR sensors from Fitbit and Polar are a little better than what Garmin is offering right now, especially in terms of crossfit and strength training exercise.
@@TechyAgent thanks for the reply.
Theres so many on the market
Get confused easily.
Hey Eric can you set the Vivoactive HR for interval trainings?
+JC Blanco like a timer? I don't think it has an interval timer, but you can create a customized workout profile that would be able to track a high intensity interval training or circuit training styled workout
I see, thank you!
Does it have a raise to wake function or the screen is always on?
+Max Chin screen is always on
Hi thanks for your all reviews you makeIwant to know which one you would buy Garmin vivoactive hr or samsung gear fit 2 pro
samsung gear fit 2 pro is cheaper in my country than the Garmin vivoactive hr by $82
+breakno breakno if it’s cheaper in your country by $82, I would definitely go with the Samsung
+Techy Agent Thanks for replying on my question
I found the vivoactive hr with the same price of the samsung fit 2 pro (online on amazon) do you recommend online shopping from Amazon
+breakno breakno Yes, Amazon has a 30 day return policy so if you don’t like what you bought, you can always return it
Im looking at this garmin vivoactive hr and the garmin fenix 3 hr. Can you please tell me the difference between them and which one you recommend?
+Anthony Rampino the Fenix includes better god mapping and tracking capabilities. If you hike or hunt, the Fenix is better. If you primarily just want to track sports and exercise, the Vivoactive HR is ideal
Techy Agent thanks I appreciate the information.
Did you ever have a chance to take it to the golf course?
+Cliff yes, here is the video: th-cam.com/video/HP2fS3YAzxQ/w-d-xo.html
If i'm lifting let's say a 7 kg weigth with my right hand. Do I have to have the watch on my rigth hand or doesen't it matter? And is it good at tracking your cals. when you are lifting weights. And can it also see if i'm training my legs?
+OzzyThePhoenix it won't do a great job tracking your calories during weightlifting, because of the heart rate lag. But what I do is pair it with the Scosche Rhythm Plus heart rate arm band, and that gives me accurate heart rate and calorie counting. But if you prefer to use the built-in heart rate sensor, it shouldn't matter which hand do you wear the watch on
How well dose it track steps/ miles indoors? I run on a indoor track or treadmills a lot.
+Harry Villella III it does a pretty good job. I would recommend you run 20 miles outside using the GPS function because it calibrates your indoor running estimates based on your real gps running distances.
Techy Agent Whats the best new Fit watch in your opinion?
hi watersports such a yathing 1-3-5 min preset count timer features is thereany in this watch ?thanks
+AZIZ HIDAYET GUMUSAY I don't know of any preset counters or timers. The watch does have a countdown timer you can set, and it has a stopwatch
THNKS
Great review. Thanks! Just wondering what is your current fitness band you are using? Is it still the Vivoactive HR?
+Matt Ing No, my wife took it! I upgraded to the Fenix 5X
But I sometimes do miss the touch screen, and honestly haven't achieved much more from the Fenix 5X besides it looking cooler
Ahh ok. I ended up buying it last night. Liking it a lot so far :D
Hi! Great review. I'm almost convinced of buying this gadget, but I was looking for some video of Vivoactive HR running in a pool and didn't find. Because the primary activity I do is swimming (4 times a week), and I want to be sure Vivoactive HR runs 100% on a pool.
I just sae a video showing it going crazy on water and failing on marking the distance, and now I'm afraid. Please help me!
Have you tested it on swimming?
+Henrique Ramos yes, this tracks swimming and is completely waterproof. It will keep track of metrics such as total strokes, strokes per minute, strokes per lap, distance, average speed, speed per lap, and more. I can also be set to accommodate different sized pools and swimming types.
Is it possible to use it for Boxing ? In order by example to count the number of Jabs.
+Rochdi HASSINE it does not have a boxing profile, so there would be no way to differentiate between jabs and punches versus your steps
+Techy Agent Thank you very much for your answer !!!
Is the hr tracking without using the chest hr monitor good? Thanks
For steady state cardio like running and cycling it’s great. For high intensity interval training or strength training exercises I would always recommend an external heart rate sensor for additional accuracy.
I currently use the Garmin Vivofit2 and I want to upgrade, so whats the best choice for me? Is it the vivosmart or vivoactive HR? I am not much into running etc but I do walk a lot and do cross training. Please suggest, thanks in advance
+Pradeep Prabhu if you want to stick with a Garmin product, The vivosmart hr is a good option. If you are wanting to try a new brand, the Polar A360 is good too.
can rep counting on Strength workouts ?
How did you login the gym workout? Since it only has "sports" like running, cycling, and golf. There's not widget for gym workouts or high intensity training or sports like basketball or ultimate frisbee. Also, has anyone figured out how to login a workout AFTERWARDS if you forget to start the running session before a workout?
+Gursimran Singh When you press the right button to open up the workout menu, if you scroll to the bottom you can add a new workout type. When you do that, you can select to add "strength" to your menu. Using Strength will record that workout as a strength training session. From what I can tell, there isn't a way to log a workout afterwards...you must manually start and stop a workout. If there is a way to go back afterwards, I'm not familiar with it.
Thanks for responding! So I ended up calling Garmin. Strength App is for gym workouts(or crossfit). While the Run app logs extra things like lap time which are unneeded, the Cardio app is great for sports like basketball and football. Also, Vivofit 3 apparetnly has Move IQ which automatically recognizes similar movements and logs them in. But for VivoActive HR, it has not been released yet. The rep said he was not sure they had any plans for it either. Been using this for about a week though, so far so good. (does scratch very easily though)
+Techy Agent
can I know your wrist size? my wrist size is 15cm, I'm afraid the vivoactive hr will look bulky in my hand. Which size you got on this video?
+Tilong 2009 I got the large size band that fits both me and my wife. The extra large version is a little bit too big
How to do weightlifting and crossfit for the vivoactive hr
+Lifethroughalens R They do great IF you get an external ANT+ heart rate sensor. I use the Scosche Rhythm Plus.
Hi, hellou. I have a question regarding Endomondo. I'm using the app/site to track my workouts. Did You try to connect/integrate Garmin site with Endomondo? Is there any problem with that? I don't want to start using Garmin as my primary app rather just stay with Endo and just sync activities from smartwatch. Cheers from Poland and thanks for the answer in advance. ))
+Ja toJa Yes, you can port over the data from Garmin to Endomondo. Here are the instructions: support.endomondo.com/hc/en-us/articles/203483026-Upload-from-a-Garmin-device
And at the bottom of the site I see: "Garmin Vivofit, Vivosmart, Vivoactive and Approach devices
We currently don't support import from these four devices." I have sent question to Endomondo Team because still im not sure. Have You tested it or You just sayin? Regardless, nice review. Cheers.
+Ja toJa ah, I have not tested it out, and I didn't see that wording. I'm glad you caught it! Sorry about that.
Looks like Garmin is the default platform where your activities are uploaded to either via Garmin's phone app via Bluetooth or desktop software via USB.
Only then are you able to extract the Garmin file to Endo as a manual upload.
ATM, only Strava and MyFitnessPal syncs automatically with Garmin when you upload your workout from your watch
how thick is this compared to normal watches? I wear long sleeve dress shirts everyday and I am hoping the cuff will go over easily. Also,does it get in the way of getting things out of your pocket?
+Jeremy Baldwin it is definitely thicker than most every day watches, but not prohibitively so, all of my long sleeve dress shirts fit over pretty easily
I have always worn my MS Band 2 on the inside of my wrist.Is this possible with the Garmin here ?
+Richard Maude Sorry for late reply, for some reason youtube flagged your comment and I had to approve it. I did try to turn the Garmin to the inside, but it became enormously uncomfortable, and I don't think it was getting better readings at all. So it really is designed to only work on the outside, unlike the MB2 which can take readings either way.
Were you using a chest hr monitor in the video
Nope, for reviews I like to use the built in sensor.
Techy Agent thanks mine arrived yesterday and I already love it
perfect Eric, thanks for letting us know.
by the way new Sub to your channel and great content.
thanks for the advice:)
Anyone notice issue with HR during weights activity? 2 straight workouts and my average is 68ish... i just finished a 3 set superset and its readong 42bpm.... my leg workout registered perfectly but for some reason anything using upper body is not registering.. so far disappointed as i got it to be a fitness watch... any insight?
What is the best one for weightlifting/ crossfit?
Thanks
+leonard wang that depends on whether or not you required to have GPS (for tracking distance during Runs or Bike rides)
Mostly, I want to have one use in Gym.....
+leonard wang if you are willing to pair it with a ant+ chest strap, then I recommend the Garmin Vivoactive or Garmin Vivoactive HR. If you don't want to wear a chest strap, but preferred to have one that uses an onboard optical heart rate monitor, I recommend the Fitbit Blaze, Polar A360, Garmin Vivoactive HR, Adidas Fitsmart, and Mio Fuse.
Thanks a lot !!!
leonard wang Idk
looks awesome man. could you show how both this one and the vivosmart Hr would look like on your wife's wrist? to have a comparison of what these products look like on smaller wrists (like my own)
+BboyJDA it's about the same thickness as the Vivosmart HR, and almost twice as wide but not quite. On a smaller wrist it would probably feel a little bulky.
Which one is better Vicoactive HR Vs fitbit charge 2. Both are priced same today.
I personally like the Vivoactive HR better Because I feel like it offers more in terms of accuracy and performance, but it’s definitely an ugly looking watch
Can someone tell me if this can track workout activity like Insanity (hiit cardio)? Is there a setting/activity option for that?
You can set up custom workout profiles. I have a custom workout profile called "CARDIO" that I use for hiit. For HIIT and strength training, I still recommend to use a chest strap or what I use (the Scosche Rhythm Plus) for better accuracy.
+Techy Agent Thank you so much!!
Senior monitor is missing?
Does it do heart rate zones and VO2 Max?
+Michael L Yes it does. After jogging or cycling so far, it will give you your vo2 max in the app. I haven't found a way to view this info on the watch itself, but it is accessible in the app.
how long does it take to ship from Clevertraining.com? it only says May for me.
+Shawn Shutt Sorry for late reply, for some reason youtube flagged your comment and I had to approve it. It should only take about 10-14 days to ship, depending on where you live.
Techy Agent No big deal! Thanks for the reply!!
can you name some chest strap monitors that are compatible with this watch?
+steve “BIGSTEVE” rogers The ones I highly recommend are: Wahoo Tickr X, Scosche Rhythm Plus, and the native Garmin strap. However it will pair with any chest strap that has ANT+
I just got the vivoactive hr for christmas and had it on all day yesterday. I only logged about 5, 600 steps and did a leg workout lasting about an hour. The vivoactive hr says I burned 4, 900 calories. That seems to be impossible that I would have burned that many calories. Ever hear of someone having that problem?
+Matt “Important to Matt” that seems high, yes. Are you a large person? Like tall and/or muscular or heavy. Large, heavy people carry around more weight and have higher metabolic rates. Also, what is the saying your resting heart rate is? A higher resting heart rate will burn more calories but it's not necessarily a good thing. It could mean you need better cardio health, or in my case: I drink too much coffee/caffeine. There are a lot of variables, but that does seem like a higher than normal number
Hi my vivoactive has stopped charging and the screen is showing lines and jumping. Any advice will be welcome
If you’ve had this for less than 18 months, I would suggest contacting customer support to see if they are able to help at all
will this pair with a cheat strap from Polar?
+Haley Hammonds unfortunately it does not pair with a Bluetooth chest strap, only ANT+ chest straps
wow , I live in Trinidad. the watch is charging but the screen has blanked out , all that's coming up is garmin and that's it white screen from there. garmin can't help me here but thanks
Worn the band 2 since launch. This looks promising but not enough to warrant another $250 jussst yet!
Thanks for the great review. I'm not sure the heart rate is very accurate though mine is saying a low of 45bpm, yesterday it was 41. only had it 2 days though. RHR 45 also
+Anthony SibleyV I know that it does take an average of your low readings, not necessary what your lowest overall reading was, so you may notice that it says your rhr is 45 but the watch may actually record a low reading of 41. Don't know if I explained that well or not...
What about calisthenics and crossfit?
+serkan sarcan I would advise to check out the Garmin Vivosmart HR+ or the Garmin Vivoactive HR. Both have GPS and heart rate tracking, and they would be good for your preferred sports.
Diff bet 920xt n this?
can I pair it with my polar h7 heart rate monitor?
+Jonathan Meng unfortunately not because of the Vivoactive only connects with ANT+ chest straps and the Polar H7 is bluetooth. I use the Vivoactive HR with the Scosche Rhthym plus arm band
Have you tried it using an Elliptical?
+Peter Rodriguez I haven't, sorry
hay which is better this or polar m430 they are at the same price now
A lot of it depends on what sports and exercise as you are tracking and what smart features you require
Techy Agent thanks for the response and mostly running and not too bothered about smart phone stuff. I just tried both them watches on and they are a bit big on my wrist so I ended up getting the amazfit bip just tried one run and was great. Your review of it helped allot thanks
Awesome, glad you were able to find something that worked!
Wait.....did I see Clash of Clans? :)Very good reviews - thanks!
+madiantin haha, yes, I clash a bit here and there.