Fitbit Surge - Heart Rate Monitor Meets Smartwatch

I am pretty blasé about most of the techie gadgets that come out. I’m not someone who has a heart attack every time Apple release a new phone or gadget. Google glasses and Bluetooth dishwashers and all that stuff just totally floats past me.

But.

I saw a review a couple of weeks ago in a Melbourne newspaper of the Fitbit Surge and my heart rate picked up. I couldn’t believe it. Excited about a fitness gadget! I haven’t owned anything more fitness-gadget than an ipod previously so this is my first real fitness technology investment.

What it does is JUST as important as what it doesn’t do. I didn’t want something that would do a million things, with a million buttons and applications and features. I believe in keeping it simple and doing the basic things really well – much like a good workout routine.

The watch face allows you to set different workouts, and if you sync it with your phone, you get SMS notifications and can see who is calling you – before ignoring them, naturally. It also allows you to track your sleep (or lack of it!). Essentially for the outdoor trekker, biker, runner, it has a GPS navigation that can tell you how far you’ve walked and what your route looks like.

MOST importantly, it has a heart rate monitor. Now, I’ve long wanted a heart rate monitor but previous models I’ve looked at have involved gadgetry that needs to be wrapped around your chest and all sorts of exhaustive apps to measure what seems like a pretty simple factor. The fact that the Fitbit Surge does this SIMPLY along with all the appealing elements of a smartwatch? It’s a no-brainer. This is definitely going to appeal to non-techie fitness fans.

I intend on using it to measure my heart rate during cardio and strength workouts, my Ballet Sculpt classes, and to track how active I am from day to day. If you have a specific goal about time spent walking, floors climbed, a heart rate zone you want to stay within during interval training...this is the gadget for you.

Sure, I might not get a whole lot of use out of the GPS tracker since most of my activity is done indoors, but I like knowing it’s an option and I will definitely make use of it overseas in May. I probably won’t answer the phone when you call, but rest assured I’ll see that you’re trying.

Stay tuned. I’ll be posting again soon on heart rate training. 

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