Having watched my Ironman boyfriend love a good gadget for his training I was excited to test out the Adidas MiCoach Fit Smart*. This is essentially a fitness watch that helps provide information about each training session, but also links up to your smart phone to log your results and more importantly your progress.
The main features
- Sensors: accelerometer, Mio continuous optical heart rate
- 10 hours of workout data
- Syncs with miCoach Train and Run app using Bluetooth® 4.0 (Bluetooth® Smart), 2.4GHz
- A battery with 200 mAh lithium ion (takes 3 hours to charge)
- Smooth and flexible silicone strap
- Width 34 mm, height 12.17 mm, length 207 mm
adidas miCoach FIT SMART £110.00
Initial views
Okay so that's a lot of information but you're probably wondering how I got on with it? Firstly it's a great, smooth, silicone adjustable band, (I have it in white) that doesn't irritate regardless of how hot you get during your workout. It tells the time with the LED display and has three buttons to select the current time and the training modes, making it very easy to navigate around. To get it started you need to charge it with the black usb cable, (comes with the gadget) that slots over the sensors on the back of the FIT SMART and it charges up with a standard usb plug. These sensors on the back are what also measure your heart rate.
What does it do
I've been using this device a lot over the last few months and have found it very easy to get on with (which is a great start!). Once you switch on Bluetooth it is very easy to sync with the Adidas miCoach Train and Run App, I did initially have trouble getting it to sync with my iPhone but it was fine with my Samsung. I loved the fact you can record any workout, so you can record anything from your average run, to your yoga session to even a kayaking outting! As you do! The best part I found is that sometimes if I'll cycle to a gym class, do a class or two then cycle home I won't get a chance to sync straight away... but luckily this little gem stores that information until you can sync it, meaning you don't always need your phone with you. It can store up to 10 hours of data which is great teamed with the decent battery life. Get your heart pumping
I must admit my favorite bit is the fact you can measure your heart rate. A lot of these fitness gadgets require an additional chest strap to get your HR, this doesn't which is ace and it finds your heart rate really quickly. One particularly amazing element is that as it monitors your heart rate whilst training, it flashes up along the thin LED strip on the side with your heart rate colour zones. It makes it really easy to keep track of how hard your working during your exercising and will vibrate when you are out of your performing zone. I won't lie it happened mid way through pilates after me flying down the hill to the gym on my bike!
Verdict I will be first to say it's taken me a while to really discover and use all the functions and appreciate what it can do. I can monitor my average pace on runs, find out my average heart rate, see how far I've gone and discover if I've made training progress. To summarise I'd say if you're after something to really help your training this is a safe bet, if you don't just like to run but do a bit of everything then it's worth it. You don't have to faff with getting add ons and it can monitor so many kinds of workouts not just running. This isn't for someone who like a casual workout, if you are then there are other options out there for you, this is an active all rounder. Nothing too extreme but one for the definite active folk out there. A huge plus is that it's complex with it's abilities but not complicated and that makes it pretty awesome in my book.