Performance

Finally, which watch will improve you the most as an athlete?

The announcement of personal records is a feel-good touch...

So which watch can help improve your sporting performances the most? And what are they all like to use? The V800’s sleep data is limited and it does little for running dynamics without an additional stride sensor and foot pod – though these won’t be key features for most. Its USB cord for charging and syncing with the Flow Sync desktop software is very fiddly.

However, the V800 does boast, among others, a VO2 max test. This determines your body’s ability to recruit and utilise oxygen while exercising. It’s as good as stipulating the marathon time you’re capable of, and until recently required a coach, a treadmill and a lot of breathing into a mask. Orthostatic testing gives a score to your current health condition, Jump looks at explosive strength and anaerobic performance, RR (resting rate) tracks your heart rate – key for detecting over-training. As is the Recovery Advisor: after a workout, the V800 tells you the sensible recovery time till your next workout. The V800 also gives informative feedback after a session: in what way has that workout benefited you? It can tell you, for example, what percentage of calories burned were fat. Other neat touches include an on-screen graph showing how many minutes you’ve spent in each HR zone. The activity reminders are good, too.

Activity tracking really lacks on the Ambit3, and it doesn’t have those neat VO2 max tests. But it does everything else well. It’ll sure as hell help you on your way to marathon personal bests. Voice guidance for interval sessions is a neat touch, and multi-sport users can switch sport mid-exercise with a few button presses.

For the runner, the Fenix 3 has VO2 max (and race-predictor) testing, ground-contact time (longer being hypothetically worse) and vertical oscillation (your ‘bounce’). The watch also has recovery-time recommendations, as well as Virtual Pacer (alerts if you’re off target pace) and Racer workout. Sleep tracking is very detailed. The announcement of personal records is a feelgood touch – the watch is a great motivator.