Garmin Forerunner 235

My Garmin Forerunner 235

Hey everyone. I want to share with you some information about a new watch I bought about a month ago (since my old one was stolen). Now, as I cannot run with it, I will more than likely do another update as soon as I start running again, but let me share some facts.

I bought the Garmin Forerunner 235, which retails for $330 on Garmin.com. I wanted a watch that would track my steps, gps my runs, and possibly do biking as well. Since I knew that I would be having surgery soon, I figured that the steps could help me push myself and make me have to get off the couch to meet my goals, which it has. This watch does gps for running and biking, can do indoor treadmill running, and supposedly indoor biking (I haven't used a stationary bike yet to try this out, so that will be on the next update), counts steps, tracks sleep and heart rate, and is a smart watch. This watch has all the bells and whistles, and let me be honest. I love it.

One of the nice features for everyday use is the step counter, which is pretty accurate. This watch is not a glorified pedometer, and I mean that in a good way. It is hard to get fake steps in. So lets say that your goal today is 8356 steps and come five minutes before bed, you realize you're only 20 steps away from your goal. Do not think that you can just move your arms to get these steps. You actually have to get up and have natural arm swings. Also, there is a function called the move alert, which if you are being sedentary for too long, it will both vibrate and beep to tell you to (in my mind this is what it is saying) "get your ass up and move".

Another nice thing that this watch/garmin will do is set an automatic daily goal for you to do. I know many Fitbits will automatically tell you to get 10000 steps in each day, which can be a good thing, however, if you are someone who is looking to start walking more or is partially crippled and cannot walk very much, it can feel a bit intimidating. Garmin and this watch will have your first day be 10000 and adjust it daily depending on if you are under your goal, at your goal, or above your goal. For example, 2 days ago, my goal was 6205 steps and I ended up getting 6274 in. The next day it was 6236 steps and I ended up with 6469 steps. Today my goal is 6294, and we will see how many I get.

As for the gps function, I have used it plenty while walking. The watch connects to a gps rather quick and is pretty accurate. I haven't gone out to the wooded trail to test the reliability yet, but as my older garmin worked fine, I am going to assume that it is going to be fine as well.

How the HR is displayed in the
home screen

Something new that Garmin has added to this watch is the on-wrist heart rate monitor. There was a lot of doubt that the monitor would be accurate, but I don't feel this way, especially since I am using it when everything that I do currently makes my heart rate increase. After you set up your watch and put your gender, age, height, and weight, Garmin is able to figure out your heart rate zones. There are 5 different types that are related to a different percentage of your max heart rate. The lowest is less than 60% and the highest is 90-100%. For me, as I am trying to get back in the swing of things but not overdo it, I like to see how hard my body is working by evaluating my HR and making sure it is not in the top 2 zones.

This watch also evaluates and measures sleep. Yes, you have to wear it while you sleep, and some people might find the watch somewhat bulky, however, the data that you receive is interesting. It will tell you the times you spent in deep sleep and light sleep, when you were awake, how long you slept for the night, and what your movement was like.

How sleep is shown in the app

This watch also doubles as a smartwatch, sending you alerts when you have a text, call, email, or even Facebook notifications. It will also sync your daily calendar if you enter information into it on your phone. You can check the weather, both right now, hourly and weekly by scrolling through the home screen on the watch, and also control the music on your phone. I have used the music function a lot, as it is fairly easy to use and is helpful when you do not want to find your phone and fumble with it trying to change the song being played. For me, the smartwatch function is something that encourages me to wear it everyday. The watch will sync to the Garmin Connect app, which you can download to your phone to analyze your data further and can add more data as you feel.

Another nice thing is the fact that Garmin allows for customization on this watch within the technology. What you can do is customize the home screen, the data fields, and the widgets on the watch (there's even one that will tell you how many beers you have earned from your run). This is an added benefit because you can make the watch your own by having it give you whatever information you would like or have it look the way that you want it to. For myself, I used a new home screen, one with a fishing cat that, when I get closer and closer to my step goals, the cat gets closer to fishing the fish out of the water. Something silly, I know, but it shows how close I am to my goal without having to flip a page on my home screen and somewhat motivates me to help that cat get that fish.

Overall, I love this watch. It is lightweight and allows me to get all the information that I want and need for the road for recovery (and for new PRs, hopefully). It is quite the investment, however, if you are looking for specifics like the on-wrist HR or smartwatch capabilities or even multiple types of data, this watch could be your perfect fit.