How to track your health and get into sports with a smart watch?

Smart bracelets, smart watches, fitness trackers – more and more devices motivate us to follow healthy lifestyle and push us to exercise. But often instead of helping us, gadgets bombard us with tons of dry and, even worse, inaccurate statistics. How to choose a really useful and at the same time stylish gadget, which can be trusted to monitor health?

HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 smart watch came to our test. They work without recharging from 7 to 14 days depending on the model – a great rarity, if you take into account the round-the-clock tracking of heart rate, temperature and sleep quality. We found out who they would suit, and invited an experienced runner for an honest test. He will share his emotions from training with HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner. Further – spoiler.

Vladimir Shcheblykin

New Balance Team Russia athlete

For those who want running to be simple, enjoyable and the necessary information about training to be presented in a convenient form, WATCH GT Runner is an ideal solution. In 5 days of living with them managed to experience a number of their features and run a little over 60 kilometers.

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What is the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3?

This is a line of smart watches with a long run time. The WATCH GT 3 (46mm) and WATCH GT Runner can be charged once every two weeks – typically such devices last up to 3-4 days. The simpler WATCH GT 3 (42mm) lasts up to 7 days without charging. The smartwatch has a large AMOLED screen, the ability to receive calls from a smartphone and a durable body. Silicone straps do not rub your wrist during long runs, and models with leather bracelets can be combined with a strict suit. In this respect, the watch wins over purely sporty competitors.

Huawei WATCH GT 3 is made of steel, while the lightweight version of WATCH GT Runner received a ceramic bezel, a titanium wheel and a case made of reinforced polymer fiber. Both models are water-resistant. It is very difficult to scratch, break or sink such watches. Not for nothing they have demanding modes like swimming, trekking, snowboarding.

But we are primarily interested in how HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 and WATCH GT Runner will help to monitor health and train effectively.

Vladimir Shcheblykin

New Balance Team Russia athlete

As for the accuracy of the built-in heart rate monitor. It’s amazing. I compared it with other watches both outdoors and indoors. The discrepancy is plus or minus a couple of beats, which is much lower than the manufacturer’s stated error. Moreover, GT Runner even through a thin longsleeve managed to take a fairly accurate heart rate reading during a Sunday long outdoor running workout. I would like to point out that the measurement module on the back of the watch is thin and rounded, so it doesn’t feel at all and doesn’t leave any marks on the skin.

Another important parameter is the blood oxygen saturation level (aka SpO2 or saturation). The function appeared in almost all fitness trackers and watches with the onset of the pandemic. Not for nothing: low saturation is one of the symptoms of lung damage. HUAWEI WATCH GT measures SpO2 constantly, which is very convenient: no need to sit still, press a button and wait – everything happens automatically, in the background.

It is also useful for athletes to know SpO2: low oxygen levels can be a sign of hypoxia, which is critical when hiking at high altitude. For this purpose, HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 has hiking and trekking modes. The display shows not only the standard set of indicators, but also altitude and pressure: the watch has a built-in altimeter and barometer. The gadget will also warn you if the weather starts to deteriorate.

An important function is monitoring the quality of sleep. Huawei stood out in its time for accurate and detailed sleep tracking. Such a variety of advice, supported by references to scientific articles, is hard to find from other manufacturers. The watch identifies the phases of light and deep sleep, distinguishes the moments of awakening and separates daytime sleep from nighttime sleep. Here, too, the excellent autonomy comes in handy: you don’t need to remove the watch from your hand every day before going to bed – it will have enough charge for many days and nights.

Vladimir Shcheblykin

New Balance Team Russia athlete

After 5 days of round-the-clock use with constant heart rate monitoring and 60 km of running, the watch still has 10% of charge left, which is unbelievable with such a bright screen. GT Runner will become a favorite watch for those who are tired of charging their previous watch every day.

Every morning you will receive not just dry numbers, but a detailed analysis on a multitude of parameters. Right down to the quality of your breathing. For each metric, you can read tips. For example, how to improve deep sleep (responsible for body recovery) or how to fall asleep faster.

In the rhythm of the big city, constant monitoring of stress levels comes in handy. It is not necessary at the first red line in the schedule to run to a psychologist. But the constant presence in the “yellow” zone should alert you. Perhaps you should slow down and relax a little.

The data is synchronized with the Huawei Health app available for three operating systems: Android, iOS and HarmonyOS. You can also add other smart devices there. For example, you can connect a heart rate monitor (HR) and Huawei scales via Bluetooth. The latter automatically send data about weight, fat and muscle tissue content to the app each time you weigh yourself. You can track your progress in dynamics.

Activity tracking

For athletes, especially beginners, HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 offers more than 100 types of workouts and 18 professional modes. The watch can automatically detect six types of activity: walking outside and on the track, running, swimming, and more. For example, the author of the review walked from home to work every day – every day the watch offered to turn on walking tracking at the same point. Stability.

Vladimir Shcheblykin

New Balance Team Russia athlete

When running indoors (treadmill, arena), after each workout the watch asks for the distance traveled. And if it differs from the one calculated by the watch itself, it can be calibrated by entering the correct value. This is a really useful feature.

During training, the watch displays a variety of indicators, from basic (heart rate, distance, calories) to those that are useful even for advanced athletes: cadence (number of steps per minute), aerobic and anaerobic capacity, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2Max). Which data will be displayed on the display can be customized during training.

Vladimir Shcheblykin

New Balance Team Russia athlete

What surprised me about the HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner is how much information they contain that is useful for beginners who are just coming into running. The main problem with people who start running is that they don’t feel their body, and therefore every run turns into a competition or a battle of survival. In the end, it’s almost impossible to fall in love with running with this approach. The GT Runner mobile app has entire training programs for beginners and more experienced runners. There are ready-made training plans for different distances, or you can create your own by specifying your level, desired distance and training period. The most important thing is that such a training program will help competently and gently get into the process without unnecessary discomfort. The watch will paint a detailed plan – on what day, how much and with what intensity you need to run to achieve your goal.

In the third generation of HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 there is support for several navigation systems, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS. It’s not just for the pretty lines on the map:

• no navigation system has 100% coverage worldwide. With WATCH GT 3 you can be sure of a stable signal in different countries;
• the watch can more accurately measure the distance traveled, not only based on stride length;
• You may encounter sources of interference on the way: crosswalks and skyscrapers (jogging in the city), interference in the mountains. A “backup” navigation system can help.

Accurate navigation helps to build a return route. HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 has a unique function. In any outdoor workout, be it running or hiking, you will be able to find your way back. This comes in handy both on a weekend hike in unknown terrain and in the city. Those who are passionate about running don’t stop training on vacations and business trips, and it’s easy to get lost in a new location. But not with WATCH GT 3.

Vladimir Shcheblykin

New Balance Team Russia athlete

Thanks to the use of five satellite systems, the GT Runner catches the GPS signal very quickly. I compared the accuracy of distance measurement with watches of other brands. The difference was no more than 10 meters over 21 km – an incredible result.

The ability to download music to the watch’s memory was also useful. Not via streaming services, but with MP3 files. For example, from your personal library or via the Huawei Music app. But for downloading you need an Android or HarmonyOS smartphone. After that, you can directly connect Bluetooth headphones to the watch.

As a result, we get this set: a map with a reverse route, music in the watch itself, a serious pulse oximeter without the need for a chest HR sensor. In theory, you can go for a run without a smartphone, without fear of getting lost in an unfamiliar place and being sure that the watch will record the data correctly.

HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner can do all this. But only it can additionally measure lactate threshold. When the lactate threshold is reached, your body doesn’t have time to process the lactate (lactic acid) in your muscles and you get tired. By shifting the threshold, your endurance level increases. Right on the WATCH GT Runner you can do a workout to determine your current level and then monitor your progress.

Vladimir Shcheblykin

New Balance Team Russia athlete

HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner won’t choose the right sneakers for you, nor will it analyze your running technique in depth. But they will tell you how to train, what types of training there are, how to recover better, track all the necessary metrics and show you the right way. And that’s the really cool part. You don’t have to shovel through a ton of topical literature. Everything has already been done for you. All you have to do is run and enjoy it.

What else?

HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 و GT Runner are the brightest representatives of the smart watch class. That means they have a lot of useful skills: alarm clock, timer and stopwatch. Weather, notifications and calls from your smartphone. There is also its own app store – Huawei AppGallery.

There is a sea of dials, paid and free. Just like in other smartwatches. Only HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 and GT Runner work several times longer. And they look solid. About activity and health told as much detail as possible: you can trust the readings, for beginners in sports – an ideal option. The cost, by the way, is acceptable: WATCH GT 3 (42 mm) – 17 990 rubles, WATCH GT 3 (46 mm) – 19 990 rubles, WATCH GT Runner – 22 990 rubles.