Table of Contents
As a writer/editor, most of my days are spent seated in front of a screen, punctuated only by the occasional stretch and short walk in pursuit of lunch. Every so often, I would decide to take a short jog around my neighbourhood just to get the guilt levels down, but that happens only maybe every once in a blue moon.
Therefore, I decided to start my fitness journey with the new Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Samsung Health app, which promises end-to-end experience guide – perfect for beginners like me.
Day T-1
Before I start my fitness journey, I needed to know how my overall health was. Using the Body Composition measurement tool on the Galaxy Watch5 Pro, I was able to get a pretty detailed snapshot of my weight condition, including skeletal muscle mass, fat mass, and body fat percentage.
Understanding your body composition is the first and most important step when it comes to planning a fitness routine. Unlike body composition measurements, BMI does not differentiate between muscle and fat mass, so it’s not an accurate indicator of health. The body composition measurement allows insights into how much excess fat I have and also helps me ensure that I don’t lose too much fat, which can also bring on health issues.
After getting my body composition measurements, it’s time to set detailed targets in Samsung Health on my phone. As shown, my fat mass was in the reds, while I was also slightly lacking in skeletal muscle. Therefore, my targets are mainly set to balance out these two and get them into the typical range for my age group. These numbers are helpfully provided by Samsung Health, saving me the excruciating task of research.
Week 1
With my targets in mind, I began my two-week “fitness” journey. Nothing hardcore – just an evening jog/walk before dinner three times a week, and a short weekend hike. On the days that I didn’t jog, I would follow the workout programmes available in the Samsung Health app. That’s about all I could fit into my workday.
The plan started out swimmingly. I managed to get in ~3km during my planned jogs. During every workout session, the Watch5 Pro tracked everything from pace and form to heart rate , and oxygen intake.
Post-jog, I was able to get a visual of my track on the Samsung Health App. The app, when synced with the Galaxy Watch5 Pro, also records all the data for “easy” reference. To be honest, the extensive amount of data was a little daunting, but it lets me know a lot more than I thought I needed to know.
One thing I found really interesting is that the Galaxy Watch5 Pro calculates the estimated sweat loss during the workout, and tells you how much water you need to drink in order to replace your sweat loss. I don’t know if the amount of water stated actually rehydrated me, but it’s good to know.
Week 2
The Watch5 Pro needed up to a week’s worth of data for the Samsung Health app to provide the comprehensive end-to-end fitness guide as advertised, so by the second week, I was able to get tips and personalised fitness programmes through the app.
This was good news, because I was starting to get tired of jogging outdoors – mosquitoes and muddy trails quickly reminded me why I avoided exercising in the first place. In the Samsung Health app, I was able register my fitness level and goals, and the app recommended programmes as indicated.
I won’t say that all the programmes “picked for me” were 100% suitable (Ballet stretches for kids? Really?), but at the very least, I was able to follow them. I choose “Beginner” for fitness level and “Get toned and fit” for my fitness goals, and the programmes, while simple, do seem to point in the right direction.
I switched from jogging every other day to working out at home primarily. Outdoor activities are limited to just after-lunch walks. The Watch5 Pro did document these walks as well, thanks to the auto-detection, which was great, and added more insights into my activity levels.
The Results
After two weeks, I measured my body composition again. Here are my results:
Granted, I didn’t meet ALL of my targets, but I did manage to achieve a good percentage of my goals – and I lost some weight. Not a lot, but I wasn’t worried about my weight in the first place, so all’s good.
I was pleasantly surprised by my progress. As someone who makes it a habit to not exercise, the Galaxy Watch5 Pro and the Samsung Health app definitely help in the planning and execution. By giving me an actual visualization of my goals and targets, I knew exactly what I was working towards and had the motivation to do so.
All in all, the Galaxy Watch5 Pro is a pretty robust fitness smartwatch that really helped me out in my fitness journey, especially when combined with the Samsung Health app. Two weeks may be too short to really feel any significant improvements in my overall health, but I could still see improvements in terms of data, which I’m sure will translate to physical benefits sooner rather than later.
[This post is made in collaboration with Samsung Malaysia]