Fitness device clarification

Question

There is a question on the main site about best smart watch to sync with a phone. I closed it as off topic, as my interpretation of the "gear and gadgets used during exercise" has been how to use the device in a fitness program.

There are some relevant meta questions already, but they still leave it with some ambiguity.

• Questions about fitness equipment
• Including fitness electronics and gadgets
• Are questions about Fitbit etc., considered off topic

The first two seem to be a blanket okay, the last gives a fairly uncertain interpretation that only their use in a fitness program was on topic.

I am open to discussing with the other moderators and defining the boundaries, but what I would not like to see is more questions along the lines of "My Samsung Gear is locked, how do I reset it?", "My Sole F63 needs a new motor, where can I get it?" and questions of a similar nature.

I think the question currently on the main would still be off topic, as it really isn't about the use of a fitness device, but rather asking what the best syncing smart device is. (Which would also fall under purchase recommendations).

However, if the general consensus is that this is an allowable type of question (As it does have an upvote), then it can be reopened and we can possibly amend the FAQ to have a better definition of what is and isn't allowed. Or if the community has recommendations about what they would like to see regarding fitness devices (Which would not just be fitness watches, although that is the subject of the current question.)

Answer 1

Stealing from BKE's comment a bit, my $0.02 is along those lines:

I find the wording "gear and gadgets used during exercise" slightly ambiguous. Something like "gear and gadgets as it relates to your exercise program" might be clearer.

I'd suggest that electronics should have the rule applied to them that nutrition does: it's on topic if it directly relates to physical fitness.

So some on-topic questions:

• What features should I look for in a fitness tracker if I want to lose weight?
• Do I really need to measure my power output on a bike computer versus just knowing my heart rate?

And then off-topic:

• How do I pair my android s7 to the strava app? Can I use google fit?
• Does the myfitnesspal app work on iphone 7?

We entertain nutrition if it's related to fitness, and there are some "techie" questions that we let slide right now even though there's nothing specific about someone's fitness goals: why weights go on outside the collars, what weight difference will tip an olympic bar, etc: assuming because it's about gear/gadgets that we're more familiar with.

Personally I think the reason that it's okay to talk about barbell loading minus any particular fitness goals and it's not okay to talk about bluetooth pairing for phones and apps is because there is an endless set of new devices, new software, and patches coming out all the time. The physics of barbell loading (or yoga mat slippery-ness, etc) don't change much if ever. It's knowledge worth learning that can be retained safely. Bluetooth pairing and other hyper-technical topics are in on a constantly shifting landscape.