Archive for the HRM questions Category
r-r intervals - Polar RS800 - Suunto T6C
17/06/2008 by Tris.
A useful question asked today by a customer regarding Polar RS800 and Suunto T6C and their use of, and analysis of R-R heart rate data - with regard to heart rate variability.
I have been looking at Suunto T series because of the R-R facility. (1) How does this compare to Polar’s R-R facility.
(2) How does the software differ between T6 and T3 (not really interested in T4 Coach system).
Thanks for the mail regarding R-R analysis.
1) The big difference is that the RS800 Pro Trainer software gives you ACCESS to the R-R data - so you can extract the RAW R-R information
The Suunto Training Manager does NOT
HOWEVER….
Suunto analyses the R-R data it has stored and outputs TRAINING EFFECT and EPOC data to give the user a very clear understanding of the WORK LOAD.
That means you have TRAINING EFFECT data for EACH and EVERY session you perform, so it is clear to see when you are over training
The Polar has the OWN OPTIMISER test. This is performed voluntarily and, upon completion, gives the user an idea of their current wellbeing - over trained, under trained, balanced training state etc.
Both are GOOOD.
For the average user, TRAINING EFFECT is useful and gives immediate review of progress and workload
The Polar RS800 is possibly better suited to the purist, the user that wants access to the RAW DATA.
2) Please review the SCREEN GRABS on these pages:
Suunto TRAINING MANAGER software with TRAINING EFFECT and TIME versus HEART RATE curves
Suunto TRAINING MANAGER LITE software - does NOT give time versus heart rate curves
The T3/4 does NOT give a TIME versus HEART RATE curve.. the T6 does
www.heartratemonitor.co.uk
Hope we can help
Suunto - Total ascent / total descent
02/06/2008 by Tris.
We had a mail from a customer about Suunto T6/S6/X3HR altitude data.We thought it would be useful to publish this:Many thanks for the email.
The first two figures are, as you suggest, the MAX and MIN heights, above sea level, from a session. This figure is based on barometric pressure changes. It relies on an accurate setting of start altitude. It seems that these were pretty close, so no problem there. These are simply the HIGHEST and LOWEST points within a session
The other two figures are TOTAL ASCENT and TOTAL DESCENT heights.
While you are cycling you are either
On the flat, thus no climb
Going uphill, thus ASCENDING
Going downhill, thus DESCENDING
If ascending at a rate of 3 m/min for 6 minutes… the x3HR would put 18m to TOTAL ASCENT data (3m/min x 6 mins)
If descending, steeply, at 20m/min for just 30 seconds.. the x3HR would put 10m to the TOTAL DESCENT data (20m/min x 0.5mins)
This is done throughout the ride….
If you’re ride was pretty flat, the total ASCENT / DESCENT heights would be low
If the ride was hilly… it is represented by a high total ASCENT / DESCENT height
Normally, ASCENDED and DESCENDED totals will be quite similar… but not always identical.
Your two rides look very different… one very FLAT with on a 15m climbing and 9m descending
The second ride was pretty hilly… with climbs approaching 1000m
The max/min (start / finish) heights do not have any impact on ascend/descend figures.
Hope that makes sense
Suunto heart rate monitors with ALTITUDE ASCENT / DESCENT
Polar USB IR problems
19/03/2008 by Tris.
One of the questions we get a lot of at www.heartratemonitor.co.uk is with regard to Polar USB Infra Red stick.
Some general pointers would be - with Reference to problems with the Polar RS800/RS400/CS400/CS600
If it looks like this :
good - this is the new one - if it nothing like this.. sorry… this information won’t help…..
1) Have you got latest version of PRO-TRAINER - www.heartratemonitor.co.uk always supply the latest versions available on CD ROM with the product, BUT it is not always the VERY latest version …. sometimes it’s just worth checking www.polar.fi then DOWNLOADS and SUPPORT area. There are also some USB.exe files to download and correct USB driver issues… This is particularly so for Windows Vista 2) www.polar.fi has an extensive knowledge base with keyword search, so it’s worth spending 10 mins there. If you are getting a specific error message - try entering the main terms in the KEYWORD SEARCH field. Go to the GLOBAL SITE then bottom left, support and download… there is LOADS of info there. This is normally where Polar UK or Polar Finland will send you first….
3) In the settings of your PRO-TRAINER interface, make sure you have OPTIONS - PREFS - HARDWARE set to “IRDA” and NOT “USB” - this is quite a common mistake
4) Make sure you have the unit VERY CLOSE to the USB IR stick. I normally suggest just a few mm. The IR contacts on the watch are the small 2 x white LED’s between the Polar LOGO.. it is NOT the big red button.. another common mistake
5) I always recommend simply putting the watch in to CONNECT MODE then do the rest from the PC - press the GREEN “TRANSFER DATA” icon - third from left.
If it still doesn’t work, and you’re a customer of ours, contact us via the website - www.heartratemonitor.co.uk . If you didn’t buy it from us, contact Polar via your LOCAL website, found through www.polar.fi
Tris
Polar Own Optimiser question
28/11/2007 by Tris.
Apologies for contacting you again, however I do have a query about the polar products but don’t have my order number (my girlfriend bought my RS800 for me last month). My query is I have been a life long support of polar products and really like them. I currently own a RS800SD. I do about 8-12 hours training a week and have been training at this level for about 3 years. However this year didn’t see much of an improvement in my performances. At the time I was worried that I was over training. Therefore I took a break of about 1.5 months and then bought the RS800SD to use the Polar Optimiser to keep track of my recovery levels as I restarted my training.I have restarted my training and test myself everyday as I train everyday. I do mix it up with a long run at the weekend and interval session mid week. However the optimiser is reporting “stagnant training” and has done for the past few weeks. Even though this morning when I woke up I definitely felt tired (I did my running intervals and a hard 1hour turbo yesterday). The fact that the optimiser is reporting stagnant training should mean something to me, but I don’t know what. I was thinking that perhaps the optimiser is testing how tired my cardio system was so I might be feeling tired because my muscles are tired, but my cardio is un stressed and is not the limiting factor? As you can probably tell I don’t know, and would appreciate any advice you had on the matter?PLEASE HELP - ADVISE - thanks ANON
REPLY from Tris at heart rate monitor shop
Many thanks for your emailPlease follow this link for a full explanation of the Polar OwnOptimiser results - OWN OPTIMISER Personally, i think the problem is that you are not having ANY rest days.
The OwnOptimiser works best when used the morning after a heavy training day, and hte morning after a rest day.
This information is taken from the Polar manual, and the link I have pasted above:
>>> Polar manual >>>
Monitoring OwnOptimizer Values:
After the baseline recordings, you should continue to perform the test 2-3 times a week. Test yourself weekly in the morning following both a recovery day and a heavy training day (or a series of heavy training days). An optional third test can be performed after a normal training day. OwnOptimizer may not provide reliable information during detraining or in a very irregular training period. If you take a break from exercise for 14 days or longer, the baseline tests should be performed again.
>> TH comment again >>>
The OwnOptimiser is monitoring the difference between your resting heart rate status on days after training, versus days after resting.
You are not resting so it sees all the results as the same… thus stagnant….
I would recommend adding at least ONE REST DAY and make sure you perform an OwnOptimiser the morning after that
Perform ONLY TWO other OwnOptimiser tests in the week, following training days.
Let me know how you get on
LINKS : Polar RS800 - Polar RS800 G3 - Polar RS800 SD