Fitness Electronics Blog

Week In Review – May 19th, 2012

May 192012

Hi everyone! We have been busy with iPhone app reviews this week. The number of apps seems to be growing quickly, with more advanced features added all the time. It also seems like more athletes are starting to use this method to log their workouts. We will continue with more app reviews over the next few weeks.

Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are all of the postings from the last week:

Friday – Endomondo Smartphone App In Depth Review

Thursday – A Morning Workout…With My Brother

Wednesday – How Is It Going With Fitness Electronics Blog?

Tuesday – A Quick Nike+ FuelBand Update

Monday – iPhone Apps That Work With the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy Heart Rate Monitor Strap

Saturday – Week in Review, May 12th, 2012

Here are a few items that we found circulating around the web:

New changes to the navigation of the Garmin Connect Software

SportsTracker just released version 1.7 for iPhone

Here are the release notes for Sports Tracker on iPhone v.1.7.0:

Improved performance while syncing multiple workouts
Workout sync progress visualization
Bug fixes to syncing
Better handling of long routes on maps
Move directly from the last workout view to the first (and first to last) during workout
Improvements to speed tracking
Auto pause setting is now persistent per activity
Show the lap in progress in the workout chart
When zooming in on a chart zoom to the right edge of the visible area
Fix to opening workout and navigating between workouts from friends’ latest photos
Heart rate chart added for shared workouts
Fixed manually input max HR value syncing
Fixed friends list sorting
Show workout description when browsing photos
Fixes to lap duration calculations
Stability and performance improvements
Minor usability tweaks and bug fixes

Here is a press release for a new firmware upgrade for the Finis SwiMP3:

Finis announced a firmware upgrade to the SwiMP3. Here are the details, taken from their site:

As a result of our successful engineering efforts, FINIS is formally announcing the launch of the SwiMP3 X18 today! These units are updated with the latest firmware and are ready for the water.

The SwiMP3 is a waterproof MP3 player that provides high quality underwater sound without ear buds. Instead it uses bone conduction for audio transmission. The device attaches to goggle straps and rests on the cheekbones as to not interfere with swimming technique.

Recently our engineers were able to resolve some problems that affected the SwiMP3 2G. Issues with the product included trouble with Mac OS compatibility, freezing during playback and small functionality issues. Although it didn’t affect all users, we certainly didn’t want to have these bugs in our device.

Over the last few months a new X18 firmware was implemented on all SwiMP3 2G units from FINIS. The X18 firmware improves the functionality of the SwiMP3 2G and resolves the bugs that we found. Most likely, current users already have the updated X18 firmware on their SwiMP3 2G. In fact, if your unit is working correctly, then you don’t need to do anything except keep enjoying your SwiMP3 2G device during your swim! However, should experience any issues with your SwiMP3 2G, please contact our Tech Support team right away. We will be happy to assist you in upgrading your unit with the X18 firmware.

As mentioned, most units owned by consumers today already have the X18 firmware, but FINIS wanted to give a proper launch of the updated firmware. It also gives us an opportunity to let our customers know about the improvements we have made, and to thank those that provided feedback to our engineers and support team over the past few months as we worked through the bugs.

If you run into any issues with your SwiMP3 2G, please contact our FINIS Technical Support at (888) 333-4647 or fill out a Support Ticket at support.finisinc.com

Happy Training!

Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS Running Watch In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

Endomondo Smartphone App In Depth Review

May 182012

For those of you just joining us, we are on a continuing journey to learn more about heart rate monitors, and the best way to choose the right one. Our website covers all types of electronics and tech stuff, but overwhelmingly, triathletes and runners come to our site to check out heart rate monitors and GPS watches. We have had so many questions about using smartphones as a heart rate monitor device, which smartphone heart rate monitor straps to buy, and which apps to use that we decided we should start reviewing the the heart rate monitor straps, and the smartphone apps that work with them. Today, we are reviewing the Endomondo and Endomondo Pro apps for smartphones.

Before we get started, we should tell you a little bit about us and how we perform product evaluations. We have a group of 4 people who do the evaluations of all of the stuff. One person is the lead on a piece of gear, but everyone gets a chance to evaluate the product. We have 2 guys and 2 ladies, so it’s a good mix of people. It gives us better insight, and we get a better review overall. Everyone has an input to the review, and if there is a major disagreement, we will note it in the review. If you want to know who these people are, check out our About Us page. Four of us are seasoned triathletes, and 2 of us are are also full time Pilates instructors. Jennifer Lynn, who is a guest blogger, is a full time Pilates/spinning instructor. All swim, bike, run, do Pilates and Yoga, and use all of the gear on a daily basis. Many of you have read the FitnessElectronicsBlog disclaimer, but here it is in case this is your first time reading one of our reviews. For the record, we are in no way connected with Endomondo any of the companies whose gear we review. We remain disconnected, in large part, because we love playing with the latest technology, and we couldn’t keep our hands off this stuff if we tried. We downloaded and purchased Endomondo and Endomondo Pro from the iTunes store. No give-us-gear for a favorable review, or anything like that. We call ‘em as we see ‘em. It keeps us honest. Typically, if we like the product, we will buy it to have around, use, and be able to check out software updates and answer questions. So, enough with the babble. Let’s get to the review.

First of all, Endomondo works with the smartphones listed below:

On the Apple side, the app is compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G and iPad Wi-Fi + 4G. It requires iOS 4.0 or later. For our test, we are using an iPhone 4S and the Polar H7 Bluetooth low energy heart rate monitor strap (Last week, we reviewed the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy heart rate monitor strap. The review can be found here.). The app is also made to work with ANT+ heart rate monitors from Polar, Zephyr, Garmin and other manufacturers. Other ANT+ supported devices like bike speed and cadence sensors will also work on ANT+ enabled Android phones. There are two Endomondo apps made for the iPhone; a free version just called Endomondo, and a paid version with added features called Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro. The Pro app costs $3.99.

So what are the features?

Here are the features of the free app:

Track any outdoorTrack any outdoor sport including duration, distance, speed and calories
Get audio feedback for every mile or km while exercising
Check out the newsfeed with recent workouts and other activities done by your friends
Send peptalks to your friends in real-time from the newsfeed (you write a message that is played aloud to them a few seconds later) and comment on their workouts
Track your heart rate (works with ANT+ heart rate monitors and requires a Fisica Sensor Key, more info at store.endomondo.com)
Set a distance goal and have the audio coach speak to that as your target
Study routes nearby and use the map to navigate your way around
View history of workouts and study split times per km or mile
Race against a friend’s time and have the audio coach help you perform better
Compete on a specific route nearby and Race against the route champion
Set the app to pause automatically when you are not moving
Enable countdown (customizable)
Customize the main screen to show the information that you find most valuable
Enter a workout manually, e.g., a treadmill run, spinning or weight training
Sign up with your Facebook account
Use Facebook and/or phone book to hook up with your friends on Endomondo

Here are the additional features that you get with the Pro version:

Interval programs: Choose from 3 programs or create your own with time & distance intervals (NEW)
Graphs: View graphs with your lap times, heart rate, speed and altitude throughout the workout
Beat yourself: Set a previous workout as your goal and the audio coach will help you perform better this time
Time goal: Choose a duration for your workout and the audio coach will help you reach the time goal
Calorie goal: Set a calorie goal for your workout and the audio coach will guide you

Using the app

Here is the main screen of the app. Before using the app, you will want to set up a few of the basics. If you want to use any of the sharing, friends, or storing features, you will need to create an account. It’s easy and free, and only takes a minute.

Next you can change your sport by pressing on the running word or icon:

When you do this, you are able to change your sport, with 50 options available. Some of them are shown below:

Once you have your sport set, you might want to visit the settings screen:

Here you can login, set your weight, change the start countdown timer, connect to your heart rate monitor strap, and turn auto pause on or off. You can also change the map view from this screen. Here is the standard and satellite views of the map setting:

Once you have the chosen your settings, you can head back to the main workout screen. If you want to start working out, just press start, and you are on your way. You can change the screen to display duration, distance, calories, heart rate, speed, and average speed. Just press and hold any of the display boxes, and your choice of options will be displayed.

If you want to get a little fancier with your workout, you can click on the Workout: BASIC icon on the screen below, and choose different types of workouts.

Here are the options that you have for workouts:

We will run through some of the workout screens. Here is the Manual Entry workout screen. You can set starting time, duration, and distance:

Here is the Set A Goal workout screen. You can set a distance, time and or calorie goal:

There are also Beat A Friend, Follow A Route, and Beat Yourself workouts. These allow you to race against a friends’ time, or race against one of your previous workouts. You can also follow a route that you or someone else created, which can be a lot of fun. This allows you to race against someone else, on the exact same route that they used.

One of my favorite features of Endomondo Pro is the addition of Interval Training. This is one of the major difference between the free and Pro versions, and it is not available on the free version. Here are some screen shots of the available options:

There are three types of interval programming. There is a good description of each in the image above.

Choosing the Standard interval feature below gives you a 5 minute warmup, and then 1 minute on, with 1 minute rest, done 6 times, followed by a 5 minute cool down, for a total workout time of 21 minutes:

Selecting the Pyramid interval starts with a 5 minute warmup, 30 sec on, 1 minute off, 45 sec on, 1 minute off, 1 min 30 on, 1 minute off, 1 minute on, 1 minute off, 45 sec on, 1 minute off, 30 secs on, 5 minute cool down, for a total workout time of 22 minutes:

Selecting Tabata intervals feature starts with 10 secs off, 20 secs on, done 9 times, with a 10 second cool down, for a total workout time of 4 minutes, 10 seconds.

This is a great way to get started, but the best thing is that you can create your own interval workouts. Just click the plus sign on the Interval Training page, and you can create one like the one shown below:

Creating an interval workout is simple!

If you listen to music,by pressing the iPhone home button twice, and swiping to the right takes you to the iPhone music player, so syncing and listening to music is a breeze:

So, are you ready to workout?One last thing before you do – You may want to set some audio alerts so that you know your time and distance on each lap. Click on the speaker icon on the main screen, and you will be taken to the Audio Feedback settings:

Having all of these selected will give you audible feedback at each lap, including all of the information above. If you are wearing headphones, the audio will be heard over the music, if you are currently listening. If no headphones are plugged in, the audio will come out of the iPhone speakers.

That’s it for the setup. It’s time to work out! Here are some screen shots off of the Endomondo site:

Here is a screenshot of the Friends tab:

If you log into the website, you can see a summary of your workouts, and a map of where you’ve been:

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

Pros:

The app is very easy to use and configure
Full featured
The app has a large selection of activity types
Great interval capabilities in the paid Pro version of the app
Nice online logging capability and views

Cons:

Some of our testers would like to have Facebook and Twitter upload capability.
Would be nice to be able to create workouts online, and download them to the iPhone

Overall, we really like this app. It works well, looks good, is easy to use, and one of our favorites for working out. Would we recommend it? The answer is definitely, Yes. We feel that paying the $3.99 for the interval and graph capability is well worth the money spent.

As an FYI, iTunes gives Endomondo a rating of 4.5 out of 5 star rating, and Endomondo Pro a 4.5 out of 5 star rating.

iPhone Apps That Work With the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy Heart Rate Monitor Strap(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Power Heart Rate Monitor In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
Wahoo Fitness Run/Gym Pack In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

A Morning Workout…..With My Brother!

May 172012

Hello all – As we hope you have noticed, “Fitness Electronics Reviews” is neck deep in reviews and we are loving it! We have been spending a good bit of time on the Polar H7 Heart Rate Monitor Strap and corresponding apps, we just finished a review of the Garmin 210 and are working away on reviews of other products. Today, however, I took a break from the GPS watch, software, and electronics reviews and put in a great cross training workout with my brother.

It is funny how life happens, but all of the sudden you’ll look up and you live in Ohio, and your brother lives in California…at least that’s what happened when I “looked up.” Although from New Mexico, my brother and I both went to college in California. Our schools were about an hour apart so we got some great time together during our three-year overlap (I was one year ahead of him). My brother, Aaron, met his amazing wife while they were in school. After getting married, they stayed in California.

The distance between us is less than ideal, but we make the absolute most of our time together – today was no exception.

Aaron and Michele got into town last night. This morning we got in a great cross training/strength workout at “Elmntl” fitness in Cincinnati. If you life in the area and want to feel like a kid again with your workout, and do so in a place that is a true “gym alternative,” please check them out (http://www.facebook.com/#!/elmntl). Kevin, the owner and trainer is awesome and he will push you! The entire workout is centered around a Parcours trail, where you run with logs, swing on monkey-bars, squat with rocks…anything there is fair game! I love it.

Aaron, James and Kevin

James carrying a big rock

Aaron getting a good workout

One of the two FEB doodles. This is “Oliver”

As much as I love the workout at Elmntl, doing it with my brother made it that much more special. As funny as it is how life “works out,” it is just as funny how, when you are so close to someone, reconnecting after months apart is so easy – and doing so while carrying a huge rock around an “obstacle course” only makes it that much easier. Today has been a very good day. I it has been equally as good for each of you!

Aaron, Kevin and James

Happy training, everyone!

Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS Running Watch In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

How Is It Going With Fitness Electronics Blog?

May 162012

Studio S in Cincinnati

Today we have our friend and guest blogger Chris helping us out. Chris is a friend, triathlete, and Physics guru extraordinaire. Susie, who is Chris’ wife, owns and runs Studio S, our favorite spinning and workout place in Cincinnati.

Hola! Guest blogger Chris here today, helping some friends hack-out an answer to today’s super-loaded question. My friends at the Fitness Electronics Blog are too modest to talk up the fact that they are incubating their first baby, studying for the bar exam, interviewing for jobs, house hunting (in Chris’ neighborhood, hopefully), leading patient support groups, teaching Pilates, running engineering departments, hosting out of town in-laws, planning graduation parties, celebrating bike month… and did somebody say training?

So, my question for them is, “If you are so busy, what is happening with the Fitness Electronics Blog, and how do you keep up your blog posts?”

Translation—“Is there any way I can help with a bit of unsolicited content for your blog while your lives are temporarily ass-deep in metaphorical alligators?” It’s one simple question with four hidden caverns to explore, including the telling of the tale of one recon-mission/camping trip to the legendary American Triple T race course.

Of course, the answer is: “We get by with a little help from our friends!”

So here goes!

Part I Sub-Question “What will you do with your fitness electronics?”

In the context of my camping trip last week, this question verges on being an ethical/philosophical question. Are men even allowed to have electronics on camping trips? Aren’t pine cones, tent poles, and spiders all made of electrons, and therefore mother nature’s original electronics? Whatever happened to cut-off jeans and good ol’ fashioned low-tech spunk in the triathlon world?

My training buddy Franklin and I each had our own answers to this question last week on our man-venture-training-camp-course-recon mission. My approach was, as usual, to accidentally forget everything of import. That included my 4-man tent, bike helmet, heart rate monitor, and fire starter. Not to worry, because there are perks to training with Franklin. His approach to most fitness electronics questions is to watch Moore’s Law at work in the global technology markets, wait until the last moment of accelerated semi-conductor progress, then snatch up the best tech deals on Ebay right before he needs them. This guy is always prepared. His middle name is “I’ve got your back”, and guess what—he’s a physician assistant in his spare time.

Our mission was course reconnaissance for the American Triple T at the end of May. If you’ve never heard of Triple T, this race is truly an epic weekend that you need to put on your bucket list.

You compete solo or in teams of two in four triathlons over three days, taking your combined times, over 140+ miles. Friday night is a super-sprint, Saturday morning an Olympic distance, Saturday afternoon an inverted Olympic distance (bike, swim, run), and then Sunday is a half IM. The scenery is breathtaking, the course insanely tough, the dress code humiliating, and the camaraderie overflowing.

Everyone takes an ice bath in the river after the last race

Our goal was to ride all four courses. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we were beyond the reach of cell phone coverage, so GPS was useless. We were completely off the grid! As camping always is, it was a refreshing break from the technocratic gadgetry of the gizmo world. Luckily, Franklin packed back-up maps in hi-tech waterproof sandwich bags. So very MacGeyver of him!

Franklin plotting the course

Shawnee State Forest is 1.5 hours east of Cincinnati

Part II Sub-Question “What will you do with your fitness?”

In the same way that older generations tend to believe that youth is wasted on the young, I do my best to insure that my fitness is not wasted merely for fitness’ sake. Every once in a while, it makes a lot of sense to do things that make no sense. For some, that means taking their friends up on stupid dares. For others, it means chasing down a storm rather than your competition.

The first 40k ride was absolutely gorgeous. It consisted of several steep climbs on the remote service trails of Shawnee State Park in the “Little Smokies”. We waffled back and forth, discussing whether it would be smarter to race the course on road bikes or tri bikes. It really is a toss up. Best case scenario would likely be a tri-bike with a compact crank-set. I raced just the half IM portion last year on my new Pinarello tri bike’s maiden voyage and it did pretty well without the compact, but I was hurtin’ for certain coming into T2. We also had to decide whether we’d drink water and stay hydrated, or if we’d squirt the water in self-defense against the many stray dogs. Again, it’s a toss up. Last year, I was unpleasantly surprised by the fact that there was only one water station on the bike leg. It cost me dearly when I was seriously dehydrated and puking, somehow mustering a top ten finish.

After the ride, it didn’t take an iPhone to see the clouds morph into cumulus-treacherous. By the time we started the second 40k, we knew the apocalypse had targeted us in its crosshairs. Headwinds were fierce. Rain was torrential. Temperatures were plummeting. Hills were everywhere. I kept pretending I was Lieutenant Dan in the hurricane scene of Forrest Gump, going mano-e-mano against mother nature herself. At the turn-around point of the out-and-back course, conditions were at their worst and we had to hunker down for cover at the only sign of civilization.

The ride back to base-camp was a real strain on the will-power. The rain let up somewhat, but the wind didn’t and we were soaked to the bone. There would be no third scouting ride of the day. I lost sensation in my feet and I think I was getting hypothermia. Franklin started seeing mirages of Coronas with lime and a blazing campfire. We adjusted our goal to “live-and-fight-another-day”.

Random Gigantic Beer Bottle near Shawnee State Park

Meanwhile, in a juicy guest blogger sub-plot, I was having moral dilemmas about whether I’d stick to my vegan diet or if I’d crumble at the first sight of campfire cuisine. What will happen with our hero?

Part III Sub Question Sub Plot “What will you do?”

Long story short—I didn’t just fall off the wagon, I did a hallelujah naked Triple Lindy back flip off the wagon for what were quite possibly the greatest s’mores in campfire history. I figured the following:

life’s too short no matter what label you try to attach to yourself
The success of my potato-veggie bakes on the fire earned me a spot next to John Rambo and Steve Erwin in the camping hall of fame
Franklin was cool enough to try the vegan thing for the weekend, (even drinking my homemade date-o-rade and banana-mamma-jamma smoothies)
There’s no such thing as a pleasure that’s guilty

Advanced Hydration Technology

Potato Veggie Bakes

S’morons

Part IV Sub Question “What will?”

So, I crumbled under pressure– big woop! In the end, we both extended ourselves pretty far outside our comfort zones this weekend and grew as athletes and friends. It took a lot of will-power and self-monitoring, which, psychologists have been saying for the last couple of decades, is a finite resource. You simply deplete it when you have to make a lot of self-control and self-monitoring decisions. For instance, those moments where I had to tell myself, “Chris, you forgot your helmet, so you are not allowed to kamikaze your way down this descent,” that was the beginning of the end of my s’mores resistance.

That night, it continued to storm, but I slept as well as I’ve ever slept in my life, guilt-free, of course. I think the rain also kept the birds from squawking like they normally do. When we woke up, we both felt good and had recharged our stock-piles of will-power. So, before heading home to our lovely wives, we decided to squeeze in a quick 6.55 mile trail run on the out and back half-marathon course.

In typical Chris fashion, I took off down the fire trail under-prepared, in my Vibram Five Fingers. The stony trail hurt so bad that I could barely walk, let alone run. I was going to try to suck it up so as not slow down Franklin. But once again, he was Johnny on the spot and brought an extra pair of shoes. He let me borrow his Newton’s, which fit perfectly and I had been meaning to try out, anyway. Do I have an amazing teammate or what!

Happy Training!

Chris

High Intensity Training…Will it Lead to Higher Performance??(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS Running Watch In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

A Quick Nike+ FuelBand Update

May 152012

I recently reviewed the Nike+ FuelBand (you can find the review here), and I wanted to find out more about its accuracy. After using the Nike+ FuelBand for a while, I have some more info on how it compares to some of the other heart rate monitors when it comes to calories burned. I thought I would compare it to some widely known heart rate monitors, so I chose the Garmin 910XT, the Suunto Quest, and the Polar H7 using the Endomondo iPhone application.

To get started, I thought I would compare the Garmin 910XT to the FuelBand. The workout was actually a walk for 1.5 miles, then a very slow jog back to the start. The readings were:

370 Calories Nike+ FuelBand

366 Calories Garmin 910XT

Next, the same path was taken, this time with the Nike+ FuelBand, and the Polar H7 heart rate monitor with iPhone 4S using Endomondo:

383 Calories Nike+ FuelBand

394 Calories Polar H7/Endomondo

Wow! Pretty close! Next, I compared a very hilly 6.2 mile run, using the Nike+ FuelBand and the Suunto Quest:

700 Calories Nike+ FuelBand

903 Calories Suunto Quest

Not as close!

In previous runs, I have compared the Garmin 910XT, Polar H7/Endomondo, and the Suunto Quest. They are all pretty accurate, and pretty repeatable when it comes to calories burned. More testing is in progress, but here is my early takeaway using the Nike+ FuelBand:

Walking around on flat land is pretty accurate
Running on flat land is good, but not quite as good as walking
Running up and down hills, or when there are very high heart rates, is less accurate
Other sports that do not include rapid arm movement like cycling are not accurate at all

Over the next month, I will continue to collect more data, and publish updates. Stay tuned!

As always,

Happy Training!

Nike FuelBand In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
iPhone Apps That Work With the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy Heart Rate Monitor Strap(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

iPhone Apps That Work With the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy Heart Rate Monitor Strap

May 142012

Last week, we reviewed the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy heart rate monitor strap. This is a followup to that review. The review can be found here.

We have had many readers want more information on the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy heart rate monitor strap. One of the biggest questions that readers have is, “Which iPhone apps work with the Polar H7?” So we set out to check all of the most popular apps that are out there. On the iPhone 4s, the apps that we test most often are:

RunKeeper
SportsTracker
WahooFitness
MapMyRun
MapMyRun+
EndoMondo
Endomondo Pro
iSmoothRun
MapMyRide
MapMyRide+
runtastic
Runmeter
Jog Log
LogYourRun
Garmin Fit

So,…….the answer is………..all of them but SportsTracker and Garmin Fit. Of course, SportsTracker and Garmin Fit both sell their own hardware.

Here are images of all of the apps that work with the Polar H7. You can see the heart rate displayed on the screen for each app:

RunKeeper and WahooFitness

MapMyRun and MapMyRun+

Endomondo and Endomondo Pro

MapMyRide and MapMyRide+

runtastic and Runmeter

Jog Log and LogYourRun

iSmoothRun

To get RunKeeper to work, you will typically need to follow the instructions on the following video:

So the bottom line – I was pretty amazed that I could get all of these apps to work with the Polar H7.

If you have any other apps that you want us to try, just leave us a comment, or send us an email and we’ll check ‘em out.

Happy Training!

Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Power Heart Rate Monitor In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
How to Choose A Heart Rate Monitor – Part 4(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
Wahoo Fitness Run/Gym Pack In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

Week In Review – May 12th, 2012

May 122012

The graduations are over, and the parties are done . It’s back to training, and time to get back in the groove. Commuting to work happens about half of the time due to all the rain we’ve been having recently.

This week, we finished our Garmin 210 review. We are still working on our in depth review of the Garmin 910XT. We also more reviews of smartphone apps coming up in the near future.

Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are all of the postings from the last week:

Friday – How To Choose A Heart Rate Monitor – Part 4

Wednesday – Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS Running Watch In Depth Review

Monday – Graduation Day!

Saturday – Week In Review – May 5th, 2012

Here is a link to Garmin’s latest addition to their smartphone app: Garmin Fit App Introduces New LiveTrack Feature

Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS Running Watch In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
How to Choose A Heart Rate Monitor – Part 4(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

How to Choose A Heart Rate Monitor – Part 4

May 112012

We are on a continuing journey to learn more about heart rate monitors, and the best way to choose the right one. Our website covers all types of electronics and tech stuff, but overwhelmingly, triathletes and runners come to our site to check out heart rate monitors and GPS watches. We have so many questions about how to choose the right heart rate monitor, we thought we would put together a series of posts covering all of the details. Today is a quick recap of the last few weeks.

And don’t forget - We also have other continuing blog posts and How To Guides from Jennifer on How to Train With a Heart Rate Monitor, and from James on High Intensity Training…Will It Lead To Higher Performance?

To bring everyone up to speed, we started a new series called “How to Choose A Heart Rate Monitor“. We first discussed the different types of measuring sensors, and that types of sensors work better than others. We then discussed either choosing a heart rate monitor strap that works with a smartphone, or purchasing a heart rate monitor watch as our two preferred methods of measuring and logging workouts. We have not yet discussed in detail heart rate monitor watches yet; we are still in the discussion about heart rate monitor straps, smartphones, and the different applications that work with them. So far, we have taken a look at the SportsTracker Bluetooth heart rate monitor strap that works with Android, the SportsTracker Android application, the Polar H7 Bluetooth heart rate monitor strap for iPhone 4S, and the Wahoo Fitness Run/Gym Pack and Wahoo iPhone app that works with all versions of the iPhone. This should give you a feel for the different types of heart rate monitor straps and a few of the applications.

Here are some of the recent reviews we have done over the last three weeks:

Sportstracker Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor – In Depth Review

Polar H7 Bluetooth low Power Heart Rate Monitor In Depth Review

Wahoo Fitness Run/Gym Pack In Depth Review

In the near future, we will be reviewing the Wahoo Fitness BlueHR heart rate monitor strap for the iPhone 4S, and comparing it to the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy strap. I know many of you are looking forward to this shootout. We are also starting a more formal review of many of the smartphone apps, so stay tuned.

For now,

Happy Training!

How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor, Part 3 – Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitors(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor – Part 2(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor – Part 1(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Power Heart Rate Monitor In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
SportsTracker Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor – In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
Wahoo Fitness Run/Gym Pack In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS Running Watch In Depth Review

May 092012

Garmin announced the Forerunner 210 in October of 2010. The 210 is one of of four Garmin running watches released in 2010. These included the 110, 210, 410, and 610. These products all have GPS, and are targeted mainly to runners. With the 210, Garmin offers three models; a black model that comes with the watch only and sells for $199.00, and a men’s black or women’s teal color that comes with a heart rate monitor strap, and sells for $249.99.

Before we get started, we should tell you a little bit about us and how we perform product evaluations. We have a group of 4 people who do the evaluations of all of the gear. One person is the lead on a piece of gear, but everyone gets a chance to evaluate the product. We have 2 guys and 2 ladies, so it’s a good mix of people. It gives us better insight, and we get a better review overall. Everyone has an input to the review, and if there is a major disagreement, we will note it in the review. If you want to know who these people are, check out our About Us page. Four of us are seasoned triathletes, and 2 of us are are also full time Pilates instructors. Jennifer Lynn, who is a guest blogger, is a full time Pilates/spinning instructor. All swim, bike, run, do Pilates and Yoga, and use all of the gear on a daily basis. Many of you have read the FitnessElectronicsBlog disclaimer, but here it is in case this is your first time reading one of our reviews. For the record, we are in no way connected with Garmin or any of the companies whose gear we review. We remain disconnected, in large part, because we love playing with the latest technology, and we couldn’t keep our hands off this stuff if we tried. Garmin gave us the watch for a 60-day trial period, and after our review, we box it up and send it back. No give-us-gear for a favorable review, or anything like that. We call ‘em as we see ‘em. It keeps us honest. Typically, if we like the product, we will buy it to have around, use, and be able to check out software updates and answer questions. So, enough with the babble. Let’s get to the review.

What’s in the box?

Here is the product box for the Forerunner 210 with Heart Rate Monitor Strap:

Here is what’s inside:

Here is a closeup of the Garmin strap:

This gives you an indication of the thickness of the watch:

A side view:

The display is easily readable. The display resolution is 52 x 30 pixels:

Here is a size comparison. The watches from left to right are Suunto Quest, Garmin 405, Garmin 910XT, and the Garmin 210:

A side view:

So what are the features?

Here are the major features of the watch:

Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 1.8″ x 2.7″ x 0.6″ (4.5 x 6.9 x 1.4 cm)
Display size, WxH: 1.0″ x 1.0″ (2.5 x 2.5 cm) diameter
Display resolution, WxH: 52 x 30 pixels
Weight: 1.8 oz (52 g)
Battery: rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life: 3 weeks in power save mode; 8 hours in training mode
Water resistant: yes (IPX7)
GPS-enabled: yes
High-sensitivity receiver: yes
Basemap: no
History: 1000 laps
Waypoints/favorites/locations: 0
Routes: 0
Heart rate monitor: yes (some versions, including the version we tested)
Bike speed/cadence sensor: no
Foot pod: yes (some versions)
Automatic sync (automatically transfers data to your computer):no
Garmin Connect™ compatible (online community where you analyze, categorize and share data): yes
Virtual Partner® (train against a digital person): no
Virtual Racer™ (compete against other activities): no
Courses (compete against previous activities): no
Auto Pause® (pauses and resumes timer based on speed): no
Auto Lap® (automatically starts a new lap): yes
Auto Scroll (cycles through data pages during workout): no
Multi-sport (changes sport mode with a press of a button): no
Advanced workouts (create custom, goal-oriented workouts): no
Pace alert (triggers alarm if you vary from preset pace): no
Time/distance alert (triggers alarm when you reach goal): no
Vibration alert: (choose between alert tones and/or vibration alert): no
Interval training (set up exercise and rest intervals): yes
Heart rate-based calorie computation: yes
Swim metrics (stroke type, stroke count and pool lengths): no
Training Effect (measures impact of an activity on your aerobic fitness): no
Customizable screen(s): no
Barometric altimeter: no
Unit-to-unit transfer (shares data wirelessly with similar units): no
Power meter compatible (displays power data from compatible 3rd party ANT+™-enabled power meters): no
Temperature (displays and records temperature while you ride): no
Shock Resistant: yes
Sport watch: yes

Here is the battery life chart from the owners manual:

So how does it compare to other Garmin running watches?

As we said, the 210 is one of four models recently released by Garmin. These include the 110, 210,410 and 610. The main differences are shown in the table below:

	110	210	410	610
Display resolution, W x H	52 x 30 pixels	52 x 30 pixels	124 x 95 pixels	128 x 128 pixels
Touchscreen	no	no	no	yes
Waypoints/favorites/locations	0	0	100	100
Bike speed/cadence sensor	no	no	yes(optional)	yes(optional)
Foot pod	no	yes(optional)	yes(optional)	yes(optional)
Automatically sync (auto transfer your data)	no	no	yes	yes
Virtual Partner (train against a digital person)	no	no	yes	yes
Virtual Racer (compete against other activities)	no	no	no	yes
Courses (compete against previous activity)	no	no	yes	no
Auto Pause pauses and resumes timer based on speed)	no	no	yes	yes
Auto Scroll (cycles through data pages during workout)	no	no	yes	yes
Advanced workouts (create custom, goal oriented workout)	no	no	yes	yes
Pace alert (triggers alarm if you vary from preset pace)	no	no	yes	yes
Time/distance alert (triggers alarm when you reach goal)	no	no	yes	yes
Vibration alert	no	no	no	yes
Training Effect	no	no	no	yes
Interval training (set up exercise and rest intervals)	no	yes	yes	yes
Customizable screens	no	no	yes	yes
Unit to unit transfer	no	no	yes	no
Price	$179.99	$199.99	$249.99	$349.99
Price with heart rate monitor	$229.99	$249.99	$299.99	$399.99

So what is the big difference between the 110 and 210? Mainly the addition of interval training and the capability of adding an optional foot pod in the 210.

The interval options are set on the watch, not in Garmin Connect. You can set warm up, interval, rest, and cool down times or distances. They must either be all times, or all distances. You can also set the number of intervals.

The pace option can also be changed to mph in case you want to use the watch on a bike.

Using the watch

The watch is very easy and intuitive to use. To go for a run, press page/menu. the watch will take a minute or so to get a GPS fix. Once you have a GPS satellite fix, press the start/stop button to start the timer. When you are done with your run, press start/stop. That’s it! If you want to save your workout, press and hold the lap/reset button. During your run, your distance, and pace or speed, along with your workout time, are shown on the display:

The display can be changed to show current, average or lap speed or pace at the bottom of the display.

If you want to use the watch indoors, it’s pretty simple. Press the page/menu button, and the watch will start searching for GPS. Press it again and it will ask if you want to use indoors. Select yes, and you are ready to start your indoor workout:

Here is James putting in an indoor spin workout with the watch at Studio S:

Here he is wrapping up his interval spinning workout:

Some cool things to do with the Forerunner 210:

If you want to create an interval workout, you can’t create it in Garmin Connect. It needs to be created on the watch. To do this, you press and hold the page/menu button, select Interval, then Set. Next, enter a distance or time interval, and press OK. Select Distance or Time for your rest interval, then enter the value. You can enter a warm up and cool down if you want to. To perform your interval, press the start/stop button. If you have a warm up programmed, you will need to press the lap button to start the first interval.

You can set heart rate alerts. Press and hold the page/menu button, and select HR Alerts. Enter your high heart rate alert value. You can also select a HR zone. press OK. Enter the low HR value or zone. Press OK. The alert will sound when you are above or below the set values.

Accessories and sensors

The Forerunner 210 is compatible with the following Garmin accessories:

Garmin HRM Strap. This heart rate monitor strap uses the 2.4 GHz ANT+ wireless communications protocol.

Garmin Premium HRM Strap.This heart rate monitor strap uses the 2.4 GHz ANT+ wireless communications protocol. The battery life is approximately 4.5 years when used for an hour a day.

Garmin Foot Pod

Saving Your Workouts

So how do you review and analyze your workouts? The Forerunner 210 is fully compatible with Garmin’s logging and analysis software, Garmin Connect. To upload your workout, connect the USB charging cable to your PC. Next go to the Garmin site at connect.garmin.com. If you don’t have an account, you will need to create one. Once you are logged in, in the upper right hand corner of the page is the upload button. Click that and you will be taken to this screen:

I clicked “Upload All New Activities”. I can then click on the details of the workout, which displays this screen from our recent trail run:

I ran out of screen, so here is the rest of the workout:

You can see that there is a lot of really useful data here. Heart rate, distance, pace, elevation, lap split times, and a map are just a few of the items and screens that you can view. Tutorials on Garmin Connect is covered in some of our other reviews and posts, so we won’t go into a detailed review of GC. This is just intended to give you an idea about your analysis possibilities. The data can also be uploaded and viewed on other sites like TrainingPeaks.

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

Pros:

The watch felt good on our wrists. It is soft and comfortable, and the watch doesn’t feel too big.
The heart rate monitor strap felt good, and did a good job of picking up heart rate without any issues. In the past, we have some issues on hot days, when your shirt gets too wet, or under some really dry conditions with a dry fit shirt.
Using the watch is easy to use. The display is easily readable, and it is backlit at night with the press of a button. This makes moving through the menus and settings straightforward.
The watch works with the optional running foot pod. This is great if you are indoors or want to know running cadence.
Uploading is easy with Garmin Connect. I really like Garmin Connect when I want to analyze and study my workout. It is web based, so you can upload on any computer.
We like the interval feature, and heart rate zone readout.
The interval feature is a plus over the 110, but you need to program it on the watch. Higher feature watches allow you to create a workout and download it to the watch. This allows more flexibility, but programming on the watch is ok.
The manual is pretty good, not great.

Cons:

Only supports 1 person at a time. All of the settings assume only 1 person uses the watch.
It can be used on a ride, but the optional cadence/speed sensor does not work with the 210.

Conclusion:

This watch fits nicely into the Garmin lineup. it sits above the 110, and below the 410 and 610. Garmin’s watches are well made, and if you’ve used one, the others function very similarly, so you’ll feel right at home.

So, the the question we always ask each other is, “If it were our money, would we buy this watch?” The answer is, if we were looking for a GPS watch with these features, in this price range, we would definitely buy it. Of course, we are always drawn to the high end watches with all of the features and gadgets, but for a mid range watch with these features, ease of use, and price, we say yes. It also works well inside, so if you are a gym rat who is into running, this could well be the watch for you. Also, having settable heart rate zones and alarms is really nice as it provides us some much needed assistance at keeping our heart rates in our desired training zone. All-in-all, the 210 is a good-looking, mid-budget, GPS enabled training/racing watch with accurate heart rate training features.

We will leave you with a few videos of the Garmin 210.

This video is the Forerunner 110, but the only differences are the ones listed earlier in the review:

This video shows how to get set for your first run:

And here’s how to use Garmin Connect:

Happy Training!

Graduation Day!

May 072012

Quite an exciting weekend! On Saturday, Chris and James graduated. James graduated in the morning, receiving his JD from the University of Dayton. Chris graduated in the afternoon with his BS in computer engineering from Miami University.

Here are a few pics from James’ morning graduation:

Here are a few pics from Chris’ afternoon graduation:

After the afternoon graduation, we headed uptown to Mac and Joe’s for burgers and beers:

We are very proud of you guys, and we can’t wait to see what comes next!

Week In Review – May 5th, 2012

May 052012

The weather has been great the past few weeks. Commuting to work is in full swing. With May being bike month, and the weather what it is, I’m seeing a lot more commuters on bikes around the city.

As you may have noticed, we have some college graduations happening this weekend. James is graduating from law school, and Chris is graduating with a degree in computer engineering. We are very proud, and we can’t wait to celebrate! Needless to say, there are multiple ceremonies and parties this weekend.

This coming week, we will have an in depth review of the Garmin 210, and update on the Nike FuelBand, and a review of the Blink heart rate monitor.

I hope your training is going well.

Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are all of the postings from the last week:

Friday – A New Chapter

Thursday – Polar H7 Low Power Heart Rate Monitor In Depth Review

Tuesday – Great iPhone Running Apps

Monday – Creating an Interval Workout In Garmin Connect

Here are a few items that we found circulating around the web:

An article about road rage between a bicyclist and driver. Police: Bicyclist fires shot in fit of rage

Need some motivation? Here is a TrainingPeaks blogpost by Steve Howard, who went from 300 pounds to 175 pounds, compliments of triathlon. Check it out here.

If you haven’t been following the Pebble watch on KickStarter, you should check it out. RunKeeper announced that they are the first app developer partner of the watch. Check it out here.

Awesome dog guards owner’s bike for him:

Happy Training!

A New Chapter

May 042012

Trail running shoes > Dress shoes.

Running Shorts & singlet > dress clothes and cap & gown.

This weekend closes a challenging and rewarding chapter of my life – law school.

Other challenges, namely the bar exam in late July, loom overhead, but this weekend will be one of celebration!

I started the festivities with a “hilly” trail run this morning, and I was fortunate to have a good friend join me. Cincinnati has been getting rain like I have never seen here, and this made for a wet and muddy run. I could also tell today that final exams, papers, etc. had taken a toll on my fitness. When I started the run, my legs were heavy and my breathing was hard. But, trail runs are one of my greatest joys and once I opened up the legs and the lungs a bit, I was loving it.

The run also triggered some of my “high intensity training,” as I found myself at my max heart rate often. I can tell you that the run wasn’t extremely fast; and I would assume it wasn’t all that pretty looking, but feeling my legs and lungs burn was just what I needed. Enjoying it in the outdoors, on a trail, and with a good friend = all added perks.

My buddy and I finished our run with a “negative split” (which means that the second half of our run was quicker than our first). We met our wives at one of our favorite breakfast spots afterwards and rewarded ourselves with some great food & great coffee, and I enjoyed it all with great company.

Had a delicious breakfast sandwich @ Annabel’s in Cincinnati!

This evening my parents arrive from New Mexico. They will be here for graduation weekend and I am extremely excited to see them. The weekend will be busy – filled with a lot of fun times with many of my favorite people.

Despite the fun-packed weekend I’ll be sneaking in a few runs here and there to add to my upcoming Garmin 210 review.

Enjoy your weekend.

Happy training!

Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Power Heart Rate Monitor In Depth Review

May 032012

Today we are continuing on our journey to learn more about heart rate monitors, and the best way to choose the right one. Today we review the Polar H7 Low Power Bluetooth 4.0 Heart Rate Monitor.

Before we get started, we should probably have a quick discussion about Bluetooth Low Energy. So what is Bluetooth Low Energy? Bluetooth Low Energy is a feature of the latest Bluetooth specification, Bluetooth 4.0. Different manufacturers call it by different names; Bluetooth Low Power, Bluetooth Low Energy, and Bluetooth 4.0. Thew advantages of Bluetooth Low Power is that they consume a fraction of the power of classic Bluetooth products. So why should you care? Because products that use this new Bluetooth protocol may not be compatible with old phones. As an example, the Polar H7, which uses Bluetooth Low Energy (which we will call BLE from now on), is only compatible with the iPhone 4S and the Motorola Razr Droid. So even though all other smart phones have built in Bluetooth, those phones are not compatible with the Polar H7. To solve this problem, Polar makes two versions of Bluetooth heart rate monitors. Polar makes the Polar H7, and the Polar Wearlink+ heart rate monitor straps. The main differences are shown below. This was taken directly from the Polar site:

You can see that the Polar Wearlink+ is compatible with Symbian, Blackberry, and Motorola Droid phones. This review will cover the Polar H7, connected to an Apple iPhone 4S.

What’s in the box?

Here is the product box:

Here’s what is inside the box:

The product includes the Bluetooth heart rate monitor strap, transmitter, manual, and box.

So what are the features and specs?

The Polar H7 heart rate sensor is designed to be used with a smart phone, or connected to one of the Polar training computers. The features are shown below:

Compatible with iPhone 4S and Motorola Droid Razr
Bluetooth Low Energy transmission
Compatible with Polar training computers, including the FT series, RS100, RS200, RS300, RS400, CS100, CS200, CS300, and RCX5
Also compatible with Polar compatible gym equipment using the 5 Khz coded protocol
Can transmit up to 30 feet
Battery life up to 350 hours
User replaceable battery CR2025
Soft, washable strap

Using the Polar H7

Before I could use the strap, I needed to decide what software I would use to log my workouts. I found that Endomondo and CardioMapper work, but I also found a trick on the internet that will get you up and running with Runkeeper. It seemed to work for me. Here is the video:

I used the Polar H7 with MapMyRun, RunKeeper, and Endomondo. It worked well with all three apps. I have included a few screen shots for fun:

The strap connected to all three apps, but to get it to work with RunKeeper, I needed to follow the video shown above. The strap felt great and worked well, with no dropouts or issues.

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

So, after using it for a while, what did I think of the hardware? The device paired easily, and the strap felt good. As is typical, I wore the strap for the day to gauge its comfort. I also used it during workouts, and it definitely felt as comfortable as any strap on the market. The Bluetooth connection was great, with no signal or dropout issues noticed in my data. I think as time goes on, more applications will support the Bluetooth Low Power heart rate monitors. Claimed battery life is better for the BLE heart rate straps than the standard Bluetooth HRM’s, but we have not verified the battery life of the Polar H7.

Pros:

The connection was great.
The strap was soft and comfortable.
Claimed battery life is excellent for a Bluetooth HRM.
Works with other Polar training computers and gym equipment using the built in 5KHz radio.

Cons:

Not as many apps support BLE protocol yet.
As with any phone application, all of the data that is based on GPS location information, such as speed and distance, is only as good as the GPS capabilities of the phone. The iPhone is pretty good, but not as good as a good GPS HRM watch.

So would I recommend the Polar H7 Bluetooth Low Energy HRM? Definitely. If you are using an iPhone 4S (and also if you are thinking about buying an iPhone 5 when it comes out), this is the HRM to buy. The retail price of the Polar H7 is $79.95.

Great iPhone Running Apps – by Sally Edwards

May 012012

Here at Fitness Electronics Blog, we love to bring in great guest bloggers who share their experience, skills, and passion about running, triathlon, and training. Over the past few weeks, we have been reviewing heart rate monitor straps and the phone apps that can be used with them. Today we have an article written by Sally Edwards that reviews three newer iPhone running apps. This article originally appeared in iPhone Life magazine.

There are now over 1,000 running apps in the iTunes App Store. This proliferation of running apps, combined with the App Store’s weak search features, makes it tough to choose one that fits most runners’ needs. With 20 different features, app reviewers often turn to the route of least resistance and avoid the new apps in favor of older apps like Nike+ ($1.99), Log Your Run ($2.99), RunKeeper (Free), MapMyRun (Free), Jog Log ($0.99), Runtastic (Free), and Runmeter ($4.99).

Most running apps share the same core feature set: GPS with route views and elevation, the free lite or fee versions, shuffled music, logging, and speed/distance/ voice cues. In the last year, two new features have become popular: The ability to insert a dongle for adding a heart rate display and storing the data The ability to upload to social sites automatically or email results to share your workout with friends.

For those of you interested in a well-researched comparison chart of the established GPS enabled running apps, check out this post , from Tim Adam’s blog at blog.indieiphonedev.com.

I like to give newer apps a chance to gain some traction and buzz. One of the features that I love in a running app is the inclusion of some form of motivation or inspiration. That can come from a power song or a positive voice cue that isn’t corny. What I like the most is coached workouts during the run. One of the features that I like the least is the voice cue about pace—it usually tells me I am slow, so I just turn it off.

Now that you know my favorite features, here are a couple of running apps that I really like:

iSmoothRun ♦♦♦♦♦

($4.99) Focused on providing runners with the best in its class, this new running app provides a new feature: it uses both GPS and the built-in accelerometer. This allows you to switch between the two automatically if you warm up indoors on a treadmill and then head outdoors for your workouts. Plus, the app tracks your running rhythm using the built-in metronome, which helps you become a better runner. The data is yours to easily export or store with RunKeeper (the online fitness community). Check out the Ghost Run feature; it’s fun to challenge yourself with it, or if you follow a training plan, add your interval workouts and let iSmoothRun guide you. According to support team member Manolis, “iSmooth- Run offers a set of features that are very advanced, unique, and differentiate it from the average GPS tracker that can be found on the App store.”

Endomondo Sports Tracker ♦♦♦♦½

(Free) In October of 2009, Endomondo Sports Tracker launched. It’s a powerhouse app. If you like competition with your friends or against yourself, this might be the running app for you. It has a pep talk feature to keep you motivated, and your workouts, along with your friend’s workouts, get auto-saved to the Endomondo.com site. The app has strong social features, and it isn’t limited only to running. You can use it for cycling, hiking, skating, and more. According to Jakob Nordenhof Jønck from Endonomondo, “…when you couple fun and social in a meaningful way, you can really motivate people.”

iMobileIntervals ♦♦♦♦½

($5.99) This app was first released in January 2010, and it has some cool new features. It is the first app to integrate all the interoperable protocols known as ANT+ and their sensors, which are supported by the WahooFitness API. It was also the first app with telemetry (now copied by others), so you can track a friend’s location during a run. The telemetry feature also shows your location and performance to your coach or to anyone you want to share this information with. iMobileIntervals telemetry has a unique aspect: you can embed the telemetry widget anywhere you like. According to Ransom Weaver, the developer of iMobileIntervals, you can embed the widget “…on your team’s website or personal blog. It also can use Facebook to notify your friends when and how to see your telemetry, and when and how to see your workout results.”

Enjoy these fresh new features and innovative iPhone apps; they’ll make your workouts more fun, and you’ll find it easier to stick to a running program for the rest of your life.

Sally Edwards is an athlete, author, speaker, and entrepreneur. She’s one of America ‘s leading experts in business, exercise science, and lifestyle living. She is a professional triathlete, a member of the Triathlon Hall of Fame, and the National Spokeswoman for the Trek Women’s Triathlon Series. She is also a best-selling author with more than 20 books and 500 articles on health and fitness including the popular book, Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook and the new book, Be a Better Runner. She lives an active healthy lifestyle in Sacramento, California.

Happy Training!!

How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor, Part 3 – Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitors(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)
RunKeeper No Longer Supports Windows 7 and Symbian Phones(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

Creating an Interval Workout In Garmin Connect

Apr 302012

Ever wanted to create your own workout with your Garmin training watch, but were too lazy to read the manual, or didn’t know how? I thought I would show you how easy this is using Garmin Connect. If you have never used Garmin Connect, go here and create a user account. It only takes a minute, and once you’re done, you’ll be ready to use Garmin Connect to create your own workout.

By the way, in our recent posts, we’ve been talking a lot about intervals and fartleks. So what’s the difference? Here is what Wikipedia says:

Fartlek, which means “speed play” in Swedish, is a form of interval training which puts stress on the whole aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that both aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. It differs from traditional interval training in that it is unstructured; intensity and/or speed can be varied whenever the athlete wishes. Most fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes and can vary from aerobic walking to anaerobic sprinting. Fartlek training is generally associated with running, but can include almost any kind of exercise.

Just thought you might want to know. Anyway, today’s blog is on creating an interval workout using Garmin Connect. You could also do the same thing in Garmin Training Center. So what’s the difference between the two programs? Garmin Connect is web based, using a web browser, and Garmin Training Center is program that has almost the same features as Garmin Connect, but it resides on your computer. The advantage of Garmin Connect is that you can access it anywhere you have an internet connection.

So now we;ll create a simple interval workout. Here we go

To get started, you will need to be logged into Garmin Connect. I clicked on myConnect, and then selecting Workouts brought up this screen:

I then clicked Create Your First Workout, filled in the name of the workout, and selected my workout type.

Now, all I needed to do is to create my training steps. I clicked Add Step button, and started adding my workout:

To start the workout, I added a warm up. To change from my warm up, and start the interval part of the workout, I set the up the watch to use the lap button to start the next step. This is shown by the word Lap under the Duration tab. To keep things simple, I added a repeating interval of 1 minute at a fixed heart rate, and a minute of recovery, with a repeat of 20 times. I then added a cool down, and my workout was complete.

I hit save, and my workout was saved:

Now I had a couple of options. I could add my workout to my workout calendar, or send it to my Garmin watch. Clicking Send to Device sent my workout to my device:

I can also schedule your workout by clicking on Add to Calendar:

That’s it. Pretty simple, eh?

I hope this has motivated you to create your own workouts. In this way, you can get the most out of your training. Remember that this is only one aspect of Garmin Connect. You can do a whole lot more with this software, but we’ll cover that in another post.

For now, I will leave you with a few fun videos on Garmin Connect:

Happy Training!

Race Faster By Training Less Part 2(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

Week In Review – April 28th, 2012

Apr 282012

It has been a busy week at the FEB household. The quarterly board meeting for my day job was this week, which always keeps me busy. Also, we have the whole family in town for a birthday celebration. This usually ends up with me eating too much food and drinking too much wine. Luckily, I’m not racing this weekend.

We are still playing spending as much time as possible with the Garmin 910XT. This watch has a boat load of features, and we’re trying to get through most of them. It was good to get some time in the last few weeks with the Nike FuelBand. If you haven’t already, check out our link to the review below.

Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are all of the postings from the last week:

Friday - Race Faster By Training Less Part 2

Wednesday – A Trail Run In The City

Monday – Nike FuelBand In Depth Review

Happy Training!

Nike FuelBand In Depth Review(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

Race Faster By Training Less Part 2

Apr 272012

A few weeks ago I posted my first blog in a series on “high intensity training.” This is my second installment. Consider it part review of a great article in “Inside Triathlon,” about an uber-age-grouper, Sami Inkinen, who went sub 9-hours at Kona despite only 12-hours of training/week; and part “update” on my attempts to transition into a high intensity training cycle.

Update on my “High Intensity Training…”

As a caveat that I hate to give: my schedule has been so hectic these last few weeks that even shorter
durations of high intensity training have seemed impossible to fit into my schedule with consistency.
The exciting news, however, is that I just completed a lifelong goal and finished law school! The weeks
preceding its completion were grueling, though. As such, this “update” will be minimal – which likely
reflects my fitness progress. But, expect a proper update in the next couple weeks as my schedule
allows a more consistent workout routine.

My high intensity workouts thus far have consisted of multiple max effort spin classes at Studio S in
Cincinnati, OH – a truly amazing boutique style gym with top notch trainers (check them out: http://
www.studioscincinnati.com/), hill workouts, sprint work, and high heart rate trail runs around beautify
Cincinnati. In the coming week I plan to take my training to the track and do more speed work, threshold
work on the bike, as well as more race paced fartlek runs.

My initial observations are simple: I was losing top end speed, strength, and endurance when at my
highest (and ideally race) levels of exertion and speed. As such, I found myself frustrated with the lack of
speed I currently have. It wasn’t long ago that I could complete the Cooper test (3×6-minute miles), the
beep test, and repeat-300-meter shuttle runs (more soccer specific training) with the best of them. Now,
however, holding a 6:45 pace seems nearly impossible.

That said, despite a lackluster beginning to my “high intensity training” I am confident that it has a

place in my workout regimen. The feeling after pushing my body in a high-intensity 50-mile ride mirrors
race-day in a way that cannot be duplicated with a slow-paced 100-miler. Also, despite my lackluster
beginning, I came to notice that each subsequent effort at a faster pace (run or bike) felt better:
stronger, smoother, more natural.

Again, it is my personal observation that I can’t “race” at 6:45 miles, if I cannot even bring my body to
move that fast on a training day. The more I do it, the more natural it becomes.

Inside Triathlon’s “the natural”:

Source: http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/04/news/preview-the-u-s-olympic-trials-with-inside-
triathlon_51584/attachment/it_fc_0506-indd I highly recommend picking up a copy

Shortly after my first post on high intensity training, Inside Triathlon’s May/June Edition read “RACE
FASTER BY TRAINING LESS” across the cover, inside was an article entitled: “the natural.” This very well-
written article by Courtney Baird chronicled Sami Inkinen a Finnish-age-grouper, and serial entrepreneur
who went under nine hours in Kona. The relevance of his success to this series is that he did it on 12
hours of training per week! The article also had me believing that this series is relevant.

One take-away from the article that serves to preface all of it was Baird’s conclusion that “it is possible

to go under nine hours in one of the toughest Ironmans on Earth [Kona], beating 23 pros in the process
off of 12 hours of training per week – if you are blessed with the genetics of Sami Inkinen.”

The importance of that sentence cannot be overstated.

My goal in this series is not to dissuade you from working out in whatever manner you feel necessary to
get the results you seek. Nor is it to suggest that 12-hours/week will lead to sub 9 ironman results.

To propose either would be irresponsible and unrealistic. Inkinen has genetics that we as age-group
triathletes, marathoners & weekend warriors dream of, but he works hard to keep that motor turning
over quickly. Therein lies the purpose of this series – do what you need to do to “keep your motor
turning,” maybe realize that “high intensity training” can do just that, and find some enjoyment as I
chronicle my training adjustment.

Inkinen finds success because he trains with “lots of intensity, maniacal attention to detail and number
crunching, and a fanatical insistence on recovery.” Add that to stellar genetics, and you have an age-
grouper who could turn pro if I wanted to.

Recurring themes in the article were Inkinen’s dedication to recovery & consistency in his workouts.
Inkinen listens to his body and trains to improve. In the article he says, “What I’ve been super-conscious
about this year is the idea that if I don’t improve in almost every single workout, it’s not because I
haven’t trained, but because I haven’t rested.” Baird goes on to say that “[Inkinen] rejects the notion
that you have to train through months of hard, exhausting workouts to improve…Instead he followed
the principle that he should literally get stronger and faster every week, if not every day, and that his
numbers should improve during every intense workout.”

Inkinen’s workouts are short in duration, but they push him beyond his “race day max.” For example,
Baird explains that “when Inkinen gets into the weeks leading up to an Ironman, he might do a workout
where he warms up for 30 minutes and then rides for 20 minutes just under Ironman intensity, then 20
minutes just at Ironman intensity, and then 20 minutes just above Ironman intensity.” That means that
in the weeks where a typical Ironman may be putting in his 100+ miler, Inkinen is on the bike for under
2-hours!

On his blog, Inkinen shared a typical training week:

Monday: Rest (or 30-minute easy swim*)

Tuesday: Bike intervals on trainer (60-90 minute)

Wednesday: Run intervals on trail (60-70 minutes)

Thursday: Bike intervals on trainer (60-90 minutes)

Friday: Rest Day: swim (20-50 minutes; easy run if time

Saturday: Bike “long” (4 to 5 hours with no intervals; social time with wife, friends)**

Sunday: Run “long” (80 to 90 minutes with intervals); swim if time

*Inkinen almost always finishes a swim with two to three “super fast sprints,” even on a rest day. He
does at least one intense swim per week.

** Inkinen did one six-hour ride before Kona last year

I find it amazing that Inkinen has achieved the results he has with this being his “typical” week.

My goal is to mirror this workout for 2-weeks and report back to you. As a side note, I am testing the
Garmin Forerunner 210, a GPS and heart-rate enabled watch that is proving extremely useful in my high-
intensity pursuits. Expect an in-depth review of that watch soon as well.

Happy training!

James

High Intensity Training…Will it Lead to Higher Performance??(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

A Trail Run In The City

Apr 252012

This past Saturday rolled around, and we still had no plans for a workout. It had rained the night before, and the weatherman called for rainy and cold weather, in the mid 40′s. We knew that getting in a ride outside didn’t sound like much fun, but we wanted to do something outdoors. After shooting down most of our options for one reason or another, we decided to do something we’ve really been enjoying lately – a trail run. We recently have been heading to a local city park to get in a good trail run workout with a few hills. The local park I’m talking about is called Ault Park, and it’s right in the middle city life in Hyde Park. If you ever find yourself traveling to Cincinnati, and you are looking for a scenic run in the city, this is close to the top of my list.

We ran a trail that is well known to any of the locals that race the local Bob Ronker race series. It is the similar to the race, with a short section removed. We did the loop twice. I took the Garmin 910XT with me to plot distance heart rate, and elevation. Here is the map from Garmin Connect:

The park has a few good little hills. If you are looking for a place to do trail hill repeats, this is a good place to go. Since we ran on the same trail twice, the second half elevation data should be identical the first half of the run. I did have the elevation correction setting enabled on the Garmin watch. The elevation data looked like it should:

I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and shorts, and by the end of the first mile, I was pretty wet due to the rain and sweat. That’s when my heart rate reading on the 910XT started to cut out, and display low erratic readings. I assume that this is due to the electrodes being partially shorted with a lower impedance due to the salt and water on my shirt.. I’ve had this problem occur before when running in the rain or in really hot, sweaty conditions. I see this problem more with the Garmin HRM; less so in the Polar and Suunto HRM straps.

After our workout, we had time to get some breakfast and get back before the girls got home from teaching their Saturday morning Pilates classes. One of our favorite places to go after an Ault Park run, or a Saturday morning spin class at Studio S, is Annabel’s. It’s two minutes away from the park in Mount Lookout. If you go, my favorite is the corn pancakes. You need to get there early if you want any chance of a short wait.

Mmmm!

We’ll wrap up today with a pic of James getting cleaned up after the run:

If you get a chance, check out the park. And if you haven’t tried it lately, go on a trail run. It’s a blast!

Happy Training!

Nike FuelBand In Depth Review

Apr 232012

Nike announced the FuelBand in January of 2012, and started shipping the product in March 2012. So what is the Nike FuelBand? The FuelBand is a watch that measures your daily activity. Nike believes that having an easy way to measure daily activity will motivate people to move and exercise more. The FuelBand can display and track time, the number of steps taken during the day, something called Nike Fuel, and your daily calories burned. You can set a target for how active you want to be, and the FuelBand gauges how close you are to your daily goal with a red, yellow and green display.

Before we get started, a quick tidbit about our reviews. By now, many of you have read the FitnessElectronicsBlog disclaimer, but here it is in case this is your first time reading one of our reviews. For the record, are in no way connected with Nike or any of the companies whose gear we review. We do this because we love playing with the latest technology, and we can’t keep our hands off this stuff if we tried. For this review, we purchased the Nike FuelBand. No give-us-gear for a favorable review, or anything like that. We call ‘em as we see ‘em. It keeps us honest. Also, we have a group of 4 people who do the evaluations of all of the gear. One person is the lead on a piece of gear, but everyone gets a chance to evaluate the stuff. We have 2 guys and 2 ladies, so it’s a good mix of people. It gives us better insight, and we get a better review overall. Everyone has an input to the review. If you want to know who these people are, check out our About Us page. We have 4 seasoned triathletes, and 3 Pilates instructors. All swim, bike, run, do Pilates and Yoga, and use all of the gear on a daily basis. So, enough with the babble, and let’s get to the review.

What’s in the box?

Here is the product box:

Here is what is included in the Nike+ FuelBand box:

Here is a side view of the FuelBand. It comes in three sizes; small, medium and large. If you need a to figure out your size, there is a sizing chart on the Nike FuelBand website. The FuelBand comes with additional links, and a tool to remove them.

Here is a view of the connection snap:

Here is the charging cable and additional link and removal tool:

The watch band has a rubberized feel, with a locking mechanism on the bottom to keep it locked. It has a single button that scrolls through time, Nike Fuel, calories, and steps taken.

So what are the features and specs?

These specs come right off of the Nike+ FuelBand website:

Size:

Small: 5.79 inch circumference
Medium: 6.77 inch circumference
Large: 7.76 inch circumference
Depth: 0.6 to 0.8 inches

Weight:

Small: 0.95 oz
Medium: 1.06 oz
Large: 1.13 oz

Sensors:

A built-in 3 axis accelerometer
An ambient light sensor to change the brightness of the display

Display:

20 color LED array shows your daily goal progress
100 white LED display shows time, NikeFuel earned, calories burned and steps taken
Automatic brightness

Water Resistance:

The FuelBand is water resistant. It can be worn in the shower or in the rain
It is not waterproof. It is not recommended to use while swimming

Connection Methods:

The watch has a built in USB interface, and is supplied with a USB connection cable
The FuelBand can be connected to an iPhone with iOS 4.3 and greater.
There is an airplane mode to disable the Bluetooth connection while in flight

Battery:

There are two Lithium Polymer batteries inside
Up to 4 days of battery life

For those of you who are interested, here are some pics of the internals of the FuelBand:

You can see the USB connector on the left side of the board.:

Here you can see the array of white LED’s:

It’s pretty cool how they get the board to flex to the curved shape of the watch using the orange flex circuit boards.

Using the Watch

To get started, you will need to install some software. To install the FuelBand software, you first need to download the installer, which is available here. Scroll down the page to get software, and click on download. Follow the directions, and the software should install. After this is done, the program will ask you to connect your FuelBand if you haven’t already done so. You will then see a screen that may update your FuelBand firmware. If so, follow the directions, and it should install:

While the watch is plugged in, the battery is being charged. Here is an image of the watch charging in the supplied dock:

Once your software is installed, you will need to set up your FuelBand with your weight, height, and the number of calories that you want to burn. Here is a video on how to set it up:

If you want to save your activities and view your progress, you will need to create a Nike+ profile. This is the last step in the software setup. Click SIGN UP , or use Facebook account to login. Here is the create account screen:

There is full integration with Twitter and Facebook.

After the watch syncs and the battery is fully charged, the battery display will show full. Disconnect the FuelBand, put it on your wrist, and you are ready to go.

Each day your calories, Nike Fuel, and steps will be reset to zero. Plugging the FuelBand in to the computer will recharge the watch, and transfer your workouts to Nike+ Connect. Battery life is approximately 4 days.

Here is a great shot of the FuelBand, taken from the Nike website:

So I took the watch on a run, a ride, and a walk. I compared my calories burned fro the FuelBand to the Garmin 910XT. The run was a very hilly 5 mile run. The calories were within 150 of each other. On a long walk, they were within 60 calories. The bike wan’t even close. Since the FuelBand thinks you are walking or running, and it’s trying to measure a walking or running gait with an accelerometer, you would expect the measured bike calories with the FuelBand to be way off. It was. I like to think of the FuelBand as a really cool pedometer, that’s pretty accurate at measuring walking or running, but not so great at other sports.

Many people have asked how Nike Fuel compares to calories. I’ve come to the conclusion that I still don’t understand what Nike Fuel is. The claim is that Nike Fuel is a metric that compares a person’s movement through the FuelBand accelerometer to Nike’s data they’ve collected on how rapidly oxygen is consumed. Nike claims that in this way, you can compare your Nike Fuel burned with other people. I assume it sort of like normalized calories.

iPhone Software:

The iPhone app is another way to sync your device to Nike+ Connect. You can use the iPhone or a computer to do this. The iPhone app can be downloaded from the iTunes store. Once the app is installed on your iPhone, the FuelBand will need to be paired to the iPhone. The FuelBelt has a Bluetooth radio that can transmit and receive data to and from the iPhone. Here is a video showing how to pair the FuelBand to the iPhone:

Connect the Nike+ FuelBand to Your iPhone

Here are the four main screens on the iPhone. This is the HOME screen:

This is the ACTIVITY screen. This screen plots the number of calories burned versus time. The time san be changed from daily to weekly, monthly or yearly.

Here is the FRIENDS page, that lets you connect with other people:

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

Nice looking watch
Could be a good motivator to keep moving during the day, or if you are just starting to exercise
Four day battery life

Cons:

Calories burned is most accurate during walking and running exercises
If you want to do accurate day to day workout comparisons, you will need a HRM or GPS watch
You need to press a button to get the time or any of the other metrics

So what do we think? First of all, the watch definitely looks different. We like the look, and it feels good . During running, it slid around a little too much for us. If you are a serious runner or triathlete, and you want to measure your time, distance, pace, or measure multiple sports, the FuelBand is not the watch for you. If you have been into running or triathlon for awhile, and want to buy a something in the $150-$200 price range, I recommend the Soleus GPS 2.0 for $149.00 or Timex GPS watches in the $200.00 price range. So who is this watch targeted to, and what would they do with it? I think this watch is all about trying to give exercisers, especially beginning exercisers, a simple way to view progress, and more importantly, a way to create a workout habit. If you buy the FuelBand, it can motivate you to be a little more active each day. You know how some people say that it takes 3 weeks to create a habit? Since it’s definitely easy to use, you can work your way into a workout habit. Who cares if it isn’t super accurate? It’s the motivation factor that is important. Once you get hooked on exercise, you can always step up to a heart rate monitor or GPS watch.

So, as we usually ask ourselves, for our target audience who are the season runner or triathlete, “Would we buy and recommend this watch?” For the reasons stated above, our answer is no. If you are a beginner just starting to exercise, and don’t want to learn to use a heart rate monitor or GPS watch, and want something super simple, I would still recommend that you bite the bullet and get a heart rate monitor or GPS watch, but if you’re looking for motivation, the FuelBand may just be the ticket. I like it as a watch, and I think I’ll keep it

We will leave you with a few videos of the Nike+ FuelBand. Here is an introduction of the Nike+ FuelBand:

Nike+ FuelBand – The Inside Story

Nike+ FuelBand(fitnesselectronicsblog.com)

Week In Review – April 21st, 2012

Apr 212012

I spent the first part of the week in Austin. It is such a great biking city, with so many commuters. I did get a few days of commuting in before the rain moved in.

Next week, we will review some of the software apps that work with Bluetooth HRM straps, and a review of the Nike+ FuelBand. This product is definitely different, and we’ll discuss whether it makes sense to buy this watch.

Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are all of the postings from the last week:

Friday – RunKeeper No Longer Supports Windows 7 and Symbian Phones

Wednesday – SportsTracker Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor In Depth Review

Monday – SwimSense Watch Update to Add Custom Display Options

Happy Training!

I leave some of you with a few videos. The first one is called “Funny Cycling Moments”,

And a video to explain to my wife that I’m not unique when it comes to cycling:

Older Entries

Here are a few items that we found circulating around the web:

SportsTracker just released version 1.7 for iPhone

Here is a press release for a new firmware upgrade for the Finis SwiMP3:

Related articles

So what are the features?

Using the app

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

What’s in the box?

So what are the features?

So how does it compare to other Garmin running watches?

Using the watch

Accessories and sensors

Saving Your Workouts

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

What’s in the box?

So what are the features and specs?

Using the Polar H7

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

What’s in the box?

So what are the features and specs?

Using the Watch

iPhone Software:

Thoughts, Opinions and Summary:

Related articles