How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor, Part 3 – Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitors

Apr 092012
 

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 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, we are discussing widely available heart rate monitor strap options that work with smartphones.

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

Back in part 2, we covered a few simple ways that heart rate can be measured. The two options that most people choose when buying a heart rate monitor are to buy a HRM watch (maybe with GPS),  or they will buy a heart rate monitor strap that works with a smartphone. If you buy a HRM watch , you are typically limited to the software and analysis tools that the manufacturer supplies, or a few third party apps. If you decide to buy a HRM strap, and use your smartphone as the display, you may have more apps and analysis options to choose from. This doesn’t mean that the apps are better or higher quality; on the contrary, the big three watch manufacturers, Garmin, Suunto and Polar, make some pretty good software analysis tools. But if you want other app and logging options, or you really only want to spend money on a HRM strap and use your phone to display and log your workout, then this post about HRM strap options may be of some interest to you.

This post is meant to give you an idea about what HRM strap options are available. We will cover the the most popular heart rate monitor straps that work with the most popular smartphones. Remember, this is meant to be an overview, not a review. Reviews of these heart rate monitor straps and the apps that they work with with be the subject of future posts.

Here are some of the most popular and widely available HRM straps:

The Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for iPhone is a heart rate strap made to work with all iPhones. It uses an ANT+ dongle that plugs into the iPhone 30 pin connector.  The unit is powered by a 3V replaceable coin cell. The Wahoo Run/Gym  Pack works with over 83 iPhone apps. You can find the full listing here. The retail price is $119.99.

 

 

 

 

 

The Wahoo Fitness Blue HR heart rate strap is a Bluetooth Low Power heart rate strap made for the iPhone 4S. It is not compatible with earlier 3G and 4 iPhones. The unit is powered by a 3V replaceable coin cell, and the unit is waterproof up to 5 feet. The Wahoo heart rate strap works with over 83 iPhone apps. You can find the full listing here. The retail price is $79.00

 

 

 

 

 

The Sports Tracker Bluetooth heart rate monitor strap is a Bluetooth heart rate strap made to work with Android and Nokia Symbian phones. The unit is powered by a rechargeable battery, and a USB charger is included.The Sports Tracker HRM is compatible with the Sports Tracker Android app. The retail price is 69.90 euros.

 

 

 

The Zephyr HxM Bluetooth heart rate monitor is a Bluetooth heart rate strap that works with Android 2.0 and later phones. The unit is powered by a rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery that lasts 30 hours between charges.It comes with a USB charger cradle, and takes 3 hours to fully recharge the battery. The unit is compatible with Endomondo, Run GPS, Athlosoft, Bike Dashboard, SportsTrackLive, eCoach, and ZephysOpen software. The retail price is $99.00.

 

 

 

The Polar WearLink+ heart rate monitor with Bluetooth technology works with Android phones.. The unit is powered by a 3V replaceable coin cell, and is water resistant. The unit is compatible with Endomondo, Cardio TRAINER, SportsTrackLive, RunKeeper, Runtastic, i do Move, Sportypal, Run.GPS software. The retail price is $79.95.

 

 

The SmartHRM Bluetooth heart rate monitor strap for Android works with Android phones. The device can store data up to 7 days of data. It vibrates to let you know whether you are under or over your target heart rate zone.The unit is compatible with JogTracker, JogTracker Pro, Jogger, and SmartHRM Fitness apps. The retail price is $99.00.

 

 

 

 

The SmartHRM WiFi for iPhone heart rate monitor connects to iPhones via WiFi, not Bluetooth. Because of this, it works with all models of iPhones. The unit is compatible with SmartHRM Fitness, CardioMapper, and SportyPal software. The retail price is $129.00.

 

 

The wireless protocol that is used for the HRM straps listed above is ANT+,  Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Power, also called Bluetooth 4.0. So what is the difference, and why is this important? Well, if you buy an HRM strap that is ANT+, you will probably need to connect an external dongle to your phone. The Wahoo Fitness Run/Gym Pack for iPhone works with all iPhones, but it requires a dongle that plugs in to the phone.

 This can be an issue depending on how you carry your phone. To eliminate the dongle, Wahoo Fitness also makes the Bluetooth BlueHR, which uses the Bluetooth Low Power protocol, but it only works with the iPhone 4S (and probably new unreleased models). This is because Apple only supports Bluetooth Low Power in the 4S model.

SmartHRM WiFi uses WiFi to connect to all Apple iPhones via WiFi. This may limit the number of apps that work with the SmartHRM WiFi.

Sports Tracker, Zephyr and the SmartHRM Bluetooth all use the older Bluetooth standard, and only work with Android phones. They do not work with Apple phones.

So confused yet? Well, you should be. There are many different protocols out there. Do you get a HRM strap and use it with your phone, or do you buy a dedicated HRM watch? If you are in a hurry to buy, and know that you want a HRM strap to work with your phone, and are ready to pull the trigger, then “How do you choose?”  Well, one way would be to choose a model above based on whether it works with your phone.If you decide on one, make sure to look at the compatible software apps.  Many apps can be downloaded , and you can find more information about each at the software developers site. Research before you buy. Because of the sheer number, and their complexity, there is no way to quickly cover everything in one or two posts and do it justice. We will be covering individual HRM strap reviews, and also individual app reviews in future posts. One thing to note is that, if you have an iPhone, the Wahoo Fitness HRM straps are compatible with the most apps, 83 and growing. This gives you a lot of flexibility.

And last, to wrap things up for today, a few final things to consider. If you change phones often, make sure your HRM choice works with your phone choice going forward.  If you are a die hard iPhone or Android user, and are going to stick with your current platform, you should be ok going forward. Otherwise, you may be buying new hardware in a year. Also, are you sure you want to carry your phone on every workout or run? Try carrying your phone with you on your workouts before going out and purchasing hardware. Check the display. Can you see it or hear it during your workout? After trying this out, you may change your mind.  Also, remember that your phone is not waterproof; typically a HRM watch is.

That’s it for today. I will leave you with a few videos of the HRM straps, so that you can get more familiar with some of the HRM’s.

So for now,

Happy Training!

Here is a video of the Wahoo Fitness Run/Gym Pack:

Here is a video of the Wahoo Fitness BlueHR:

Here is a video of the Sports Tracker:

Here is a video of the Polar Wearlink+ Bluetooth HRM:

Here is a video of the SmartHRM HRM:

Here is a video of the RunKeeper app software:

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Class Builder Iphone App for Indoor Cycling Teachers and Cyclists

Mar 292012
 

 

Jennifer Lynn writes our weekly column on how to use your heart rate monitor while training. Today she is covering software training software for the iPhone called Class Builder.

Hello again Fitness Electronics World!! I am excited to be back! Life has been busy over the last few weeks but with great developments! After writing the 4 part series on Heart Rate Training, I was able to connect with Sally Edwards, Chuck Cali, and Gene Nacey. Gene Nacey is the creator of the Class Builder iPhone App. These folks are all working really hard on some new iPhone apps as well as a specialized heart rate monitor (review is coming soon). It was so exciting to e-meet Sally Edwards and I am really excited to be helping to spread the word on training tools for the fitness world. There will definitely be more coverage on these new iPhone apps, and more training blogs based on their methods.

Today, we are talking about Class Builder. What is Class Builder? Well, Class Builder is an application that streamlines the construction process for creating indoor rides on either a trainer or spinning bike.  The user programs segments of a workout (called cues), and then strings these all together to create a workout. Target intensity levels, heart rate, cadence, power and music can all be set for each cue. The app has on screen projector capability, which is a great training tool for instructors who teach spinning classes. The application works with iPods and iPhones.

The app is easy to use. You choose your music, select your objectives (create cues), and build your workouts. You can easily build different workouts, such as climbing, speed work, intervals, or whatever workout you desire..

 

In this column, I will walk you through the creation of a workout so that you can see some of the program’s features, and also get a feel for how easy it is to create a workout. The first step, of course, is to install the app from iTunes. Here is a direct link to the application http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/class-builder/id456067264?mt=8

Assuming you have installed the app, let’s walk through the creation of a new Class Build.

Step 1 Opening the Application

Opening the application takes you a screen with four choices:

 

1. Build A New Class

2. Edit A Class

3. Ride A Class

4. Settings

For this demonstration, let’s Build a New Class together. I selected Build a Class which opens the New Class screen. On this screen, I will select a title for my class, ride level (beginner, conditioning (intermediate), performance (advanced), and mind-body  (specialty). Also, I can either pick and existing playlist from my itunes library or choose to pick one later (customize list with ride).

 

I named the ride “Fitness Electronics” and selected the Ride Level as Intermediate. After this was done, I selected the Create Class prompt.

Step 2: Creating the Class

I am now taken to a new screen which is the ride building screen. First I select the “warm up.”

 

Selecting “Warm Up” takes me to a sub-screen where I pick my “Warm Up” song and set category skill as warm up.

 

Hitting the back button creates the next segment by touching the green plus sign. This is where the true attention to detail becomes obvious. I will type in steep climb for my cue in this segment.

 

I next can select my target cadence, HR zone, RPE, and target power in watts!! Wow! For the serious athlete, the more data, the better. It helps us to track our patterns and improve over time!! I will go ahead and fill in these blanks and continue in the interest of brevity for this blog. I want to take time to mention that with each segment you can select your focus for the segment, skill focus, and you can program interval set timers in as well!

 

Let’s explore the interval timer on the next segment. I will hit the back button and create another new segment. I am selecting intervals as my focus, sprinting as my skill, and I am choosing 1×3.0 for my interval set timing.

 

Done. So far, I have a warm up, climb, and sprint. Let’s go ahead and program in the cool down. So, I hit the back button and add a new segment: cool down.

 

I then select a song and viola!!! I have constructed a ride with music, rpm, watts, HR, RPE, and skill foci. That’s pretty amazing!  The bottom line is that this application can be used at a very basic level or at a level of high precision depending on your personal goals as a user.

Now that I have created my ride, I am going to select the ride and see what happens??

It takes me to a very cool screen that shows an actual graph or the effort for the ride while also showing the cadence, rpe, cues, time left, and all the details we programmed into the segment cues!

 

There is also a side bar that shows your playlist, song, and notes.

 

All in all, this is pretty darn cool stuff!! As one more bonus, you can actually project your ride screen onto a projector for the class to see if you like!

Slowly, but surely, you can create a whole platform of rides that follow the periodization of your current training plan. That is a tremendous resource for all of us busy people who need a library of resources to succeed at our endeavours. Gene Nacey has also told me that a big update is coming in approximately one month from now. The update will be full of exciting changes. Additionally, they are releasing Ride Buddy, another new app (which will be review here) as well within the next month or so.

I will leave you with a quick introductory video of Class Builder:

 

Thank you so much for being a part of the Fitness Electronics Blog Site!! Feel free to contact me with questions!

 

Jennifer

jennifer@studioscincinnati.com

 

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RunKeeper – Do You Use It?

Jan 032012
 

I”ve yet to use RunKeeper, so I thought I would sign up and give it a try. I went to the RunKeeper site, and signed up for an account. It’s free, and takes only a second to sign up. It immediately takes you to a page where you can post a new activity. I thought I would browse the sight and see what it was all about. The first thing I noticed was that you can download RunKeeper for your iPhone or Android phone. I have both phones that I use for testing, so I can download the application on both phones to test and compare.

So what is RunKeeper? RunKeeper is a program that allows you to track your run. It uses the phone GPS to measure the distance you travel, and the time it takes to  perform your workout. With this, it can tell you total train time, speed, pace, distance, and calories burned. The latest version, released on December 14th, 2011, allows the app to use a Bluetooth SmartHRM like the Wahoo Fitness BLUEHR. Using the SmartHRM, the program can use the heart rate monitor and log heart rate in addition to all of the other measurements.

My early impression of RunKeeper was that it was a good basic training logging program. It allows you to use monitor distance, speed, pace, heart rate, and it allows you to log this data to your phone. You can then analyze it by uploading this data when the workout is over. You can create and save routes that you frequently travel. The app uses audio to let you know how fast and far you are running. The app allows you to pick a playlist from your phone during your workout. This is great if you use headphones and listen to music while training. Of course, the downside is that you need to carry your phone during training, which can be a pain when you are running. The software also relies on the GPS feature of your phone, which, depending on the phone and service, can be so-so. Still, if you are just starting a training program, and are not ready to invest into a GPS fitness watch, this software can be a great training tool. You can post your runs to Facebook and let certain friends view your workout. It also sends you email encouragement when you break a previous record. I have included some screen shots of the software so that you can get an idea:


 

Here are a few videos to give you a better idea on how the software works, and what to do with the data after your workout is over.:
If you want to learn more about RunKeeper, click here. If you already use it, let me know by leaving a comment what you think about it, and what your favorite features are.

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Sports Tracker For Windows Phone

Dec 192011
 

Sports Tracker, makers of training and logging software for the iPhone and Android, has released a new version of their software that runs on Windows Phones. Sports Tracker was started in 2004 at the phone handset maker Nokia. It was then spun off by the developers in 2009 after Nokia gave up on the idea. In addition to the latest version, they also make a version for the iPhone, Android and

The Sports Tracker software includes the ability to track and log your workouts, and to share them on Facebook, Twitter, and sports-tracker.com.Tracking features include measuring distance, speed, duration, average speed and pace, max speed, and calories burned. With a Sports Tracker heart rate monitor (not compatible with iPhone or Windows phone) that connects to your phone via Bluetooth, you can log your heart rate during your workout, and upload this information to the Sports Tracker website for later viewing. I have included a few screenshots from the app, so you can get a feel for it if you haven’t used it.

 

 

Here is a screesnshot of the stats page. To start a new workout, press the new workout button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a screenshot of the workout screen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a screenshot of the Training Diary screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once your workout is complete, you can upload to sports-tracker.com and view your workout on a map.

The app is a free download. Check the website to find out how to download it for your phone.

Sports Tracker, Nike+, and Run Keeper all make software phone apps that  allow you to measure and log your workout. We will be doing an in depth review of Sports Tracker in a future column.

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What Is ANT+

Dec 122011
 

Ever wondered what ANT is, and how it works? Coming from an engineering background, I get that question a lot. The question usually pops up when friends have a connection issue, or when they want to know if a heart rate monitor strap is compatible with a different sports watch. So I thought I would put together a quick column about ANT with a multisport focus in mind. So here goes:

First of all, what is ANT? ANT is an acronym for “Advanced and Adaptive Network Technology.” This isn’t very helpful, but let me take a swag at a description. ANT is a protocol that uses the same frequencies as WiFi and Bluetooth, namely 2.4 GHz. The data transfer rate is much slower than WiFi and Bluetooth, but it doesn’t really need to transmit as much data as your home WiFi.  It is very low power, and the transmitters and receivers can run on a watch battery for a long time, typically a few years or longer. The working distance is typically less than five feet.

There are two version of sensors. The first sensors to be produced were just called ANT sensors (no +).  ANT sensors would not necessarily work with other competitors products, so if you bought a heart rate monitor watch from a manufacturer, you would probably need to use their heart rate monitor strap that came with the watch.

The next generation of sensors were called ANT+ sensors. This new generation of devices used the new ANT+ protocol. With ANT+, all manufacturers agree to follow the same specification, so that heart rate monitors, heart rate chest straps, power meters, ect., are all theoretically interoperable. This allows the power meter designed by one manufacturer to work with the bike computer of another manufacturer. Also, heart rate monitor straps could be interchangeable.

With ANT+, manufacturers typically supply a USB dongle that allows users to download data from most ANT+ watches and bike computers. Of course, you will need some software that is compatible with your device. Te software typically displays your workout data, most times in graphical form. We will be covering some of this software in future columns. I have taken a few pictures of an ANT+ development kit that I have, to five you an idea around the size of the hardware.

 

Here is a picture of a working ANT+ module. The complete ANT+ module is shown on the circuit board. The gold strip at the top of the board is actually the antenna, so you can see how small these complete receivers can get. The hardware can get even smaller, which is what allows it to fit into a watch, and still be small and thin.

You can find ANT+ treadmills and exercise equipment in many gyms. Look for this ANT+ symbol on the fitness equipment.

Take your ANT+ heart rate strap with you, and you should be able to connect to the equipment.

There are also many manufacturers that make ANT+ adapters for the iPhone and Android Phones. Garmin, CycleOps, Wahoo Fitness and Nike are a few of them.  I will be covering these devices in a future column. There are even phones that have ANT+ receivers built in.

A few questions that everyone wants to know are,

“Which manufacturers use the new ANT+ specification?” Garmin, Suunto, Finis, Timex and Wahoo Fitness all use the ANT+ protocol.

“Does WiFi and Bluetooth cause interference to ANT+?” ANT+ can change frequencies on the fly to avoid interference in a typical location.

“How many ANT+ systems have been sold?” There are over 16 million sport, fitness and health monitoring devices in the field.

“How do I know if my device works with another manufacturers hardware?” Here is a website that can help you get an answer to your question. You can check by manufacturer and see what other hardware is compatible. It is now complete, but it is a good starting location. It is

ANT+ Hardware Compatibility

 

If you can’t find the information here, check with the manufacturer.

If you have ANT+ questions, leave me a comment or send me an email and I will try to get them answered.

 

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