Have you heard the latest news from our friends over at +Garmin...? Yes, that is correct! Another fitness tracker called, vìvosmart HR. Unlike previous trackers and watches they have released over the years with HR (heart-rate technology) this is their inaugural attempt at a in-house heart-detect tech to measure one's heart beats at the wrist 24/7. I first used Garmin products back in 2003 beginning with their ForeRunner series.
What are the benefits of heart-rate training?
First, when you train by listening to your heart-rate you achieve better results; hands down! More and more teams (high school, college, and professional) have integrated HR training for athletes. When you analyze your heart rate during and post workouts the data is quantifiable and an excellent statistic to track. It tells how your body is doing. Sure, you may feel tired or sore and you muscles can ache no matter how intense you swam, lifted, ran, biked, and played. How much harder could you have done those things? Worse yet, perhaps you over-trained two days before a race? Yeah, not good! In any given scenario one week before race day over-training is far more dangerous than under-training.
Heart Rate Training 101
When you train by distance alone or reps it can be difficult to know how much your core is exerting. When you train by time, for example, tonight, after I complete writing this article I am going to go run for 30 minutes. Alright, so why just 30 minutes and how fast should I run? I could use a GPS +Garmin watch or a simply smartphone app and push my legs to carry me at a 00:08:15 minute mile pace for 20 of those 30 minutes. But, what if I could have ran faster? What if I could of ran farther and for 35 or 70 minutes? By just following distance, time, or speed you fall into archaic methods. One's HR informs them of how much training is in the bank and lets the athlete know precisely how much training funds can be withdrawn. As you exercise minute after minute your HR is going up and down constantly. It is effected by the following:
1. Age
2. Hydration
3. Sleep
4. Stress
5. Diet
6. Athletic history
7. Medicine
As a cyclist travels through the L'Alpe d'Huez would they not need to know how much stress their body is taking during the climb? Often the human body feels good, yet, it is beyond exhaustion. As I climb up a mountain making decent time my body tells to go even faster. My brain yells at my muscles to acclimate. Yet, my HR is not 150 nor even 160, nope, I didn't sleep well, circa five hours, and skipped breakfast only having a coffee and doughnut as snacks - yikes! With a simple device like this new +Garmin vìvofit HR I am informed and warned that I need to take it easy or push through to the next mile even harder! In a way, you can think of the HR as the body's RPM, oil pressure, and thermostat gauges similar to an automobile...
Will a fitness tracker change your life?
Any modification to your daily routine, yeah, that changes your life. Often small changes are able to give enormous results with the right attitude and balance.
Which fitness tracker is the best? I leave this for you to decide :)
Note: the picture was from http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/10/vivosmart-hr.html
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