I need help.
We've already discussed how I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing when it comes to athletics. So the last thing I wanted to do was spend all this time training for a triathlon and do it all wrong.
So I set out to find a coach...the digital kind. After much research, I narrowed my choices down to the Garmin Fenix 3 and the Polar v800 training watches.
The Polar v800
The Garmin Fenix 3
Here's why:
- They're made specifically for triathlon training
- They both come with heart rate monitors for better calorie burn info and body metrics/data
- They track swimming metrics
- They use GPS for mapping routes and tracking distances for running and cycling
- They calculate a recovery status after each training session
- They're both insanely configurable
- They track all day general activity & sleep
- They sync via bluetooth to the iPhone so you can analyze data
- They look cool
While my first choice is the Garmin Fenix 3 for a slew of extra little features, I decided on the Polar V800. Why? Because the Garmin isn't shipping for another couple of months and I have work to do!
Why a watch over an app?
So you may be asking: why drop a wad of cash on a watch that measures stuff when there are tons of free iPhone apps out there that can do the same thing?
Well, for one, it's not so easy to take an iPhone swimming nor does the iPhone have native support for reading heart rate sensors. Since these watches are connected to your body and paired with a heart rate monitor, they know everything about you as you move (and sleep). The result is creepy-accurate data about your movements, your intensity, calories burned, heart rate condition, etc, etc. From all this info, it can then give you smart coaching advice.
how the Polar v800 works...
The v800 requires just a few settings when you first turn it on. Time, date, body measurements, etc. From there, the major configuration happens with the Polar Flow service.
Once you setup an account, you can setup Sport Profiles for the types of training you'll do. Polar has a few dozen predefined activities to choose from.
Setting up Sport Profiles on Polar Flow
Customize the Display
Each sport profile can be customized to display only the data you're interested in on the watch face while you train. Just drag and drop the items you want to see. You can choose from a myriad of data options from body measurements (calories, heart rate, heart rate zone, etc), to environmental data (altitude, temperature, ascent, descent, etc) to various time and distance info (laps, pace, elapsed time, etc).
Once you have all your settings the way you like, just sync the v800 using the included USB cable and you're ready to go.
Why it's awesome
There are tons of running and training watches out there, but there are two things about this model that caught my attention and have become very valuable.
Swim Metrics
Most sport watches can't accurately track heart rate underwater. The data just doesn't transmit from the heart monitor to the watch when submerged. But for geeky tech reasons, Polar's included H7 Heart Rate Sensor is unique and does work under water.
The v800 noticed I did laps in both Freestyle and Breaststroke. Sorcery!
Once in the pool, just set the v800 to the "Pool Swimming" sport profile, set the length of the pool, then strap on the heart rate monitor and watch the magic.
The v800 will analyze your swim by counting your strokes, your laps, your distance, your pace and even keeping track of which stroke you're doing. You can switch from freestyle to breaststroke to backstroke to butterfly during a swim and it will give you a breakdown of swimming style and how you did. AMAZING. In my tests so far, it's pretty darn accurate as long as your movements are fairly consistent.
THIS is the main the reason I decided to get the v800. I was losing track of laps vs. strokes vs. distance on my swims. Now this tracks it all for me so I can focus on sucking less in the pool.
recovery status
At the end of every training session, the v800 will tell you how intense the workout was..ranging from "mild" to "very demanding". It then takes this info, along with everything else it knows about you (age, sex, weight, height, sleep from the night before, hear rate, etc) and can give you an estimated time for proper recovery. In other words...how long before you should workout again to avoid injury or under training if you're not training enough.
There are so many other little features that all add up to make this one hell of a useful training tool.
The recovery status screen shows how intense your workout was and how long you should wait until your next session.
The running index
Another clever feature is the 'running index'. This feature tracks all of your run stats over time and provides feedback on whether or not your efficiency is improving. It can even help predict how fast your race time might be based on your training.
After a workout session
So what does all this data look like when you finish a training session? Like a statistician's Disneyland, that's what.
When you finish a session, just sync with the mobile app or with a computer and you're presented with a glorious dashboard of metrics for analyzing and comparison.
Training session data on Polar Flow
Summary
There is a lot of competition in the GPS / fitness watch category these days, but Garmin and Polar definitely stand out as the category heavyweights – you really can't go wrong with either.
And while these watches are pricey – clocking in at around $500 – they provide invaluable data both during and after your workouts. I've only been using the v800 for a couple of weeks and already feel like I can't live without it. Plus, with the ability for the watch to receive software updates, you can rest assured that no matter which brand you go with, they're somewhat future proof and can expect enhancements later down the road.
Bottom line: if you're serious about fitness or you're training for an event, it's worth investing in a good training watch.