5s Plus HR Whilst Swimming

Hi
Does the Optical HR just disable itself when a swimmimg activity is started? If so is there any way around this? (Apart from a seperate swim HR band) I appreciate that the water will make the optical HR inacurate but even as a guidline between intervals it would be beneficial. Im sure I could use HR on my apple watch in the past.

0 jlgranth over 6 years ago

Yes, my Fenix 5+ disables the Optical HR when you start a swim activity. FWIW, I previously owned a FR235 and used a swim app that allowed the Optical HR to record during the activity. It was only later when using a FR920XT and HRM-Swim that I discovered the Optical HR readings were inaccurate during my swimming. My actual heart rate was lower. Below are links to examples of each:

Activity with 235 and Optical HR: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2541892508

Activity with FR920XT and HRM-Swim: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2550515674

One caveat is that the FR235 was on the first generation of Optical HRM. So it is fair to say that the Fenix 5+ series might perform better under water than the FR235.

I don't readily see a way around this. The Pool Swim app I used on the FR235 is not compatible with the Fenix 5+.
Here is a link to that app: https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/f134a024-6ee4-47d3-8aec-3a397e3c9733

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

This has been discussed on many occasions. HR in the swim is worthless. It doesn't work. Bad data is no better than no data. Swim to perceived effort in open water. After all, how are you going to check your heart rate when swimming without breaking your stroke? Use laps to get measures of pace for intervals.

Try swimming with your device set to 'Run' or 'Cycle' or other activity that keeps the OHR engaged if you want to get HR.

0 emmseegee over 6 years ago

Thanks for the replies, I have never been a serious enough swimmer to use my watch as any more than a length counter and interval timer. 100m intervals etc. The reason I wanted the HR was to introduce a sprint/recovery method of training i use for running and punchbag workouts. X amount of 100% effort and relax until a chosen bpm instead of resting for a time period. During my rest period my watch could be out the water and visible. Like people have said however, inaccurate data is no good!

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

There are a number of people who would like that for open water swimming however current wrist technology isn’t up to scratch. You can always manually measure your pulse in the meantime.

0 zoonamai over 6 years ago

If you use "Cardio" activity, you can obtain your HR from the optical sensor.
But you cannot obtain the pace, stroke, or Swolf data.

0 CMA-CPH over 6 years ago

With a little work around it is possible to activate the OHR sensor during a pool swimming activity:

Start your swimming activity as usual.
Long press the LAP button to escape to the watchface.
Use the UP / DOWN buttons to select the heartrate widget.
Press the LAP button to return to your swimming activity.
Use the UP / DOWN buttons to switch to screen 4. There you have the heartrate.

I have no idea about accuracy, but with a tight fit on my wrist it seems as if heartrate follows intensity quite well.

As far as I can see, the heartrate is not recorded with the activity, but can be seen on the heartrate widget.

To get a better idea about accuracy, it could be interesting to see a comparison to another watch/hrm-swim in the same session.