fenix 5 Heart Rate seems way too high?

Former Member over 7 years ago

Anyone have issues with high readings on their fenix 5 (from the wrist based HR sensor) whilst running?

Usual run at sub 5 minute pace but coming back from injury so cruising a 6 minute pace, outward with the wind behind me HR running at 160bpm which seemed a little high compare to perceived effort.

Return leg into the wind my HR was showing a consistent 200bpm. This was for about 4k at a low perceived effort. There is no way it would have been close to that, in fact I'd probably be dead it it hit 200 at my age (41), certainly for 4-5k that it showed.

Any ideas?

It's not like it was a spike, Strata HR graph shows it pretty consistent around 200bpm for the whole return leg and 160bpm for the outward leg.

The watch is only 5 weeks old and was fully charged last night.

0 kiwinesss over 7 years ago

The wrist HR measurement seems to work well for me although I am not sure about it sometimes. I use the HR strap for my runs for accurate measurements and the wrist HR I leave for daily non sport measurements and sleep patterns.

Maximum heart rate also varies for people. Following the 220 minus age is only a general calculation and does not work for everyone. I am 55 years old and my HR Max is 200 bpm.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Baudelaire hamann

I'll stick my HR strap on next time and see if there's a difference between them.

0 kiwinesss over 7 years ago

High irongate

The HR strap cancels out the wrist HR, you can't see both, only one or the other..

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Lane drive

Yeah, I figured that's be the case. I'll just do the same run and the same perceived effort and see if there's a marked difference in the results.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

The HR strap cancels out the wrist HR, you can't see both, only one or the other..

There is a way to see both: add this data field
https://apps.garmin.com/it-IT/apps/88CE4547-7D84-4289-B2C7-3E15CA00185F

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Thanks for the link, I've added that field. Just got to grab my Ant strap back from my mate tonight and I'll compare rates in tomorrow's run. I'll post up the results.

0 carl.andersson over 7 years ago

There's a good chance the watch picked up your cadence as your heart rate. This is a surprisingly common problem for some people with wrist based optical HR.
No matter what watch I use I've run into the problem each time. Yet some people have no issues.

It's easy enough to check - just overlay your cadence data over the heart-rate graph in Connect. If your cadence is in line with the recorded heart rate then you'll know that's the reason. If it is then the bad news is there isn't much you can do to fix it. I always run with my chest strap now.

0 erhancetin over 7 years ago

rolls watts

Thanks for the link, I've added that field. Just got to grab my Ant strap back from my mate tonight and I'll compare rates in tomorrow's run. I'll post up the results.

We will be waiting for the results.

0 mcalista over 7 years ago

There's a good chance the watch picked up your cadence as your heart rate. This is a surprisingly common problem for some people with wrist based optical HR.
No matter what watch I use I've run into the problem each time. Yet some people have no issues.

It's easy enough to check - just overlay your cadence data over the heart-rate graph in Connect. If your cadence is in line with the recorded heart rate then you'll know that's the reason. If it is then the bad news is there isn't much you can do to fix it. I always run with my chest strap now.

Actually, there are some things you can do about it.

Actually, there are things you can do about this:

1. Wait for the OHR to get a solid lock before starting an activity - the heart symbol will stop flashing. If it doesn't have a solid lock before you start, it will have trouble tracking your HR as it increases through your workout.
2. Wear the watch on the fleshy part of the wrist, away from the wrist bone.
3. Make sure the strap is snug. Not so tight that it cuts off circulation, but at least that it doesn't move about when you shake your wrist.

OHR doesn't work for everyone, but if cadence is an issue, you should be checking these issues.

0 peteholloway over 7 years ago

the heart symbol will start flashing.

Are you saying it flashes when it has a good lock?

The user manual says wait until the heart is solid (stops flashing) before starting a workout :confused: