More on HRM whilst swimming...

Hi

this is brilliantly describing exactly how I would love my F5 to behave during my swim workout. Today I mainly swim and cycle. I may run once in while but I feel a bit ashamed looking at my Training status widget showing nothing on the first screen.

Also I can swim 1h non stop, there will be no 'active minutes' counted on the day.

I used to be able to access some HR data accessing widgets during a swimming workout (nice bug but it seems it's been 'corrected' in the latest firmware). I do not care about a few % inaccuracy in the reading either.

Thank you Garmin for allowing HR to be measured during swimming without HR Swim or Tri

J?r?me

Cannot post an article becauseo a bug

Hi,I don't understand why Garmin does not allow that as a beta unsupported feature...I currently swim in cardio mode, it has 2 advantages: it records the HR from the wrist and I can count my lap manually (in a public pool, lap counting is always a bit wrong).Usually I need to swim about 10 min so that the watch catch the HR and after it is approximately ok. I prefer an estimate than nothing. Nothing is even much more wrong than an estimate. (nothing = no updated training status, no training effect, so very wrong).Here is the HR chart. As you can see, at the beginning the HR is wrong (too low) but then its catches the HR except between 31 and 36 min where it's lost again. I did some HIIT at the end and it recorded it properly.

here

As has been said before you can get HR working on a swim

1) add an HR field to one of the screens of the swim app
2) start your swim activity
3) press and hold the down button until you are back at your watch display
4) navigate to heart rate widget graph, check your heart rate is being monitored
5) press activity button to go back to swim app
6) heart rate field now works

I am not sure if this achieves what you want?

Thanks, Wilx01, this is great! I just have one correction: the long press of down to reach the widgets has to be configured under hotkeys.

Will this also give me training load, realistic calories, etc?

Thanks, Wilx01, this is great! I just have one correction: the long press of down to reach the widgets has to be configured under hotkeys.

Will this also give me training load, realistic calories, etc?

I am not sure let me know

This is a nice little trick, and it just might work for Open Water Swims, however much like using a Mio Link next to the Garmin watch, it will simply display the data during the activity but not save it for Pool Swims, this is due to the essentially different way Pool Swims are recorded, unlike any other activity including Running, Cardio and Open Water Swims which all include the state at every second, Pool Swim only keeps time of every change of direction or swim lap, so it really doesn't have "space" for the HR data. The integration with the HRM-Swim chest strap is a very special one, happens afterwards and it can't be replicated by anything else, however, just like the with Mio Link, this trick might work for Open Water Swims where the HR data saved no matter where it comes from. Thanks for the trick.

With regards to "training load, realistic calories", it won't work for Pool Swims, if the HR data doesn't get saved, it doesn't count. You really only have two options for HR data during a Pool Swim, you either do what you've been doing using the Cardio activity instead, or buy (and wear) that HRM-Swim chest strap, neither of which are ideal at all.

Thanks to everyone for chipping in on this topic:

For me, solely a pool swimmer and interested in the data and impact on training load etc. these workarounds are unfortunately going to help.

All comparisons of the data I've seen so far are not to bad. It strikes me as a deliberate choice on the part of the user would be a valid compromise here.
I'm really not against additional devices: Thigh based oHRM under jammers or a swim cap maybe... Increased contact pressure, reduced water flow and risk of movement, more discreet...

... with Suunto and Polar (soon) having a solution I'm hoping i don't have to wait for Fenix6 to solve this issue