Heart rate monitor

I recently purchased the Instinct. I’ve noticed that when I am skipping my heart rate is recorded accurately. However, when I start doing burpees it drops my heart rate down and when I’ve double checked against my radial it is way off. How do I go from 145 BPM while skipping but 88 BPM during burpees?
many suggestions?

0 trux over 4 years ago

The watch uses an optical sensor for the HR detection and it has its limitations. If adjusting the fit and the position does not help, get a HRM chest belt for more accurate data. BTW, what works for me for certain type of activities, is attaching the watch to my ankle instead of the wrist, though generally I can't complain much - have rarely problems with the HR detection.

0 Former Member over 4 years ago

1074380 said:
How do I go from 145 BPM while skipping but 88 BPM during burpees?

It's due to the flex and pressure you're putting on your wrist when doing burpees. You'll have similar issues when doing activities that have a lot of movement while grasping and object such as a racket, oars, dumbbells, or climbing poles. It's a known shortcoming of wrist based optical sensors. For more precise HR data, a chest strap or an optical sensor worn near the bicep such as a Scosche Rhythm is needed. I would imagine you'd suffer the same results to some degree wearing the watch around your ankle when doing burpees because of the flex and pressure that's on your ankle when in the squat position and then thrusting your legs out, but I've never tried it.

0 bobchappuis over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

I have found that the way the heart rate monitor works is affected by the type of activity you select.. When I select RUN it measures about 30 bpm high. If I select cardio (which I have been using for weight training) it reads 30 bpm low. Yesterday I treied Stair Stepper while lifting weights and it seemed to be fairly accurate.