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HRM Strap vs Wrist

I used to run with a Forerunner and a chest strap and I carried over the chest strap (actually a replacement from Amazon) to my new Vivoactive 4. Now I'm getting messages the the HRM battery is low, and I think the watch defaulted to a wrist reading on this morning's run. Is it worth having a strap? My HR seems more variable for the first few minutes on the wrist alone: it goes higher, and then slowly settles down. (I run the first k slowly, so my pulse is usually much lower on that.) Secondly, is a strap better for more intense and interval training when there are more rapid changes in HR? Again, the wrist monitor seems OK, but less accurate for short intervals.

Thanks.

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0 ovekvam over 4 years ago

Yes, for interval training and sprints, the wrist sensor can not keep up. The chest strap is significantly better.

0 Martin over 4 years ago

A chest HRM will be much better for any workout. I've had battery low warnings for my wahoo on both my VA and EDGE 530 when using a bluetooth connection.

Double check if its ANT or BT connection. The VA4 will show an ID number for an ANT sensor and often a Name for a BT one.

0 DaveInWatford over 4 years ago in reply to ovekvam

Thanks. As I use it for intervals, I'd better get a new one. Any recommendations?

0 DaveInWatford over 4 years ago in reply to Martin

It's definitely ANT+. I get the ID number when it connects. It was a cheapish one from Amazon, but I bought in March last year and so that's only 17 months (and I gave up running for some of that time, so it's not been in use). May buy a more expensive one this time. The strap that came with the Forerunner lasted about three years.

0 Martin over 4 years ago in reply to DaveInWatford

I'm very happy with my Wahoo Tickr.

0 DaveInWatford over 4 years ago in reply to Martin

And I've just realised that mine has a replaceable battery! Well, that's that fixed.

0 Martin over 4 years ago in reply to DaveInWatford

Good. These things can last so long one can forget they have batteries.

0 jim_m_58 over 4 years ago in reply to DaveInWatford

When I replace the battery in something like a HRM, I use something like a Qtip to clean the contact, and also make sure it hasn't lost it's "spring". I had a couple cases where I replaced the battery and started getting low battery again in a couple days, and this solved it.