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HRM-Pro without watch questions

Hi there,

I own the Garmin Fenix 6x and the HRM-Pro and so far have almost only used them for running and tennis.

When I recently played beach volleyball I decided to not wear the watch to protect it from the sand and only put on the strap.

I then followed the instructions of starting the workout on the watch (I chose running), left it in the car and played beach volleyball for 2 hours.

Afterwards I synced the strap to the watch and Garmin Connect and noticed something weird: while the watch had recorded the HR fine, it didn't show any distance/steps or other running dynamics. Also with a training effect of 2.3 Aerobic/1.9 Anaerobic and 935 calories burned it only calculated a training load of 7.

So here are my questions:

  1. Does anybody have experience with doing exercises with just the HRM-Pro and no watch, maybe even (beach) volleyball?

  2. Did I do anything wrong during the whole process? Should I have maybe chosen a different activity like cardio?

  3. One idea: maybe I wasn't far away enough from the watch so it stayed connected thinking I was just sitting in the car the whole time? Do I have to disconnect the strap from the watch after I started the activity to be on the safe side? Doesn't seem to make sense to me. Also, shouldn't the HRM-Pro be the main source for all data when connected? Or does for example the watch still record the steps even though the strap is connected?

Thanks so much in advance and best regards.

  • it didn't show any distance/steps or other running dynamics.

    Without knowing exactly what your activity looked like it is hard to tell definitely, but my conjecture would be as follows:

    You didn't get any distance, because the strap has no way of measuring distance. You didn't get any steps, because activity such as volleyball is a challenge for getting a step count. To put it another way, step count is not reliable for activities where there are frequent and rapid changes of pace and direction, and there is no sustained pace nor rhythm. And running dynamics work only when the strap is connected to the watch and sends live data. Running dynamics are not stored by the HRM-Pro strap, and are not uploaded to the watch post-workout. And running dynamics do not work anyway with activities other than true running.

    maybe I wasn't far away enough from the watch so it stayed connected thinking I was just sitting in the car the whole time?

    Of course, this is another possible explanation.

  • Hi there, 

    Thanks so much for the detailed information and for clarifying a lot of the issues.

    Just one more question: any idea how I could disconnect the watch completely next time I leave it in the car?

    Thanks and best regards. 

  • Putting it into airplane mode should do the trick.

  • Great, thanks. Will try that and let you know if it worked. Best!

  • Hi, could you be able to measure distance when you play beach volleyball with your HRM pro without your watch? I have exactly the same problem. I play beach volleyball with my band without the watch, I can measure the HR but no measure for distance. Let me know if you get the solution. Thanks! 

  • As tmk2 answered earlier, there is no way to measure distance in such activity using only strap.

  • Yes, you should record a Cardio activity. If you record a Run activity then the watch will try to get GPS signals, which doesn't make sense if you're not wearing it. If you have a zipper pocket on your shorts, then you could also remove the watch strap and stick the device in there.

  • Sorry for the late reply, guys. It's been a while since I played BV but I don't think the strap can record steps from what I've read online. Thanks, cheers.

  • I don't think the strap can record steps from what I've read online.

    I don't know where you read it, but the strap CAN and DOES record steps.

  • Like I said in my original post and some others here reported the strap did not record any steps. Maybe I did something wrong but I am glad it's working for you. Thanks.