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New user, need tips on optical HR

Hello,

just joined the community after buying a 735 XT yesterday. So far I'm happy with the watch (going for my first real run today, but GPS tracking while walking looks good), except that Garmin Connect on iOS stopped updating Apple Health at midnight (I see this is a common problem).

The optical HR readings are a bit ho-hum, though. Mostly they're good, but every now and then (and during most of my sleep, I think) they're way too high.

For instance: During a short walk this morning, I tested the running mode of the watch and at first the HR seemed spot on. Then suddenly recorded HR rose from 100 to 154 in the course of a few seconds. I checked manually, and the HR definitely wasn't that high. I stopped, turned the watch upside down (so the optical sensor recorded the back of my arm), and then readings were normal for the rest of the short walk.

So - before going on my first long run with the watch today, and based on that experience while walking, I was wondering if I should wear the watch on the underside of the arm, where my skin is thinner and lighter. Has anyone tried that? Could it be bad for GPS readings?

0 chunkywizard over 8 years ago

2 basic tips for OHR.

1. wear it further up your arm than you might think (pass the wrist bone)
2. wear it tighter than you think. Tighten it one notch past comfortable. You should be able to see the impression of the watch in the skin after you take it off.

Mine works fine when you obverse these 2 things. I don't wear it on the underside of my wrist, but that works for some

HTH

CW

0 vjnepse over 8 years ago

2 basic tips for OHR.

1. wear it further up your arm than you might think (pass the wrist bone)
2. wear it tighter than you think. Tighten it one notch past comfortable. You should be able to see the impression of the watch in the skin after you take it off.

Thank you for your tips! I went for my run before reading your reply, and wore it the normal way but a little tighter.

I wondered how it would work given the very cold weather (-9.5 C) during the workout, but the recordings look very good, a little bit noisier than with my Polar H7, but no big outliers and just as expected given the speed of the workout. Maybe I'll try wearing it on the underside of the wrist this night in order to get better readings during sleep, don't think I want to tighten it too much then!