Choosing a smart watch

OK Thank you

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The best/economical option would be to get a Polar H10 strap, which can be used with the Polar Flow app and HRV4Training to measure HRV. The camera app is okay, but unless you lay absolutely still, you can get artefacts.

Sleep duration and perceived quality (how you felt after waking up) can be tracked in HRV4Training. The data that so-called smart watches give about deep sleep, light sleep, etc., is just a guess based on breathing. Brainwaves need to be measured to determine the different stages of sleep. How much sleep you got and how you felt is enough.

You can do the Polar ā€œFitness testā€, that estimates your VO2max from a 5-min test at rest. It gives a different number, for me, compared to Garmin, but is at least consistent when comparing the trend of both.

As you mention HRV in particular, measuring it effectively, and according to a well known protocol, will give the best resultā€¦ how have you recovered from the stress of yesterday, which is why itā€™s done first thing in the morning.

My 2c worth.

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Hi Gerald,
You are always kind!
Now I am trying to create a custom graph with the heart data in the Fitness section, connecting HRV4Training via dropbox since the only alternative is to import this heart data in intervals.
Not easy and convenient at all

Gerald,
can you tell me if it is possible to create a custom graph, where I can manually enter the data each time? Or are we forced to acquire the data via CSV?
ā€¦after going crazy with the body composition csv some time ago, remember, I decided to make the graph and insert them manually once a week

The data from the CSV is populated in the wellness fields. In my setup, I have the following:

  • Green = CSV file update
  • Yellow = manual update
  • Blue = auto fills if I donā€™t add anything. Occasionally have to manually update.
  • Red = updated from the MatLab script, after reading the green data.
  • Grey = auto updates from the Garmin fit file (if an activity is recorded).
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Thanks Gerald,
Iā€™m starting to understand.

So, if I create the custom data that interests me in the Wellness tab that I will fill in manually each time, and I also add the ones that synchronize automatically from the recording apps, everything works.
Then I can go and compose some graphs in the Fitness section, right?

Yes, that would be correct.

There are existing charts created for some of the more common metrics, eg. HRV., so you donā€™t have to start from beginning.

I have seen the multiple types of graphs already made.

Now I have created in the wellness window, the data that interests me, I have filled them with the values, but it happens that it also shows them in the calendar. How can I exclude that they are displayed in the calendar, and displayed only on the graph?

now I understand, you create the fields and they are visible on the graph, and if you flag them they are also visible on the calendarā€¦
Thanks Gerald :heart_eyes:

Thatā€™s simply the Astrand formula. VO2max = 15.3 x (HRmax/HRrest).
All Polar flow is doing is measuring your HRrest from those 5 min and then apply the formula with the HRmax that it has.

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Based on the days Iā€™ve done the test, my resting HR was low 40s. It would have to have been 48-53 to get to the values using the formula.

Luckily I donā€™t attach any value to it.

ā€œI use Garmin because I had an early Garmin edge and stuck with it from there. I have to say I donā€™t love the company or the ecosystem or the way they work - I find the deviceā€™s expensive and unintuitive and have never had a good experience with customer support either.ā€

Agreed. So true :point_up: