Garmin Charge Hr3 Heart Rate.monitor Reading Issues

For those who train with heart charge per unit monitors ofttimes, you lot probably know all besides well know the tell-tale sign that your little device is lying to you about your heart rate.  It starts off adequately innocently with a gentle rise in heart rate (60 minutes).  But earlier you know information technology your 60 minutes is baking through the 150's, 160'due south, and right on through the 200bpm drinking glass ceiling.  Sometimes y'all might even achieve into the mid-200'due south.

Afterwards yous terminate your activity and get back to your computer, you'll probably see something similar this – a major HR fasten, followed past more normal Hour activity:

Frustrated, you poke at your HR monitor some, mayhap browse the Internets a scrap – but in full general forget nigh it, until it happens over again.

Well, let me help ya out and explain why and what information technology's doing.  And…I can probably even help ya fix information technology likewise!

Proper Wearing Methodology:
Permit's first start with how to put the strap on.  Every bit the most important affair to do is ensure you're wearing it correctly.  On the Garmin ANT+ straps, you lot'll want to ensure the Garmin logo is right-side up, and the electrode side of the strap is confronting your blank peel.  Which side is the electrode side?  Well, the side with the footling bands, not the shiny side.  I've circled these in the pictures below:

Garmin Classic Hr Strap:

Garmin Premium HR Strap (also called soft HR strap):

And for all you Polar folk, their coded Hr strap:

(Minor side note, as you may know, none of the Garmin ANT+ HR straps volition read Hour underwater more than an inch or ii abroad from the watch, equally I showed in my 310XT review while underwater.  However, the T31 coded straps from Polar will piece of work underwater with their respective Polar units – just ensure it'southward noted every bit T31 coded.  Also note that you cannot mix Polar HR straps/units with Garmin 60 minutes straps/units.)

Now, one last of import particular to note is that it goes Nether your shirt against your skin.  It should not be worn over your clothing.  Besides, the ANT+ folks annotation that from a placement standpoint "the strap is worn on the ribcage, beneath the pectoral muscles or breasts".

All proficient and you're notwithstanding having issues?  Onto the adjacent section we go…

The root of all issues:
And so bold that you've got it all correctly 'installed', let's look at what typically causes the spike in HR (if it's over 200bpm, it'due south probable not legit unless you're a seven year quondam).

ane) No wet, dry out air: During the winter months the air is oftentimes adequately cold, and adequately dry out.  This means that you're less probable to take moist peel (due to even just skin perspiration), and even less likely to be generating any sweat right from the start of the workout.  This in turns lowers your electrical conductivity ability from a readings perspective.  Which, ways yous oft become incorrect readings.  Only introducing any moisture at all will usually remedy the situation – at to the lowest degree until you begin sweating plenty to let that exercise its job.  We'll talk about moisture additives in the next section.

two) Constructed shirts (quick dry/tech shirts): While all of us love not being suffocated in cotton shirts, an unfortunate side effect is that those synthetic shirts (ordinarily called quick dry or 'tech' shirts) produce additional static electricity buildup that messes with the readings.  This is most common when your skin and air are both rather dry, and very little moisture is present.  In nigh all cases, simply applying moisture volition immediately resolve this issue.  You tin endeavor rubbing the strap or your shirt with an antistatic agent – the Emmet+ folks recommend simply a bounce dryer canvas, as that can aid in some cases.  Every bit a side note, some of the Polar straps actually accept an antistatic component built into them that helps to alleviate this problem to some degree.

three) Wind on the bicycle: I fairly common issue peculiarly in the jump/fall when yous're wearing simple bike jerseys but the wind and lukewarm air temperature keeps you relatively dry, is that when you get down hills fast, or simply the current of air hits the right manner, you'll get incorrect readings.  This is often caused when the wind funnels down the front of your bike bailiwick of jersey and either induces boosted static buildup as noted earlier, or introduces false readings through vibrations.  I tin't count the number of times where it seemed my HR was directly correlated to how fast I was descending – despite the fact that I was working less.  In this example, your best bet is either getting more than gel to increment conductivity, or simply twisting the HR strap around towards your side a bit – that commonly resolves is for me.  I don't recommend trying to lick the strap while descending at 40MPH…many things can go wrong there resulting in yous licking the pavement instead.

4) Electrical Interference (powerlines, railroad train lines, etc…): This isn't typically reported on the Garmin's, but more the case on the Polar's.  The Polar's use electromagnetic signals to ship the data from the coded strap to the picket, which can exist interfered with by loftier tension ability lines.  The Garmin's on the other paw use the ii.4Ghz frequency and don't take the electric line issues typically.

The fixes:
The adept news here is that in that location are a ton of easy fixes that you tin quickly try out to

i) Sweat: This first i is a bit obvious – just will explain why the problem ofttimes goes away after only a few minutes of activity.  In one case you outset sweating it introduces moisture which in plow improves conductivity.  This in turn makes the HR strap happy and yous get better readings.  Then basically…work harder. 🙂

2) Licking it: This is the simplest selection – and quite honestly what I practice 99% of the time.  I just give it a large lick.  By 'it', I mean the two sensor pads on the back of the strap.  This will usually 'tide me over' until I start sweating enough to go along everything all happy.  And don't worry folks – a HUGE LONG thread on BT the other twenty-four hours confirms that everyone else does it besides.  See, hither's my lick-job:

3) Heart Charge per unit Gel: If y'all suck at licking, and so you tin can instead utilise electrode gel to improve conductivity.  This is what'south typically used in medical situations such as an EKG where you're trying to get a amend reading/conductivity.  I actually apply the gel mostly during the winter because I've found that many times on easy runs I'll never actually produce a sweat due to the cold, and thus afterward a short bit of time my lick-job (as noted above), volition actually vaporize.  The HR gel is designed to last considerably longer on your skin/strap. This stuff is incredibly cheap, and the canteen will last you a long long time.  Here's my bottle I bought 2 winters ago:

You tin can pick it up normally as your local running shop, or online for most $five-10.  P.S., i little tip for those cold winter days (I know, information technology's getting warmer now though), is to stick it in a sunny window sill, that will brand it nice and warm when you put it against your skin:

iv) Changing the strap position: Depending on what may be causing your exact state of affairs, one option is to simply modify the position.  Endeavor sliding the strap to the correct, left, or upward/down.  Some folks even wear it on their back with dandy success.  In fact, when I'chiliad having a day with lots of issues descending on the bike and the Hour being erratic – I'll only slide the strap around my side a scrap, so the contact portions of the strap kinda straddle my breast and back.  Works perfectly!

5) Replacing the batteries: Finally, concluding but non least – sometimes it's just the batteries getting quondam.  You can pickup the simple coin replacement bombardment at virtually any drugstore, and even most grocery stores these days.  It but takes a few seconds to open upward the dorsum door of the strap and swap out the bombardment.  I commonly have at least i spare battery in my tri pocketbook at all times, just in case.

Wrap Up
Hopefully this volition help you get through those pesky heart rate reading errors and become on with your workout.  If you have any related tips to fixing foreign 60 minutes readings, feel free to leave them beneath in the comments!

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Source: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/04/troubleshooting-your-heart-rate.html