Those that exercise with a smart watch, I haz question

Mook

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So with it getting a bit warmer (every 5 days), I've been trying to get the bike out and do 10 or so miles, to get into the groove once it stays warm out. I've been successful so far, but I have some concern over what my watch gives me in terms of my heart rate. There are times I'll be cruising alone, feeling good, not winded and I'll check my watch and it will say my BPM is 170. That seems JUST a tad high, so I'll do the only finger check on the neck and my pulse is nowhere near that crazy.

Today, I did around 13 miles and once again, just cruising along, check my watch and I'm at 172. So I do a test and put my arm parallel with my chest and oddly enough (or maybe not), the counts to the 120/130s pretty quick and then stays there for a good while before randomly going back up to 150+. I could understand if I was doing a lot of elevation change and hard pedaling but most of the time, I'm flat, just peddling steadily.

Is this just a quirk of smartwatches? Does hand position change how the watch reads? Halp me to understand.
 

sktchy

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Riding a bike
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SMRTSS1

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What kind of smartwatch? I have an Apple Watch SE thatā€™s dead on with medical use heart rate equipment. As long as it doesnā€™t bounce around or move Iā€™ve only had very few issues with mine but that was due to a pending update that I hadnā€™t done yet that was for the fitness app.
 
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Mook

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Its one of Amazfit's watches. Generally, it works great, especially for tracking but the heart rate monitor really seems off. I mean if my supposed 170 can drop to 130 just by holding my arm differently.........

I'd be more worried if my pulse actually felt out of control, but it doesnt.
 

SpeedSpeak2me

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Depends on the tolerances and also how well it can see through your skin. My old Fitbit Charge 2 and 3 were not very good at HR. My Garmin Venu 2 is quite accurate. I compare it to a dedicated heart rate monitor and theyā€™re off by less than 1%. So HR chest strap shows 140bp/m, and the watch will show 139-141.

You can also just check your own pulse. Count how many pulses you feel over 10 seconds then multiply by 6.

Edit - I don't notice any difference in readings based on arm/hand position for cycling.
 

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I have the opposite problem with my fitbit, I somehow NEVER get my heart rate above 153, there's no way in hell it never goes above that when I'm playing basketball or bicycle commuting on my regular bike. If you're really worried about it I would get one of those monitors that go around your chest. I also have an amazfit watch that I bought to fill in when my fitbit was getting "fixed" and it definitely was wonky sometimes, so maybe just a better watch alone might help.
 

ZXMustang

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Mine apple watch the same. The higher it gets the less accurate it is. And if you are sweating and moving fast itā€™s worse. Best you can do is tighten it up really tight. Id be more concerned with your recovery rate too with your heart rate. And remember max HR is 220 minus your age rule of thumb.
 

Mook

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My heart rate is nowhere near 170 when the watch claims it is. I can literally feel it beating slower. And when I move the watch kind of even with my chest, the number drops rapidly and then holds around 130s until it randomly gets way up there again...rinse and repeat.

I'll wear it tighter when I go out again later this week.
 

SpeedSpeak2me

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Mook Mook if you're concerned about accurate HR tracking, see if you can get a heart rate monitor sensor strap that will pair with the watch, which will also record the values. It'll be much more accurate. My Garmin devices uses sensors with the common ANT+ (form of bluetooth). See what yours uses. For the $50 or so investment, it might be worth it.
 
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