iPod nano 6G-1.2; Nike+ kit; Polar HR strap

[ftaok]

To anyone interested,

Introduction

I recently bought the Nike+ Sport kit (footpod and receiver) and a Polar Wearlink+ (Nike+ compatible) for use with my nano 6G. There seems to be a dearth of information on the internet, so I figured I'd just bite the bullet and buy it.

I had been using the nano without the Nike+ Sport kit for recording my pedometer steps and treadmill runs. I uploaded my stats to both the Nike+Running and Nike+Active websites. Then I suffered an injury to my leg that prevents me to run very much, so I started using the elliptical at the gym. The problem I had was that the iPod doesn't really track elliptical workouts effectively.

So I bought the Nike+ kit and the Polar strap.

Review

When you first plug in the Nike+ receiver, you get a few new menu items. In the settings screen for "Fitness", there's a new selection that allows you to set up the footpod, a Nike remote, or the HR strap. It's pretty easy to do.

When you're ready to do a workout, you get a new selection for a dedicated HR workout. Inexplicably, you have to select "Run" and then the last selection is "Heart Rate". Once you select it, you choose what kind of activity you'll be doing. You can select aerobics, basketball, bicycling, circuit training, elliptical, golf, hiking, jogging, racquet sports, rowing, running, skiing, soccer, stepper, walking, yoga, and other. Select your activity and you're ready to go.

After you're finished the workout, you can go to sync your activity to the Nike website(s). This is where I've run into some trouble. I figured that the HR workout would load into the Nike+ Active website. I haven't been able to do that. These workouts do, however, sync to the Nike+Running website. You get a nice graph of your workout and also a heart rate along with your average HR. You can also see your calories burned.

I have a support ticket in the works with Nike in regards to the Nike+Active site. I hope to be able to get these HR workouts onto the Active website. I need the extra Nike Fuel.

I've attached some pictures showing all of the stuff explained above. I hope this helps answer some questions. I know this would have been helpful for me.

FT's Nike+ iPod album - Photobucket (http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/ftaok/Nike%20plus%20iPod%20photos/)

UPDATE - I've since been able to upload the heartrate workouts into the Nike+ Active website. Looks like HR workouts give you 1 Nike Fuel point for every calorie burned.

[foosball436]

Thank you for the in-depth write up and pictures. They were really helpful. I just want to ask a couple more questions with regards to the functionality during your workout.

1. On my older ipod nano, if you pressed the center button it would read back the time remaining and pace. Is there something you can tap on the 6th gen ipod screen that will read back the pace and time? If so, will it also read your current heart rate, or any heart rate information for that matter?

2. Can you see your current heart rate on the screen during the exercise?

My training is heavily based off my heart rate, so I'm just trying to get a feel for how helpful this setup is going to be for me.

Thanks!


To anyone interested,

Introduction

I recently bought the Nike+ Sport kit (footpod and receiver) and a Polar Wearlink+ (Nike+ compatible) for use with my nano 6G. There seems to be a dearth of information on the internet, so I figured I'd just bite the bullet and buy it.

I had been using the nano without the Nike+ Sport kit for recording my pedometer steps and treadmill runs. I uploaded my stats to both the Nike+Running and Nike+Active websites. Then I suffered an injury to my leg that prevents me to run very much, so I started using the elliptical at the gym. The problem I had was that the iPod doesn't really track elliptical workouts effectively.

So I bought the Nike+ kit and the Polar strap.

Review

When you first plug in the Nike+ receiver, you get a few new menu items. In the settings screen for "Fitness", there's a new selection that allows you to set up the footpod, a Nike remote, or the HR strap. It's pretty easy to do.

When you're ready to do a workout, you get a new selection for a dedicated HR workout. Inexplicably, you have to select "Run" and then the last selection is "Heart Rate". Once you select it, you choose what kind of activity you'll be doing. You can select aerobics, basketball, bicycling, circuit training, elliptical, golf, hiking, jogging, racquet sports, rowing, running, skiing, soccer, stepper, walking, yoga, and other. Select your activity and you're ready to go.

After you're finished the workout, you can go to sync your activity to the Nike website(s). This is where I've run into some trouble. I figured that the HR workout would load into the Nike+ Active website. I haven't been able to do that. These workouts do, however, sync to the Nike+Running website. You get a nice graph of your workout and also a heart rate along with your average HR. You can also see your calories burned.

I have a support ticket in the works with Nike in regards to the Nike+Active site. I hope to be able to get these HR workouts onto the Active website. I need the extra Nike Fuel.

I've attached some pictures showing all of the stuff explained above. I hope this helps answer some questions. I know this would have been helpful for me.

FT's Nike+ iPod album - Photobucket (http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/ftaok/Nike%20plus%20iPod%20photos/)

UPDATE - I've since been able to upload the heartrate workouts into the Nike+ Active website. Looks like HR workouts give you 1 Nike Fuel point for every calorie burned.

[ftaok]

Thank you for the in-depth write up and pictures. They were really helpful. I just want to ask a couple more questions with regards to the functionality during your workout.

1. On my older ipod nano, if you pressed the center button it would read back the time remaining and pace. Is there something you can tap on the 6th gen ipod screen that will read back the pace and time? If so, will it also read your current heart rate, or any heart rate information for that matter?

2. Can you see your current heart rate on the screen during the exercise?

My training is heavily based off my heart rate, so I'm just trying to get a feel for how helpful this setup is going to be for me.

Thanks!On the 6G, if you single-click the sleep button, it will tell you the time and pace. I haven't run with the HR strap yet (still injured), so I can't say if it'll tell you the HR in addition to the time and pace.

As for the second question, I believe if you run with the HR strap, it does show your HR (again, I haven't tested this). I have, however, done a few HR-only workouts and the screen does show the HR. Please note that the nano's screen goes to sleep after about 30 seconds. You use the sleep button to wake the screen, so it's not as simple as just glancing at the nano.

One disappointing thing is that while you can set your HR-only workouts for a particular zone, the nano doesn't audibly warn you if you're above or below. You have to be looking at the screen (there's an arrow telling you if you need to boost up or cool down), but then the screen turns off.

[ftaok]

This is mainly for foosball ...

So I was able to start running again, and have had two opportunities to do so. The first time, I ran on an indoor track, but I didn't have the footpod with me. I did have the Nike+ receiver and the Polar HR strap.

I started a Basic Workout on the nano and ran for 0.5 miles ... just to test my hamstring. Well, the run recorded, but the HR info didn't. Not sure why, since I had done an elliptical workout earlier that day with the HR strap.

A few days later, I brought my footpod with me to the gym and ran a mile on the track. Again, just a Basic Workout. When I started the workout, it asks for the HR zones (I have that option turned on) and away it went. The nano records all of the running data along with the HR data simultaneously. When you click the sleep button, it gives you the elapsed time, distance, pace, and current HR.

As far as using this as a HR training device, it's a mixed bag. As I mentioned earlier, even with the HR zone option turned on, there's no audible signal to warn you that you're above or below HR Zone. So you need to look at the screen, but that turns off after 30 seconds, so you constantly have to wake the screen up. Hopefully, a future firmware update can add this.

[jenrique4]

Hi,

I'm interesting in buying the HR Polar strap. I use elliptical to lose weight, for me at the moment calorie counting is important.

I've read in some reviews at nike site that nike+ app only use weight to calculate calories, even if you use the HR Polar. Could you please confirm this point? Does nike+ use HR for calculate calories? or just the weight? did you test this?

I own the nano and a Polar F6. Maybe I have to continue with both.

Thank you very much

[ftaok]

Hi,

I'm interesting in buying the HR Polar strap. I use elliptical to lose weight, for me at the moment calorie counting is important.

I've read in some reviews at nike site that nike+ app only use weight to calculate calories, even if you use the HR Polar. Could you please confirm this point? Does nike+ use HR for calculate calories? or just the weight? did you test this?

I own the nano and a Polar F6. Maybe I have to continue with both.

Thank you very muchI believe that Nike+ uses weight, age, and gender to determine calories burned during a HR workout. It takes your average heart rate and the workout duration and plugs it into this formula.

Equations for Determination of Calorie Burn if VO2max is Unknown

Male: ((-55.0969 + (0.6309 x HR) + (0.1988 x W) + (0.2017 x A))/4.184) x 60 x T
Female: ((-20.4022 + (0.4472 x HR) - (0.1263 x W) + (0.074 x A))/4.184) x 60 x T
where

HR = Heart rate (in beats/minute)
W = Weight (in kilograms)
A = Age (in years)
T = Exercise duration time (in hours)

HR Calorie Formulas (http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx)

I've found that the calories reported on Nike+ is much higher than the calories shown on the elliptical ... which seems right since the elliptical doesn't ask for gender. NOTE - I am male. I guess females would report lower on Nike+ than on the elliptical computer.

I don't think there's any way to use VO2Max with Nike+. But it's minor, since most folks don't know their VO2Max.

Also, the nano doesn't show the calories burned during a HR workout. You have to upload to Nike+Running or Nike+Active to get your numbers.

Lastly, when you do a run with the HR strap, I don't believe that the HR is used for the calorie calc. If calories is more important for you than your running splits and distances, you could choose to do a HR workout and tag it as "Running" to get a more accurate calorie count. But you'll lose all of the mileage and splits.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

ft