Heartt Rate DURING Exercise

[dmccombs]

Part of the reason I bought the Apple watch is so I could know what my heart rate is doing when I exercise.

I did a couple of bike rides specifically to check this, and each time, the iPhone health app shows data coming in right up until I start riding, then there is a 2 hour gap in data (the time that I rode), then the data resumes.

When I am not exercising, the heart rate monitor passes heart rate info to the Heath app on the iPhone every 5 minutes, but when I exercise, the info stops coming and doesn't resume until you stop exercising.

Is anyone else seeing this problem? Is the a bug or did Apple do this intentionally? IF they did this intentionally, WTF?

 

[Julien]

Be sure Power Savings Mode is OFF in the Watch app under Workout.

 

[dmccombs]

I just double checked and the Power Savings mode is OFF.

I did just find the following buried on the apple site.

Learn how Apple Watch measures your heart rate, and get tips for a more accurate reading.

You can check your heart rate any time using the Heart Rate Glance. And when you're using the Workout app, Apple Watch measures your heart rate continuously during the workout. This information, as well as other data it collects, helps Apple Watch estimate how many calories you’ve burned. In addition, Apple Watch attempts to measure your heart rate every 10 minutes, but won't record it when you're in motion or your arm is moving. Apple Watch stores all your heart rate measurements in the Health app.​

It looks like we need to turn on the Workout App and record the workout. I did a short test walking, and it looks like it made an entry in the health app on the iPhone every 5 seconds. I will test this approach during my bike ride today.

 

[Julien]

...It looks like we need to turn on the Workout App and record the workout....

Yes, I just assumed you were using it.

 

[BarracksSi]

Yup. It's not going to fire up those green LEDs for constant HR readings unless you tell it to do so.

Good thing the LEDs aren't always on by default, too, or else the battery life would be six or seven hours.

 

[dmccombs]

Yup. It's not going to fire up those green LEDs for constant HR readings unless you tell it to do so.

Good thing the LEDs aren't always on by default, too, or else the battery life would be six or seven hours.

Agreed, but if you don't fire up the Workout App wanting to collect heart data continuously, the Watch should continue to collect heart rate info every 5 minutes as usual. Why does it just turn off heart rate data collect because you move more?

Anyway... I did a bike ride today with the Workout App open and it collected data pretty often, although it wasn't 100% predictable. Sometimes it collect data 5 times a minute, and other times there were 2-3 minute gaps. I keep the band pretty snug, but I refuse to put the band into a death grip on my hand.

Overall this solution will suffice, but its a kludgy setup.

 

[BarracksSi]

Overall this solution will suffice, but its a kludgy setup.

Yup. My Garmin's HR strap was quick and reliable (at least until the battery got low; I'm pretty sure the 240 bpm readings weren't true), and I'd consider a BT strap to connect to the AW.

But, I haven't ridden my bike in months, so I haven't yet done a direct comparison for myself.