Problems with HR during elliptical workout--what can I do?

[opill]

1. The watch is on tight.
2. The watch is set to elliptical workout.
3. During my 50 minute session there were 7-8 minutes throughout where my heart rate was in the 140s--I could feel it and the elliptical would say so as well--but AW would say it was in the 70s or that it could not get my HR at all.
4. My hands and body movement were consistent the entire workout.

How can the AW be accurate one moment and for a long time and then without any body changes stop being accurate?

Is there something I can do? Is this something I should take up with Apple? Do you think there is a problem with my specific watch? When I do Crossfit the AW is terrible at accuracy, but I thought it would be good given the consistency of the elliptical machine.

 

[leventozler]

1. The watch is on tight.
2. The watch is set to elliptical workout.
3. During my 50 minute session there were 7-8 minutes throughout where my heart rate was in the 140s--I could feel it and the elliptical would say so as well--but AW would say it was in the 70s or that it could not get my HR at all.
4. My hands and body movement were consistent the entire workout.

How can the AW be accurate one moment and for a long time and then without any body changes stop being accurate?

Is there something I can do? Is this something I should take up with Apple? Do you think there is a problem with my specific watch? When I do Crossfit the AW is terrible at accuracy, but I thought it would be good given the consistency of the elliptical machine.

Same here, but bluetooth chest sensor works great with AW.

 

[exxxviii]

Could be the watch. It seems like the posts related to HR are binary-- either it is awesome and folks love it (like me), or there are others that struggle to get a reliable HR reading during a workout. If not the specific watch, then I suspect that there are probably some body physiology issues that could also be at play.

 

[BlueMoon63]

1. The watch is on tight.
2. The watch is set to elliptical workout.
3. During my 50 minute session there were 7-8 minutes throughout where my heart rate was in the 140s--I could feel it and the elliptical would say so as well--but AW would say it was in the 70s or that it could not get my HR at all.
4. My hands and body movement were consistent the entire workout.

How can the AW be accurate one moment and for a long time and then without any body changes stop being accurate?

Is there something I can do? Is this something I should take up with Apple? Do you think there is a problem with my specific watch? When I do Crossfit the AW is terrible at accuracy, but I thought it would be good given the consistency of the elliptical machine.

I wonder if the problem is where the watch is on your wrist? If you grab the handles for the elliptical with palms facing in, you may need the watch tighter. If you have an elliptical that you grab with palms down, you may need to move the watch further up the arm because of bent wrists? Bent wrists may block blood flow and cause bad readings? Seen it happen.

The HR has worked great for me but as others have said, maybe I am lucky? I also clean my watch too and bottom daily.

 

[nicho]

How can the AW be accurate one moment and for a long time and then without any body changes stop being accurate?

your heart rate is in the 140s - aren't you sweating by this point?

 

[Newtons Apple]

After many times on experimenting, I found that you need to move your watch up your arm about 1" higher that you would normally wear it and tighten the band just a little more than average and it never misses the HR. My commercial elliptical and AW agree perfectly on HR.

 

[parseckadet]

After many times on experimenting, I found that you need to move your watch up your arm about 1" higher that you would normally wear it and tighten the band just a little more than average and it never misses the HR. My commercial elliptical and AW agree perfectly on HR.

This. It needs to be above your wrist bone and it needs to be tight enough that it maintains contact with your skin and stays put.

 

[opill]

This. It needs to be above your wrist bone and it needs to be tight enough that it maintains contact with your skin and stays put.

It is above wrist bone and it is as tight as possible. It does not move at all. Most of the time I don't even grip the handles on the machine, so there is no bending of the wrist at all.

For 16 or more minutes the HR seems accurate measuring in the 140s then without any changes in what I am doing (same amount of sweat, identical movement) it will lose the HR or report it as being very low (in the 70s). This will happen for several minutes. Then--again with no apparent changes--it will work again for 10-15 minutes, then back to not working.

My question is do I just tell Apple and expect them to replace it by showing them the data from the Health App or is there some hardware thing I can try that might actually solve this problem? I am not going to wear the watch half way up my arm to get it to work. I bought it for a fitness watch. Seems like you have to click your heels together and keep your fingers crossed to get it to work.

 

[fanta88]

I have a SS and had a Sport before that. Both were/are unreliable taking HR on the elliptical. It doesn't matter where I wear the watch or how tight (or loose) the band is.

Neither one had a problem taking readings while running, however.

 

[opill]

I have a SS and had a Sport before that. Both were/are unreliable taking HR on the elliptical. It doesn't matter where I wear the watch or how tight (or loose) the band is.

Neither one had a problem taking readings while running, however.

I also have the SS with sport band. I agree, I have run with it many times and it works just fine. For Crossfit it blows. I was expecting to have similar results to running with it while using it with the elliptical.

 

[parseckadet]

It is above wrist bone and it is as tight as possible. It does not move at all. Most of the time I don't even grip the handles on the machine, so there is no bending of the wrist at all.

For 16 or more minutes the HR seems accurate measuring in the 140s then without any changes in what I am doing (same amount of sweat, identical movement) it will lose the HR or report it as being very low (in the 70s). This will happen for several minutes. Then--again with no apparent changes--it will work again for 10-15 minutes, then back to not working.

My question is do I just tell Apple and expect them to replace it by showing them the data from the Health App or is there some hardware thing I can try that might actually solve this problem? I am not going to wear the watch half way up my arm to get it to work. I bought it for a fitness watch. Seems like you have to click your heels together and keep your fingers crossed to get it to work.

Given everything you've said so far, sounds like you need to exchange it. I've never seen that behavior, and I would be pretty upset if I did. I've come to depend on the HR monitor since I do heart rate based interval training on the elliptical. It tells me when I need to step it up and when I need to back off. I would be annoyed too if mine did what yours is doing.

 

[Newtons Apple]

It is above wrist bone and it is as tight as possible. It does not move at all. Most of the time I don't even grip the handles on the machine, so there is no bending of the wrist at all.

For 16 or more minutes the HR seems accurate measuring in the 140s then without any changes in what I am doing (same amount of sweat, identical movement) it will lose the HR or report it as being very low (in the 70s). This will happen for several minutes. Then--again with no apparent changes--it will work again for 10-15 minutes, then back to not working.

My question is do I just tell Apple and expect them to replace it by showing them the data from the Health App or is there some hardware thing I can try that might actually solve this problem? I am not going to wear the watch half way up my arm to get it to work. I bought it for a fitness watch. Seems like you have to click your heels together and keep your fingers crossed to get it to work.

Needs to be a good inch above the wrist bone and just a little tighter than you normally wear it. If that does not work, get Apple to replace it.

 

[BlueMoon63]

Needs to be a good inch above the wrist bone and just a little tighter than you normally wear it. If that does not work, get Apple to replace it.

Correct, at least a half inch above the wrist bone and one notch tighter than normal wear for me. I am surprised at how well the heart rate tracking works but when I first wore it right next to the wrist bone, it was a little off at times and stuck at "measuring"... Even when I golf, it works flawlessly and doesn't move no matter how much I sweat when worn one notch tighter.