I could've told you this back in April. Go to the gym, do some bench presses, while you're still lying down look at the heartrate on the Watch with your arms over your head: it'll be very low, say 50 bpm. Stand up and look at it again with your arm level to the ground: it'll read again at the correct rate, much higher, say 110 bpm. Very uneven readings all round from this first Gen device. Ho hum…
that isn't a surprise -- Apple said the same and it's why lifting isn't one of the cardio programs built in. these types of sensors aren't good for that use case.
I was one of the first to get an apple watch. I have a lot of tattoos and my wrists are basically covered, but I never say any errors in my heart rate. When I heard that it had trouble reading the heart rate through tattoos, I decided to do a test. I wore the apple watch and I also wore a bluetooth polar heart rate monitor, which connects to my TRUE fitness elliptical machine. I frequently checked my heart rate on the watch against my displayed heart rate and they never was more than a 2 bpm difference between the two, but they were mostly the same. The only time I have gotten a reading that is very low is when my watch was a little lose and off to the side. It has happened maybe 2 times and each time I simply move the watch to the correct position, put my wrist down and then back up and the heart rate is correct. I did this while working out. Lol, you do not need to stop your workout. I mean waiting an extra 15 seconds to get your heart rate is not going to change anything or affect you in any way. Just keep working out and try getting a reading again. Make sure your watch is on correctly and snug enough that it is not moving around.
I have nothing to compare it to and only check the bpm readings sporadically.
What I'm still mystified by is the 'movement' calibration (outer ring) in the activity app. Even on days when I've done more than doubled my 'exercise' goal (60 minutes+), the 'movement' has never made it one full completed ring. I'm not even sure what its supposed to be measuring. I had assumed that it was less strenuous movement, but I get a fair amount of that ...
I do enjoy the little incentive that the activity tracker provides. I think that they did a bang-up job with the graphics on that.
I have use a Heard rate monitor app. There are a few in the
AppStore. Every time I've compared the app and the
Watch, they are pretty close sometime even at the
Same bpm. I have also compare bpm with the machines
At the gym and they are pretty close to the watch too.
How accurate all these things are to measuring heart rates,
I have no idea, but everything I've compare bpm from the watch
With bpm to other more dedicated sensor, the bpm have been
Pretty close.
Doesn't people's bpm vary a lot? Specially when doing interval exercises?
I have no issues. I work out with it all the time. I have done the most accurate tests...counting my heartbeat and checking it with what the watch says. It's always almost exactly the same. Working out. Resting. I presume that there are other problems here. For instance, maybe when you punch...something different happens to the blood flow or the ability for the sensors to detect things accurately. Or if your hands are above your heart....as in the position someone using the arm pulls on an elliptical machine, that could affect blood flow.
Who knows. I do normal workouts like running and weight lifting and there's no issue.
I've now gone to the Apple Store twice to get my Watch Sport fixed (replaced) and will pick the 3rd one up tomorrow. Last week, with the second watch replacement, in front of the Apple person, the watch shower 107, then 87, then 97 - it kept changing within 1 second apart. And that was when it showed 74 1 min ago. So, I asked them to take it back and fix it, yet again. I'll update this post tomorrow.
I've been using my watch for my exercises and I've found it extremely inaccurate. Clearly I could literally feel my heart about to pop out of my chest but my watch says I'm at 68 bpm. Bullshiii
I have seen where the watch got erroneous reading especially with lots of movement activities. It never really bothered me since I understood how it worka and was not surprise. Since the watch is not measuring 100% of the time I would see one or two readings where it was high or low but the next reading it was fine.
Also I notice the watch has to be tight on your wrist otherwise it seems to get more bad readings.
I can also tell you since getting the AW I've filled all the rings most days and I do not exercise everyday but do walk all the time and do a fast walk in the morning with the dog and enable the exercise app.
I'm not sure why some people are having so many problems. It work as expected for me.
I have seen where the watch got erroneous reading especially with lots of movement activities. It never really bothered me since I understood how it worka and was not surprise. Since the watch is not measuring 100% of the time I would see one or two readings where it was high or low but the next reading it was fine.
Also I notice the watch has to be tight on your wrist otherwise it seems to get more bad readings.
I can also tell you since getting the AW I've filled all the rings most days and I do not exercise everyday but do walk all the time and do a fast walk in the morning with the dog and enable the exercise app.
I'm not sure why some people are having so many problems. It work as expected for me.
Well, once I sit up and level my wrist I wait up to 60s and the HR is still stuck in measuring. I have to pause and restart to get a reading
I have noticed this issue. The problem isn't the "accuracy" of the HR monitor because when it does get a proper reading it is very accurate. The problem is getting good readings throughout a workout such as lifting weights, P90x or boxing. And thus getting an accurate picture of your average HR over the course of a workout.
I was astonished that Apple would feature a boxer wearing the watch and touting the HR feature because we know it doesn't work well for this.
I have use a Heard rate monitor app. There are a few in the
AppStore. Every time I've compared the app and the
Watch, they are pretty close sometime even at the
Same bpm. I have also compare bpm with the machines
At the gym and they are pretty close to the watch too.
How accurate all these things are to measuring heart rates,
I have no idea, but everything I've compare bpm from the watch
With bpm to other more dedicated sensor, the bpm have been
Pretty close.
Doesn't people's bpm vary a lot? Specially when doing interval exercises?
Not so much really, basically you are pushing up to (or near) your max heart rate and then backing down (some) on exertion to to just below your anaerobic threshold to recover (rather than recovering at full aerobic levels) You HR in an interval cycle will vary between your Max and AT (anaerobic threshold) This kind of training greatly improves VO2max (efficiency in obtaining and using oxygen) and also improves "anaerobic toughness" (your tolerance, endurance and efficiency when operating above AT)
You need accurate readings for sure (and knowledge of where your personal levels are). That said this kind of training is very stressful (and painful) anyone should get a full medical workup (and possibly a Potassium scan and a "sports" cardio workup to determine true AT and MHR levels) before attempting this kind of intense training. I don't know if the watch is up to this kind of thing (my wife has one but I don't... yet:-) But anyone training at this kind of level could easily justify adding a bluetooth direct (chest strap) reading HRM (start ~$60) to their arsenal.
As I see it, besides just casual users (who can just track daily motion & sedentary time) the Apple Watch is an asset to both casual and serious athletes.
I have noticed this issue. The problem isn't the "accuracy" of the HR monitor because when it does get a proper reading it is very accurate. The problem is getting good readings throughout a workout such as lifting weights, P90x or boxing. And thus getting an accurate picture of your average HR over the course of a workout.
I was astonished that Apple would feature a boxer wearing the watch and touting the HR feature because we know it doesn't work well for this.
A couple of my friends lift (me not so much, just free weights in the winter to keep core strength and leg tone) and they tell me the trick is not wearing it low on your wrist. They push theirs up on their forearm above the wrist bone (the bump at the base of your thumb) This snugs up the watch without adjusting the band and also keeps the wrist mobility (without the band pinching)
I don't know what P90x is (I googled it but it took me to a "beach Body" website (that can't be it, can it?)) but if it's general high effort aerobics (all the rage these days) I don't see why the Apple Watch would be a problem (again with hand stress (push ups, squat thrusts, etc) I would wear it up above the wrist bone.
Doesn't matter how high up you wear an optical sensor, it doesn't function accurately if you are actively using your arms and hands. It's a shame because I really wanted to ditch the chest strap.
For low intensity workouts and health monitoring it seems to work ok.
Is it possible that the users with issues are not wearing the watch snugly enough to allow the watch to measure properly?
I do not box, but have no issues with activity monitoring as long as the band is fairly snug. Walking, running and such seem fine so far.
I can confirm I am wearing the watch correctly. In fact, I have tried it with a very snug fit AND just a slightly snug fit. I have also tried positioning the watch in various different places on my wrist. It just doesn't work sometimes. I will get done a set of leg exercises (i.e. squats) where I can FEEL my heart rate pounding and am short of breath, I'll sit down and keep my arm relatively still and it the watch will give a reading in the area of 70-80bpm. I'll take my own pulse via my neck and I'll be around 140bpm. I've done this many times.
I will say that I have had some success switching to the HR glance and having the watch display an accurate reading. This, again, is with my arm perfectly still and parallel to the ground.
We are not talking about readings during walking or running here. Although, do you actually know if it's giving an accurate reading the whole time? I ran a 5K race recently and viewed my HR data in the Health app after and noticed lots of erratic readings -- showing my HR bounce between max and a number more like my resting HR. I know for a fact I was near max the whole time because I ran at my peak performance and was on the verge of puking I was working so hard.
If the ring moves little then you might consider lowering your goal. If it never moves then you should take your watch to an Apple Store to get it checked out.
Oh, it moves alright, typical day gets ¾ around, but not as much correlation between passive and very active days as I would expect.
If I just narrow my activity down to one non-exercise thing you can see where the watch has its' flaws.
If I take a bumpy back road to work I burn about 3x more calories than if I take the smooth highway (back road 200-250 calories, highway 60-80)... Except I'm just driving.
No, it is not more strenuous to drive the back road, it's mostly straight, just like the highway.
The Watch has flaws.
But I didn't buy it for the health monitoring thankfully.
If I just narrow my activity down to one non-exercise thing you can see where the watch has its' flaws.
If I take a bumpy back road to work I burn about 3x more calories than if I take the smooth highway (back road 200-250 calories, highway 60-80)... Except I'm just driving.
No, it is not more strenuous to drive the back road, it's mostly straight, just like the highway.
The Watch has flaws.
But I didn't buy it for the health monitoring thankfully.
I happened across a friend last evening (on a ride) that does some boxing (and had an AppleWatch). He gave me some insight on a few things. One, when sparing no jewelry is worn (this includes -everything- even piercings) He added that if you found yourself in a Gym that did allow jewelry when sparing you should run, not walk, through the front door and never return. Second, he finds the AppleWatch very useful when training (rope work, weight machines and even using the speedbag) and also gave the same tip to wear it above your wrist. He was wearing in on the ride so I asked about the usefulness as a HRM while biking, he said his results have been pretty good and often forgoes the chest monitor, particularly on group trail rides (like the one we were on last night) Is it 100%, completely infallible? No, but really nothing is (including a chest strap.) He was very positive with his experience both with gym training and on the bike.
I typically forgo HRM on my group rides (because they aren't really serious training time and it's a PITA, but I always carry the iPhone, for GPS tracking and in case of emergencies) If an AppleWatch will allow me to get reasonable HRM data for virtually no effort I'm in. Even if it isn't 100% infallible it is still a valuable tool and is easily, it seems, the best "sports watch" available.
Well, once I sit up and level my wrist I wait up to 60s and the HR is still stuck in measuring. I have to pause and restart to get a reading
Not to say I have not seen it take a little time to get the first reading especially when you are using heart rate under glances. However, when you activite the exercize app it takes readying pretty quickly, and it too will loose the ability to read a pulse but I have seen it happen with exercise equipment which uses electrical pulse from the body to make a measurement. But this is why the Apple Watch is not a medical device and is not FDA approved. It is not intended to tell you about every heart beat your body makes. My personal experience is people have set too high of an expectation on this device. It is there to give you a rough estimate of what your heart is doing. Not to diagnose whether your heart is beating all the time and correctly. If you want that go spend the thousands of $ for and FDA approved medical device.
Like I have said I have reasonable expectation of what it is and how it should work and it does what I need it to do, at the end of the date it tells me my total activity and about the total Calories I burn and I have lost 20lbs since getting it so it doing what I wanted and help me know if my performance is improving.
Comments
that isn't a surprise -- Apple said the same and it's why lifting isn't one of the cardio programs built in. these types of sensors aren't good for that use case.
the AW is almost certainly better than anything you tried in the 80s. they do just work. they just don't work for any type of activity.
but your MO seems to be bagging on Apple stuff, so please, tell us it sucks.
I have use a Heard rate monitor app. There are a few in the
AppStore. Every time I've compared the app and the
Watch, they are pretty close sometime even at the
Same bpm. I have also compare bpm with the machines
At the gym and they are pretty close to the watch too.
How accurate all these things are to measuring heart rates,
I have no idea, but everything I've compare bpm from the watch
With bpm to other more dedicated sensor, the bpm have been
Pretty close.
Doesn't people's bpm vary a lot? Specially when doing interval exercises?
Who knows. I do normal workouts like running and weight lifting and there's no issue.
Also I notice the watch has to be tight on your wrist otherwise it seems to get more bad readings.
I can also tell you since getting the AW I've filled all the rings most days and I do not exercise everyday but do walk all the time and do a fast walk in the morning with the dog and enable the exercise app.
I'm not sure why some people are having so many problems. It work as expected for me.
I was astonished that Apple would feature a boxer wearing the watch and touting the HR feature because we know it doesn't work well for this.
I have use a Heard rate monitor app. There are a few in the
AppStore. Every time I've compared the app and the
Watch, they are pretty close sometime even at the
Same bpm. I have also compare bpm with the machines
At the gym and they are pretty close to the watch too.
How accurate all these things are to measuring heart rates,
I have no idea, but everything I've compare bpm from the watch
With bpm to other more dedicated sensor, the bpm have been
Pretty close.
Doesn't people's bpm vary a lot? Specially when doing interval exercises?
Not so much really, basically you are pushing up to (or near) your max heart rate and then backing down (some) on exertion to to just below your anaerobic threshold to recover (rather than recovering at full aerobic levels) You HR in an interval cycle will vary between your Max and AT (anaerobic threshold) This kind of training greatly improves VO2max (efficiency in obtaining and using oxygen) and also improves "anaerobic toughness" (your tolerance, endurance and efficiency when operating above AT)
You need accurate readings for sure (and knowledge of where your personal levels are). That said this kind of training is very stressful (and painful) anyone should get a full medical workup (and possibly a Potassium scan and a "sports" cardio workup to determine true AT and MHR levels) before attempting this kind of intense training. I don't know if the watch is up to this kind of thing (my wife has one but I don't... yet:-) But anyone training at this kind of level could easily justify adding a bluetooth direct (chest strap) reading HRM (start ~$60) to their arsenal.
As I see it, besides just casual users (who can just track daily motion & sedentary time) the Apple Watch is an asset to both casual and serious athletes.
I have noticed this issue. The problem isn't the "accuracy" of the HR monitor because when it does get a proper reading it is very accurate. The problem is getting good readings throughout a workout such as lifting weights, P90x or boxing. And thus getting an accurate picture of your average HR over the course of a workout.
I was astonished that Apple would feature a boxer wearing the watch and touting the HR feature because we know it doesn't work well for this.
A couple of my friends lift (me not so much, just free weights in the winter to keep core strength and leg tone) and they tell me the trick is not wearing it low on your wrist. They push theirs up on their forearm above the wrist bone (the bump at the base of your thumb) This snugs up the watch without adjusting the band and also keeps the wrist mobility (without the band pinching)
I don't know what P90x is (I googled it but it took me to a "beach Body" website (that can't be it, can it?)) but if it's general high effort aerobics (all the rage these days) I don't see why the Apple Watch would be a problem (again with hand stress (push ups, squat thrusts, etc) I would wear it up above the wrist bone.
I do not box, but have no issues with activity monitoring as long as the band is fairly snug. Walking, running and such seem fine so far.
For low intensity workouts and health monitoring it seems to work ok.
I can confirm I am wearing the watch correctly. In fact, I have tried it with a very snug fit AND just a slightly snug fit. I have also tried positioning the watch in various different places on my wrist. It just doesn't work sometimes. I will get done a set of leg exercises (i.e. squats) where I can FEEL my heart rate pounding and am short of breath, I'll sit down and keep my arm relatively still and it the watch will give a reading in the area of 70-80bpm. I'll take my own pulse via my neck and I'll be around 140bpm. I've done this many times.
I will say that I have had some success switching to the HR glance and having the watch display an accurate reading. This, again, is with my arm perfectly still and parallel to the ground.
We are not talking about readings during walking or running here. Although, do you actually know if it's giving an accurate reading the whole time? I ran a 5K race recently and viewed my HR data in the Health app after and noticed lots of erratic readings -- showing my HR bounce between max and a number more like my resting HR. I know for a fact I was near max the whole time because I ran at my peak performance and was on the verge of puking I was working so hard.
If the ring moves little then you might consider lowering your goal. If it never moves then you should take your watch to an Apple Store to get it checked out.
Oh, it moves alright, typical day gets ¾ around, but not as much correlation between passive and very active days as I would expect.
If I just narrow my activity down to one non-exercise thing you can see where the watch has its' flaws.
If I take a bumpy back road to work I burn about 3x more calories than if I take the smooth highway (back road 200-250 calories, highway 60-80)... Except I'm just driving.
No, it is not more strenuous to drive the back road, it's mostly straight, just like the highway.
The Watch has flaws.
But I didn't buy it for the health monitoring thankfully.
If I just narrow my activity down to one non-exercise thing you can see where the watch has its' flaws.
If I take a bumpy back road to work I burn about 3x more calories than if I take the smooth highway (back road 200-250 calories, highway 60-80)... Except I'm just driving.
No, it is not more strenuous to drive the back road, it's mostly straight, just like the highway.
The Watch has flaws.
But I didn't buy it for the health monitoring thankfully.
I happened across a friend last evening (on a ride) that does some boxing (and had an AppleWatch). He gave me some insight on a few things. One, when sparing no jewelry is worn (this includes -everything- even piercings) He added that if you found yourself in a Gym that did allow jewelry when sparing you should run, not walk, through the front door and never return. Second, he finds the AppleWatch very useful when training (rope work, weight machines and even using the speedbag) and also gave the same tip to wear it above your wrist. He was wearing in on the ride so I asked about the usefulness as a HRM while biking, he said his results have been pretty good and often forgoes the chest monitor, particularly on group trail rides (like the one we were on last night) Is it 100%, completely infallible? No, but really nothing is (including a chest strap.) He was very positive with his experience both with gym training and on the bike.
I typically forgo HRM on my group rides (because they aren't really serious training time and it's a PITA, but I always carry the iPhone, for GPS tracking and in case of emergencies) If an AppleWatch will allow me to get reasonable HRM data for virtually no effort I'm in. Even if it isn't 100% infallible it is still a valuable tool and is easily, it seems, the best "sports watch" available.
Well, once I sit up and level my wrist I wait up to 60s and the HR is still stuck in measuring. I have to pause and restart to get a reading
Not to say I have not seen it take a little time to get the first reading especially when you are using heart rate under glances. However, when you activite the exercize app it takes readying pretty quickly, and it too will loose the ability to read a pulse but I have seen it happen with exercise equipment which uses electrical pulse from the body to make a measurement. But this is why the Apple Watch is not a medical device and is not FDA approved. It is not intended to tell you about every heart beat your body makes. My personal experience is people have set too high of an expectation on this device. It is there to give you a rough estimate of what your heart is doing. Not to diagnose whether your heart is beating all the time and correctly. If you want that go spend the thousands of $ for and FDA approved medical device.
Like I have said I have reasonable expectation of what it is and how it should work and it does what I need it to do, at the end of the date it tells me my total activity and about the total Calories I burn and I have lost 20lbs since getting it so it doing what I wanted and help me know if my performance is improving.
You sound like a very reasonable person...