Heart Rate Zone Training - Android

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hal1964
hal1964 Posts: 82 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello...I am looking for an android app that I can use for heart rate zone training. I have a Garmin Vivosmart HR. I know there are some apps that will work but require me to wear a chest strap which I would rather not do. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,670 Member
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    Just train. The heart rate zone training is actually pretty useless. Go moderately hard for as long as you can. Oh and heart rate zone doesnt' work for anaerobic training.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Just train. The heart rate zone training is actually pretty useless. Go moderately hard for as long as you can. Oh and heart rate zone doesnt' work for anaerobic training.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    HR zone training is not useless. For fat burning, maybe. It is a very useful for improving conditioning.
  • hal1964
    hal1964 Posts: 82 Member
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    Thanks for your replies.

    So then how do I know what zone(s) I am in? It's not so much for training as it is for tracking purposes. If that makes any sense?
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    hal1964 wrote: »
    Thanks for your replies.

    So then how do I know what zone(s) I am in? It's not so much for training as it is for tracking purposes. If that makes any sense?

    If you are really interested in heart rate training, get a chest strap. You'll remember FitBit is getting sued because their heart rate measurements on the wrist are not accurate at all times. All things that use heart rate on the wrist tend to be inaccurate. Don't worry about your zone. I'd focus more on what your average heart rate over a particular activity was and then compare over time doing that same activity. That will allow you to see progress, either that you can sustain a faster pace at the same heart rate or the same activity will now be at a lower average heart rate. Zones are pretty useless.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    hal1964 wrote: »
    Thanks for your replies.

    So then how do I know what zone(s) I am in? It's not so much for training as it is for tracking purposes. If that makes any sense?

    I'd agree with uptgrrad that it's not really worth doing unless you have sports performance objectives.

    If you do need to use zone training then knowing what sort you do would be useful as you'd benefit from a higher end tool.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    hal1964 wrote: »
    Thanks for your replies.

    So then how do I know what zone(s) I am in? It's not so much for training as it is for tracking purposes. If that makes any sense?

    I'd agree with uptgrrad that it's not really worth doing unless you have sports performance objectives.

    If you do need to use zone training then knowing what sort you do would be useful as you'd benefit from a higher end tool.

    I also agree. OP's goals were unclear when I posted. I did want to clarify that there are times when it can be useful.
  • hal1964
    hal1964 Posts: 82 Member
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    My goal is to increase VO2 Max and to help increase my performance playing ice hockey.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,390 Member
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    OP, what exactly are you looking for from the app? To define your training zones, guide them? Being the device shows the HR, what do you want from the app?
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited March 2016
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    hal1964 wrote: »
    My goal is to increase VO2 Max and to help increase my performance playing ice hockey.

    OK, that helps.

    So gains to VO2Max mainly come from high intensity intervals work, rather than zone training. That said, if you do want to use zone training for it then it might be worth getting lab tested for VO2Max and lactate threshold. Once you know those then you can base your zones around actuals rather than pretty crude theoretical models.

    What I would say is that if you're wanting to use HR for that, then there are few reliable devices that'll help you. Optical HR in general is pretty weak at the high HRs that you'll need to be working at. Even electrical monitoring, in consumer devices, isn't that great.

    Personally, if I'm doing sprint intervals, I don't have bandwidth during my 20 second maximal efforts to look at my HR. Doing that would mean easing back on the effort. If I think I'm about to die, then I'm in the right effort range.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    edited March 2016
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Just train. The heart rate zone training is actually pretty useless. Go moderately hard for as long as you can. Oh and heart rate zone doesnt' work for anaerobic training.

    Now that's friggin' funny. At least to those of us who train, live, perform, and even compete all based on heart rate (and power)...

    http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/joe-friel-s-quick-guide-to-setting-zones

    OP - here are some.

    I like the Wahoo Fitness App (but I do wear a strap). Wahoo Fitness is compatible with your Garmin, so if you carry your Android with you - you'll be golden with it.

    This is the one I use...

    25158781189_37e5c11320_o.jpg

    I also have an account at Training Peaks, so when finished with every workout - I upload the file. But you can also analyze your workout right on the Wahoo App on the phone itself. I just use Training Peaks as my preferred data collection and training plan site for all of my workouts.

    The files tell you how much time you spent in the targeted zones (heart rate, power zone), etc.. - in this workout on Thursday I was to do 4 x 8 minute Zone 4 intervals with 2 minutes rest between...

    25158907659_a551cab6f2_o.jpgIntervals 4 x 8 Zone 4

    25433688141_8457857a0f_o.jpgHR Zones

    Due to heart rate lag in intervals, I will target the power (watts) in the intervals as it usually takes about a full 2 minutes for the HR to catch up to the proper target zone in an 8 minute Zone 4 interval as was done in the above example workout. No need to show you the separate power graph/chart as you are asking about HR and your Garmin wrist device. It's the pink line in the picture above.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    hal1964 wrote: »
    My goal is to increase VO2 Max and to help increase my performance playing ice hockey.

    You can probably rely on perceived effort to determine which zone you're in (unless you want to pay for testing - if you're a serious athlete it's a good investment).

    While a good aerobic base is useful for hockey typically shifts are relatively short and the intensity is high. I'm not a hockey coach but my intuition suggests plyometics for explosive speed and interval training.
  • hal1964
    hal1964 Posts: 82 Member
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    robertw486 wrote: »
    OP, what exactly are you looking for from the app? To define your training zones, guide them? Being the device shows the HR, what do you want from the app?

    I am looking for something to set my zones, have training programs in them and to track any improvement
  • hal1964
    hal1964 Posts: 82 Member
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    SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Just train. The heart rate zone training is actually pretty useless. Go moderately hard for as long as you can. Oh and heart rate zone doesnt' work for anaerobic training.

    Now that's friggin' funny. At least to those of us who train, live, perform, and even compete all based on heart rate (and power)...

    http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/joe-friel-s-quick-guide-to-setting-zones

    OP - here are some.

    I like the Wahoo Fitness App (but I do wear a strap). Wahoo Fitness is compatible with your Garmin, so if you carry your Android with you - you'll be golden with it.

    This is the one I use...

    25158781189_37e5c11320_o.jpg

    I also have an account at Training Peaks, so when finished with every workout - I upload the file. But you can also analyze your workout right on the Wahoo App on the phone itself. I just use Training Peaks as my preferred data collection and training plan site for all of my workouts.

    The files tell you how much time you spent in the targeted zones (heart rate, power zone), etc.. - in this workout on Thursday I was to do 4 x 8 minute Zone 4 intervals with 2 minutes rest between...

    25158907659_a551cab6f2_o.jpgIntervals 4 x 8 Zone 4

    25433688141_8457857a0f_o.jpgHR Zones

    Due to heart rate lag in intervals, I will target the power (watts) in the intervals as it usually takes about a full 2 minutes for the HR to catch up to the proper target zone in an 8 minute Zone 4 interval as was done in the above example workout. No need to show you the separate power graph/chart as you are asking about HR and your Garmin wrist device. It's the pink line in the picture above.


    I'll give this one a try! Thanks to all the responses!

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