HRM speed & distance accurancy VS. Treadmill accuracy

pktorm
pktorm Posts: 24 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I bought a Forerunning 620 Garmin and was excited to try it out today.

According to the HRM, I ran 4.04 miles with an average speed of 5.4.

The treadmill indicated that I ran an average speed of about 5.2 (this doesn't bother me) but said I ran 3.2 miles.

Are HRM more or less accurate than treadmills in general?

BTW, the heart rate monitor and the calories burnt were dead on.

Replies

  • musetle
    musetle Posts: 70
    Ahh distance wise? I would say the treadmill is accurate. It's a machine that knows exactly what speed you're running at and how long for. I can imagine the inaccuracy from your Garmin was due to the run being on the treadmill, rather than outside. If you're running in a steady place, how would it know your distance? Maybe I just don't understand how they work, but that's my opinion.
  • pktorm
    pktorm Posts: 24 Member
    thanks for the reply, you might be right on that, but I think that distance could be recorded by cadence. I guess I should look at the users manual because when you're outside it uses GPS for the distance
  • pktorm
    pktorm Posts: 24 Member
    found it!

    The Forerunner 620 and 220 has an on-board accelerometer that is pre-calibrated with a table of default values based on the averages of many runners. The watch refines this calibration every time you use the watch outdoors with GPS. In addition to built in table, the watch will also adapt to your specific running style to provide the best possible speed and distance when GPS is unavailable.

    Therefore, the more frequently you perform an activity with a GPS signal, the speed and distance you receive will be more accurate when doing an activity indoors or have lost the GPS signal.

    As a result of the individual calibration process, you can see inaccurate speed and distance values if the Forerunner is being used between multi-users.

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