Gear Guide: Heart Rate Monitors
At its core, nordic skiing is “cardio”. The heart drives activity and performance in every aspect of training. Understanding what the heart does gives a lot of objective insight into training.
Heart rate monitors are:
1. an investment, but - you don’t need all the bells and whistles. You do not need a smartwatch that can send texts, just a watch that can connect to a heart rate strap. GPS is a nice feature, but not necessary.
2. a helpful tool, end of story. There is no substitute for the long trial-and-error process of figuring out who you are as an athlete, but having this tool can help cut out some of the guesswork.
You do not need a heart rate monitor, many successful athletes train by feel. However, having a heart rate monitor and being able to interpret this feedback can help you start to coach yourself through OYO training and become a more independent athlete.
Recommendations
Please note that models are continuously being brought onto the market or discontinued. This list may not be perfectly up-to-date, we’ll refresh it roughly every six months.
https://www.suunto.com/en-us/suunto-collections/suunto-5-peak/
https://www.polar.com/us-en/products/sport/M430-gps-running-watch
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/552962
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/641121
Wrist-based vs. chest-strap monitoring
There are two ways a watch will measure heart rate. Wrist-based heart rate monitoring is built into the watch and requires no extra equipment, and measured the pulse at the wrist. While it may be more streamlined, it’s less accurate than use of a chest strap, and requires that the watch actually be in contact with the skin to get a reading - which doesn’t work when the long-sleeve layers come out.
A chest strap (click here for an example) is a band that loops around the middle of the ribcage, and measures heart rate through two electrodes. This is a better fit for nordic skiers, because the band is worn next to the skin (under baselayers and jackets) and communicates HR data to the watch via bluetooth. This provides a more accurate measure, and allows HR to be monitored when you’re wearing a bunch of layers.
Lactate Testing
Many watches come programmed with pre-set heart rate zones based on your age, weight, and experience level. These are rarely a perfect fit. Your heart rate zones can be accurately assessed through a process called Lactate Testing. Read more here.
