Suunto 9 Baro

I’ve had a Garmin Fēnix 3 HR that I’d been using for a while–about 2 years–when in started flaking out on me. While I like the watch, after having it lose its mind half a dozen times while out on the trails was simply unacceptable. I had my phone and maps, but I felt uncomfortable trusting the device. Additionally, the Fēnix 3 was really pushing the limits of unacceptable accuracy. I used a footpod to help keep track of the performance, and it would be quite off on some runs… like 20% off, though not usually that bad. Additionally, I have a chest heart rate monitor–the MZ3–and the Fēnix 3 would record the heart rate fine, but it would compute calories and the training effect wrong. In fairness, the MZ3 is not listed on the ANT page as being compliant, which Garmin happily pointed to when I mentioned this issue.

Figuring Out Fitness

For folks that know me, I tend to be a bit of a researcher–not by profession, but just as a person. I desperately want to know how things fit together, how they operate, the conditions in which they operate well, and when they don’t. A constant struggle for me over the past several years is the sheer volume of fitness advice out there that is either anecdotal, unsubstantiated, under researched, or the research is biased. I don’t think it takes much imagination to realize that this is a problem. Case and point: have you tried any new fitness advice lately? Did it work? Why or why not? I bet you did (the New Year wasn’t that long ago) and I bet it didn’t go as planned.