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Where Cyclists and Triathletes get Faster/Stronger/Leaner/Sooner

Garmin Connect Fitness Metrics – 2 Weeks In

The Garmin Connect Fitness Metrics Provide More Information and Guidance

I’m now about 2 weeks in with my study of the metrics that are provided by Garmin Connect. The consistency with which I have been measuring HRV Stress in the morning, and Performance Condition during a workout, is yielding some informative results. I’ve also started to study HRV Status (an overnight reading of heart rate variability), and sleep score. I’ll report about those metrics now and in more detail in future posts.

What Goes Into My Thought Process Via Garmin Connect Data?

My thought process for the Garmin Connect interpretations is as such:

  1. Wear the Fenix 6 as much as possible, to measure HRV Status overnight, get Sleep Score, and track Hydration.
  2. Once I’ve awakened, I study the HRV Status to determine whether it is trending up, down, or within an acceptable range.
  3. Look at Sleep Score and specifically look at Deep Sleep. I need to break 52 minutes of deep sleep, and I REALLY want to get more than 6 hours of consistent sleep, but honestly, that’s a real challenge for me at this time.
  4. Take an HRV Stress test after coffee and a bathroom break. I’m sort of skipping breakfast so I can exercise mostly fasted (I use cream in my coffee).
  5. After the ride begins, if my “Performance Condition” comes out highly positive, I’ll ride for time and volume. If it’s neutral, I’ll ride for base. If it drops quickly over the first 20-30 minutes, I usually focus on LOW intensity base cycling, and try to achieve an EPOC of about 100-150 at the most right now, and then an Aerobic TE of 3.0-3.5, with no Anaerobic TE.
Garmin COnnect Training Status Reports
The Garmin Connect Training Status Report area is perhaps my favorite section of Garmin Connect. That said, I WISH I could expand these charts to get a little more detail than what it shows in this summary page.

Most of my rides have been indoors, due to weather, time commitments at the house, and a general lack of knowledge about routes and group rides in the area, since I’m new to town. This has been the wettest winter in decades, and I want to show up for any group rides prepared fitness-wise. I also want to study this stuff, so we can all use it more effectively.

 

The results have been pretty good so far.

Garmin Acute Training Load Chart 1040
This chart is available in the ‘Training Status’ page in Garmin Connect, but I thought I’d show it from the Garmin 1040, because, honestly, it’s sharper. It shows decent growth in volume, and it provides a general ‘Ceiling’ and ‘Floor’ of EPOC over a rolling 7-day accumulated average. At least I think that’s what it’s telling me.

 

My overnight HRV Status, after some initial disruptions due to outside stress factors, has largely stabilized.

Garmin HRV Status Report
When overnight HRV Status is stable or within a known range, Garmin/FirstBeat is implying that I’m okay to exercise and probably increase my volume and intensity. That’s something I would like to do, so I’ll be using the above EPOC measurement chart (see previous graph) to continue getting more overall volume, but within the limits set by Garmin Connect’s algorithm.

 

Garmin Connect Sleep Score 4 Weeks
The Garmin Connect Sleep Score is not my idea of the perfect measuring stick, but it is what it is, and it’s inside the Connect Ecosystem, so that’s what I’m using. I would LOVE to talk with someone about pulling the EEG data from a Muse S app, and sticking it into Connect, which is something that apparently can be done with an API or SDK. I think the EEG is more accurate.

 

Garmin Connect HRV Stress morning test Report
When you don’t always know where your next meal may come from, you tend to have a little higher stress some mornings. Today’s HRV Stress was at a 45, so I did a shorter, but harder workout just to get some of that stress OUT of my life! 😉

 

Garmin Connect Performance Condition With Heart Rate Overlay -4
This was today’s “Performance Condition” chart. It started off at a neutral value, and declined over the course of 45 minutes. The HRV Stress was in the mid-40’s, the Sleep Score was pathetic, even though my impression of my sleep quality was high.

 

Garmin Connect 7-Day HRV Status overnight Averages LOW
Here’s the final piece of the puzzle; my overnight average of HRV values. I THINK this is the tell-tale heart value, right here. HRV overnight was ‘low’, meaning slightly more stress, and even though in my perception, I slept well, the data just doesn’t show it. Ergo, my Performance Condition was Middlin’ at best, and then it just declined over the 45 minutes or so that I rode. Any attempt at real intensity was not to my advantage.

CONCLUSION

Looking back at several of the factors, like Sleep Score, HRV Stress, HRV Status, and the initial HRV Performance Condition value, it was evident that there was not much I could accomplish today on the bike, other than a moderate ride. Instead of attempting any intervals or even an FTP test (I keep playing with that feature on the 1040 and will accomplish it some day for a blog post), I should have gone easy.

The Garmin Connect ecosystem is teaching me, but I’m not always listening. I’ll continue to look at this guide, and share my results with you as we go along.

Thanks for reading, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

 

Measuring HRV Stress with Garmin

Garmin HRV Stress Feature

Garmin HRV Stress Test
The Garmin HRV Stress Test might be a useful guide for daily cardiovascular exercise.

I believe that the Garmin HRV Stress measurement feature is completely under-utilized. Garmin has a LOT of features on their head units and watches that are underutilized. When Garmin purchased FirstBeat, the premier company that has studied Heart Rate Variability and its’ applications for health, I thought they would bring this information to the masses. Well, it’s there, but it’s still not well-promoted. This blog post is the first of many that I’m going to use to study HRV Stress, long-term.

What is HRV (Heart Rate Variability)?

I have been studying Heart Rate Variability since the early 2000’s, when the technology was paired with Suunto products. For years, Polar Oy was considered the leader in heart rate measurements, but the Suunto T6 really impressed me with how they used FirstBeat’s technology to explain cardio fitness. The distilled version of Heart Rate Variability is this;

“NO TWO BEATS ARE THE SAME.” 

A heartbeat is usually pegged to the ‘R’ wave, which is the contraction of the Left Ventricle. The original heart rate measurement looked at a rolling 6-second average of heart rate, to come up with a value, usually between 35 and 220. While we still use that measurement of exercise intensity, the more modern way is to look at the millisecond variation between each beat. When a heart is ‘happy’ or under little stress, it basically beats when it wants to. When a heart is under more stress from exercise intensity, the variability diminishes. The DELTA between beats, over time, is called the “Root Mean Square Standard Deviation”, or “RMSSD”. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures that Delta, and runs it through an algorithm based on FirstBeat’s Two-Plus Decades of Science and Publications. The solution, in this case, renders a ‘Score’ between 0 and 100, to assess an individual’s preparedness for exercise.

I have been a fan of a further evolution of this measurement via DFAA-1, but this measurement is about general health and wellbeing.

The Garmin HRV Stress Test

I use a Garmin 1030, but the Stress Test can be found in most of the modern Garmin head units and watches. You will need a chest strap, and honestly, a quiet place where you can stand still for 3 minutes. THERE SHOULD BE NO DISTRACTIONS. If the head unit or watch is set to send and receive messages or news clips, the test will fail. If you like soft music, headphones or earbuds might be appropriate. No kids, no pets. Just you, your head unit or watch, and a brief period of time.

This video explains how I get to the HRV Stress Test feature on my particular Garmin. Once the test is over and I have a result, I usually take a screenshot of the results.

Results

The goal with this series on the Garmin HRV Stress Test is to determine whether the HRV Stress Score corresponds to my fitness and training on the bike. The quick, short summary of the scores is like this: When the score is LOW, Garmin claims that you might have more success at a moderate or high intensity or high volume day. If the score is in the Medium Range, LSD or ‘Zone 2’ might be appropriate. If the score is HIGH, well, light exercise or no exercise is appropriate.

I intend to look at the ENTIRE Garmin Connect Ecosystem to determine my preparedness for exercise. This includes Garmin’s Sleep Score, the Body Battery, and even Garmin’s Hydration Tracker.

Why?

Because it’s all in one ecosystem via Garmin Connect. A combination of rugged wearables, head units, and software. Furthermore, I don’t think anyone has objectively followed these physiological measurements like this and presented them this way. The information has been there for years, but I honestly don’t know if the information is empirically valid or not. The science and the papers say ‘yes’, but the individual experience just has not been presented on the internet.

Let’s see where this information leads. Thanks for reading, and…

ENJOY THE RIDE!

2023: New Home, New Goals, New Services, New Discussions

New Home: Sacramento, California, USA!

New OBC Headquarters
New OBC Headquarters – complete with Wild Turkey!

Hey everyone, I can’t believe that I’ve landed and set up shop in our new home here in Sacramento, California. Honestly, I haven’t been a Californian since 1974, so this is definitely going to be a new experience.

Online Bike Coach has been a stalwart pillar of coaching and information since its’ inception in 2003. I’ve been coaching cyclists since 1993, so this is my 30th Anniversary as a Cycling Coach! While we’ve learned, taught, and experienced many things, it’s time to reset the foundations and make the NEXT 15 years even stronger.

New Goals

New OBC Logo White PCThe Goals for Online Bike Coach going forward are simple: Offering cycling-based training classes and programs for fitness, health, longevity and performance. To do this, I am going to migrate what was a successful 15 years of In-Studio training, over to online Group Classes, via www.vqvelocity.com. Online Bike Coach will offer LIVE and RECORDED classes, multiple days of the week, with different goals and agendas. We’ll work on the FUNDAMENTALS; Aerobic Fitness, Anaerobic Work Capacity, Stamina, Strength, and Speed. You can take as many classes as you wish, pop in here and there for a quickie, or replay any one of the rides in the library as it grows. Classes will be held in the Pacific Time Zone, but I’ll be posting hours that fit client needs across the four major time zones in the US, and will consider time zones in Europe and Australia as well if there is demand.

Traditional Coaching will also continue, but I’ll be increasing the hybrid approach of using the most recent cardio-vascular technology and assessment information via Garmin head units and wristwatches for Aerobic Conditioning. For those who subscribe to the ‘Polarized Training’ approach (and I use both Polarized and SweetSpot methods, depending on each rider’s needs or time availability), the latest ‘Stamina‘ Feature from Garmin, and other metrics for supra-threshold and vo2 that I’ve reviewed and used before.

We want time-tested, scientifically validated metrics, but I still fear that most producers are not interested in advancing known science, but are instead focused on profit. I refuse to be a Tent Preacher, and will emphasize known, published science where I can. Where I cannot, I’ll do the scientific studies using my own instruments, and will publish the results here and elsewhere if I can.

New Discussions

The New Discussions are not necessarily new, but they’re worth a refresh in this blog, on YouTube, and in the general public domain. I intend to blog regularly about the following:

New Hand Signals

  • Cyclist Safety. Cycling is a safe sport. Reat that ad infinitum. CYCLING IS A SAFE SPORT. There are ways you can ride and present yourself in urban and rural settings that will increase your safety, confidence, and competence when out on the road. There’s also technology that can improve your awareness and visibility. Beyond a few one-and-done videos, I intend to produce blogs and videos that show long-term work on these concepts, products and methods. For me, it’s the only way to save the sport from being an indoor-only, virtual-ride product.
  • Training With Technology. I’ve always been a fan of Science and Technology, and cycling is the perfect meld of physics, physiology, and electronic tools of observation and analysis. But there seems to be an information overload, a plethora of features, and not much explanation or distillation of the information provided. I intend to change that, with more regular posts.
  • Garmin Connect Features. Garmin Connect is the data-collection site for so many of the metrics I have mentioned above. However, I’ve searched high and low on the internet to try and find a coach who actually uses these metrics on a regular basis, to COACH an athlete. I also see the semi-artificial intelligence programs found in Garmin Connect, and I wonder about their effectiveness. Some posts on Reddit have been all I’ve seen. The results seem to be all over the place. It makes me wonder if there might not be a better way to look at the metrics provided, and then use that information to better judge and guide fitness training. We’ll see.

I have been coaching now for thirty years; a lot has changed. A lot has not. One historian of cycling said that in the history of humanity, cycling is arguably the only activity that EVOLVED into Recreation, then Utility. It spawned the Tire Industry (Dunlop), which further altered civilization. I think we need to reconnect the social benefits of cycling with 21st century mobility and mental health.

https://youtu.be/ZYwhvD2-fYw

CONCLUSION

The Cycling world has gone ‘U’ shaped; we’ve got people in a really poor demographic using bicycles for utility, and we’ve got really rich people using bicycles for recreation. The Middle Class and cycling have largely disappeared. For example, how many of you readers rode your bikes to school? How many of you have children that ride their bikes to school? How many of you have grandchildren that ride their bikes to school? It’s a vexing question, and I’d like to look into the perceived problems and factual solutions.

That’s really about it for now. I’m going to get on with the day, and I’ll start posting more work, more regularly, going forward. I know I’ve promised that before, but I have the venue, the time, and the desire to pursue this.

Thanks for reading, and ENJOY THE RIDE.

Setting The Q Ring Position Based On Rotor InPower Ride Data

Rotor InPower Cranks Provide Crucial Insight

Rotor InPower OCP 1
Rotor Q Rings help make small improvements to power with every pedal stroke, but it’s on sections where terrain is steep, and traction is necessary, that they make the biggest difference.

I’ve been using Rotor products since at least 2000, when the RSX Cranks first became available. I have been a student of the original concept, and I use Q rings on all of my bikes these days. In 2012 or thereabouts, Rotor began building their own power meters. Specifically, they did it with the intention of providing data for the Optimal Chainring Position. Optimal Chainring Position, or OCP, looks at a rider’s power curve and helps determine where exactly the Q ring should be located.

Why is this important? Well, the Q ring acts like a crowbar, using something called “Moment“. This is a term in Physics. A bicycle crank at 12 o’clock has no moment. I bicycle crank at 6 o’clock has no moment. But a bicycle crank at 3 o’clock has a moment equal to the radius of the crank. In my case, that is 165mm. When the Rotor InPower software takes into account Moment plus Inertia, it allows Physics to provide an edge in the power output. For road cycling on flat terrain, I usually ride at OCP 4 or even 5. Until this week, I rode the mountain bike at OCP position 3.

What Changed

Rotor has software for their InPower and 2InPower cranks, as well as their most recent power meters, that runs as an app on a cell phone. I used this app in real time, as I rode up my favorite trail. While I had figured that OCP 3 was optimal, what I realized over the course of the climb was that the steeper the terrain, the more the Rotor software wanted me in OCP 1 or even 2! I was surprised by this revelation, but in review, it makes sense. When a cyclist is climbing, the “Moment” is still optimal at 3 o’clock. However, inertia is altered due to gravity, friction, and cadence. Placing the OCP at 1 brings that ‘Crowbar’ effect back.

I made two videos connected to this post. The first is pre-ride, when I was making my change to the crank and chainring. The second is post-ride analysis. I felt the change in torque IMMEDIATELY, and while I am not nearly as fit as I was two years ago, I am excited about the change, and hope to duplicate the lesson on my road bike in the near future.

Rotor has SCIENCE to Back Up Their Claims

While I’m not a qualified scientist, I do count myself as a certain Mad Scientist. That is, I rely on PhD’s and MD’s and DO’s to perform the studies that prove or disprove what I’ve ‘seen’ over the decades that I’ve been coaching. One of my absolute favorite scientists on Q Rings, who is also a highly skilled athlete and racer, is Dr. Christie O’Hara. Here is a short link to an article about her studies with Q Rings. She’s moved on from Rotor to other ventures in Academia, but her work stands and is seminal to the theory. The gains are small, but consistent, and in a sport where small gains are critical, Q rings in the Optimal Chainring Position can make a difference for any road or mountain bike cyclist.

Enjoy the videos and don’t hesitate to leave some feedback. I’m enjoying the process and as always, ENJOY THE RIDE!

 

Fitness HRV software Release 0.17

Fitness HRV Now Includes Moxy SmO2 Values

My work with Dr. Bruce Rogers and Mr. Stuart Lynne is continuing to show steady progress. Last month, I revealed the Alpha version of Fitness Dashboard. Fitness HRV is software that we are building to identify training intensities below VT1 (Ventilatory Threshold), and above VT2 (Traditional Threshold). The goal is to create a scientific instrument that uses PUBLISHED SCIENCE to help improve cardio-vascular economy, first and foremost. Fitness HRV now includes Moxy SmO2 and ThB (Total Hemoglobin) data. The reason I requested this inclusion is two-fold. First, we want to assess SmO2 action over time when training above DFAA-1 values of 0.75. Second, we want to watch SmO2 slope when we increase intensity, and bring DFAA-1 down to 0.5 or 0.4, which is less strongly correlated, but still connected, to VT2. This will help me, as a coach, better train athletes for training in polarized zones of intensity.

I’ve been using the Moxy since it first arrived on the scene and bought almost ten of the units when I was running the studios at Cycling Center Dallas. In my work over those years, the instrument gave me a new window into the body. I studied SmO2 “Floors and Ceilings” over time, and I also studied ThB floors and ceilings, both acutely and empirically. The PhD’s that study Saturated Muscle Oxygen recently published important studies on SmO2 “Slope”. Basically, when SmO2 levels out at a certain intensity, Oxygen SUPPLY is meeting DEMAND. Cyclists and Triathletes can use this value to gauge intensity. In fact, one of my favorite coaches, Steve Neal of Steve Neal Performance, just published a new APP on Garmin Connect, that specifically highlights SmO2 slope and plateaus, in color.

 

Current Fitness HRV Features

Fitness HRV currently includes the following data streams…

  • DFAA-1.
  • SmO2 and ThB.
  • DFAA-1 artifact counts.
  • Cadence.
  • Traditional Heart Rate.
  • Wattage
  • Trainer Slope (Work In Progress).

Over the next several weeks, we will be including all of the metrics from Vo2master Gas Exchange Analyzers, including:

  • Respiratory Frequency ((important to DFAA-1 research).
  • Tidal Volume
  • Ventilation
  • Absolute Vo2
  • Relative Vo2
  • Fraction of Expired Oxygen (important to DFAA-1 and SmO2 research).
  • Ambient Pressure
  • Humidity
  • Ventilatory Equivalents for Oxygen

and more values, like RQ (Respiratory Quotient of O2 and Co2), as they are brought online.

Fitness ECG Updates

Fitness ECG shows V2 and V3 data from a Polar H10 heart rate strap
The Fitness ECG App provides lab-accurate ECG sine waves from the V2/V3 position on the front of the chest.

Fitness ECG is still running as a separate app. It uses the ECG data from the Polar H10 to create a visible ECG from the V2 and V3 position. As this product is still in Alpha, there’s not much more than a display, the ability to record the session in CSV format, and the ability to save images via PDF and JPEG. It WILL be merged into Fitness HRV at some point in the future. Now, we cannot make medical claims from this one window into the heart, BUT…. we can identify artifacts and anomalies, and have those images automatically highlighted and saved for reference with medical professionals. I believe we can also glean Respiratory Frequency from this Polar device, but again, we’re going to go with PUBLISHED SCIENCE first and foremost.

What’s the Ultimate Goal?

Fitness HRV intends to be a research tool for individuals who want to train for AEROBIC fitness first and foremost. Once the correlation between DFAA-1, SmO2 in a Prime Mover muscle, and Gas Exchange RQ values is better understood, it then allows the user to TRAIN USING THIS TRIFECTA of PHYSIOLOGICAL INFORMATION.

In the 1970’s, Heart Rate Monitors were introduced to the general population for assessing fitness. In the late 1980’s, power meters were introduced. The Moxy became available in the early 2010’s. The Vo2master became available in the late 2010’s. There are more devices that measure physics and physiology, which are accurate, robust, and significant.

When we meld the PHYSICS of wattage, aerodynamics, rolling resistance, heat and humidity, with the PHYSIOLOGY of a human riding a bicycle or running, we can OPTIMIZE EVERY MINUTE OF ACTIVITY FOR THE DESIRED RESULTS. Years ago, this information was only available in labs and the equipment cost well into the six, and seven figures. Now, the chest straps are $80usd, power meters are accurate and consistent at $400usd and less, and muscle oxygen is available at similar cost. I intend to rent the Vo2master out for a month at a time, so that users can perform workouts indoors and out, to gain further insight into their values, as well as the general population, which will once again be published for peer review.

Feel free to ask any questions. We are doing this for free at the moment, but will charge a nominal fee at some point in the future. Until then, stay hydrated, exercise holistically, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

-Coach Wharton, Mr. Stuart Lynne, and Dr. Bruce Rogers.