Polar Fitness Test?

Leon

Does anybody know how the Polar calculates the Own Index (exact mathematical formula) or is that Polar intellectual property.?

rek

[quote author=Leon link=board=19;threadid=2520;start=15#22109 date=1036259003]<br />Does anybody know how the Polar calculates the Own Index (exact mathematical formula) or is that Polar intellectual property.?<br />[/quote]<br /><br />I'm sure the exact calculation used in OwnIndex would be a Polar trade secret, but I'm pretty sure the basic research that the formulae have been based on have been published in journals and presented in conferences, etc.<br /><br />(Most pages on the polar.fi site related to the specifics of OwnIndex usually have about 5 or 6 references to scientific journals, etc.)

__________________
Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra

GearGrinder

I just got a Polar S710 and the fitness test is giving me very inacurate results i think. Iv reached 206 max heart rate using it the other day yet it predicst my max at 180. Also my Own Index Value is 32 = Im #@$@# unfit. This does not sound right to my. btw im 21 and my resting hr is 40. Iv got the correct details in like height weight etc what could be wrong?

admin

[quote author=Gear Grinder link=board=19;threadid=2520;start=15#22260 date=1036631857]<br />I just got a Polar S710 and the fitness test is giving me very inacurate results i think. Iv reached 206 max heart rate using it the other day yet it predicst my max at 180. Also my Own Index Value is 32 = Im #@$@# unfit. This does not sound right to my. btw im 21 and my resting hr is 40. Iv got the correct details in like height weight etc what could be wrong?<br />[/quote]<br /><br />Don't take any notice of its predicted max HR, use your own figure if you know it. As for own index, I wouldn't put to much weight on that.

rek

Yeah the HRmax prediction is pretty dodgy, though it's not that far off for me .. it predicts 185 or so and my maximum is 190.. (resting HR is usually in the low-mid 40s, but was 39 yesterday!)<br /><br />I find the OwnIndex more useful as a relative, rather than absolute, score. i.e. it's more for charting your own fitness progress than comparing to others. I've gone from a 34 (when I got my 710 in April) and am now 51 (I'm 22yo/183cm/91kg; still somewhat overweight.)<br /><br />One thing that does make a significant difference is the &amp;quot;activity level&amp;quot; you give it -- though you're not supposed to change that value until you've been at that different level for a few months or so. My progress was something like:<br /><br />34 -- medium activity level<br />37 -- medium activity level<br />45 -- high activity level<br />51 -- high activity level<br /><br />with 6-8 weeks between each OwnIndex test.

__________________
Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra

GearGrinder

had the wrong activity level set opps my ownindex is actually 69 atm

admin

[quote author=Gear Grinder link=board=19;threadid=2520;start=15#22324 date=1036734357]<br />had the wrong activity level set opps my ownindex is actually 69 atm <br />[/quote]<br /><br />thats alot better ;D

roKeMS

My wife just bought a s510 and is curious about the websites/updates available at the moment. ???<br />Can anyone help. I can't find the thread that was recently running except this one on the s710.<br />Can anyone help?? My ass is on the line here haha ;D

Vo2

I'm not sure if there is a specific update for the S510, but there is an update for the Polar software that came with the HRM.<br />Goto www.pccoach.com/ for the SW updates.

__________________
Pain is inevitable...suffering is optional

SniperX

hmm about the polar fit test .. i think its rather inacurrate ...the MHR it gave me was kinda high and I cant seem to even get close to it when going all out on the bike... in fact I cant even hit the 85 percent of MHR hardest i hit was 80 plus only all the way to my max... 90 is surely impossible... anyone has an explanation for this? is it because i have not regularly put my heart to work at such high intensities causing it to fail to hit at those rates or is it the inaccuracies of the polar fit test?

GearGrinder

Did you give it EVERY THING? find a steady incline and give it heaps. When your legs are dying and heart pounding you Must keep going in order to get Max HR. It will hurt

CelesteRider

Not to say that Polar Fitness test results are bogus, but the number you get depends critically on the activity level that you specify in the "User Set." One morning I was in experimental mood and changed the activity setting from "Top" to "Low." Next, I saw my VO2 max drop from 62 to 27!

I am eager to believe that my VO2 max is 62, but knowing how much the activity level biases the calculation, I am not confident in the number. Maybe that's what's keeping my VO2 max at 60-62 for the past couple years... I need "SuperTop" activity levels to gain another few points