I tried google and reddit and came up short on the following for my new garmin watch. I didn't find any threads on this already on here either.

I recently started using a Garmin Vivoactive 4 and I have used it several times to record my various levels during a workout such as breathing and heartrate. On 2 workouts that were very similar came out really different whenever I selected "other" vs. selecting "cardio". My average heart rate was 85 vs. 158. I have no idea which one is correct but if I had to guess it would somewhere in the middle. The workout I was doing was one provided by camp gladiator. Theres "rounds" that get your heart rate to spike or sometimes go for endurance where you want it to only rise a little bit for a long time. Can someone shed light on what "activity" I should pick for this? I have a feeling cardio is actively searching for a faster heartrate and could be skewed but I could be wrong and my heart rate is that high. I definitely know its higher than an average of 85 though since that's barely above my resting heart rate. Also, does anyone know if or how you can run 2 activities at once? I would like to run hiking or walking along with golf if possible.

Any other tips and tricks for a newby are helpful like apps or activities worth adding to my watch.

Thanks.

No idea about the multiple activities at once.

If you're going off the optical heart rate sensor on the watch you may check the fit. I know mine does record different for various activities. When I row it always under shoots (I checked it with my chest strap monitor). Not sure if that's due to more arm involvement or not.

You can only do one activity at a time.

Were the two activities with different heart rates the same type of activity?

Garmin doesn't "look" for a different heart rate based on activity type. The optical/wrist hrm is pretty good at running activities, but doesn't do well with strength training or certain cycling movements. Chest straps are always more accurate, if not as convenient.

Make sure the watch is one notch tighter than you'd wear it for normal day to day usage. Wipe off the sensor with water and a smooth wash cloth after every activity to make sure it doesn't get caked with salt over time.

Related question - do the optical heart rate sensors all lag as badly as Garmins? I'll be doing sprints at CG and it takes a good 60 seconds before my tracker notices my heart rate has jumped.

FWIW - I'm still using an old Vivosort HR+

I haven't looked into it; but a Garmin facebook group I'm in had a discussion about a third party app designed for orange theory type classes. I think you had to buy it; but may be worth looking into.

Also, I'll echo what was said above; I wouldn't think the different profiles would "search" for different HR's causing varying results. I'd guess it's because you're doing interval type workouts (at least for HR purposes) and wrist sensors are going to be inaccurate at these small intervals. Not a huge deal when you're running a marathon and your HR is relatively stable, but a big deal if your HR is going from 120 to 160 and back pretty often.

optical HR is getting better, but its still not good vs chest strap.

AggieOO said:

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optical HR is getting better, but its still not good vs chest strap.

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This. I love when patients ask why their smartwatch has a different HR compared to my 12 lead EKG during stress tests. I wonder why.

My advice for optical HR is to have it as snug as you can without cutting off circulation and put it on the underside of your wrist where the skin is more or less easier for it to read t

Yes. The activities were both similar. Dumbbell lifting mixed with body weight activities like squats, burpees, push ups, etc. And some running. I find it hard to believe my heart rate was in the 80s during that.

I've had a 935, 945, and Fenix 6 and each generation has gotten a bit better with optical heart rate tracking, but they're all equally terrible at keeping up with a strength or HIIT type workout as others said above.

Grab a cheap chest strap and you should see more accurate #'s.

wangus12 said:

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AggieOO said:

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optical HR is getting better, but its still not good vs chest strap.

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This. I love when patients ask why their smartwatch has a different HR compared to my 12 lead EKG during stress tests. I wonder why.

My advice for optical HR is to have it as snug as you can without cutting off circulation and put it on the underside of your wrist where the skin is more or less easier for it to read t

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The only reason I care is my doctor advised me not to get my heart rate over a certain level. If it were really life threatening, I'd use a chest strap. I just wish the Garmin didn't lag by a full minute.

I will try using it on the other side of my wrist to see if that helps.

Garmins are awesome but using them while snowboarding/skiing is next level stuff. You just start the app and it knows when to start tracking and when to shut down all day.

Records all your runs, speed, altitude, miles boarded and more. Battery will last all day. You just need to do a quick charge nightly.

I have a Vivosmart HR+ and I called CG a cardio outdoor activity. Now that I have a Peloton I call the bike rides cardio indoor activities. I'm sure it's not perfect but it seemed to be useful information.

I got a different HR monitor for my Peloton (something highly rated), and recently I've notice my watch and HR monitor were both extremely close to each other (within a BPM). At first this was not the case. I started to loosen my watch a little and push it further up my wrist - I wonder if that made a big difference.

CoolaidWade said:

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Garmins are awesome but using them while snowboarding/skiing is next level stuff. You just start the app and it knows when to start tracking and when to shut down all day.

Records all your runs, speed, altitude, miles boarded and more. Battery will last all day. You just need to do a quick charge nightly.

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And on the Fenix 6 I have ski maps right on the watch. No more pulling out a map or phone. It's so awesome.

Re: battery. I have a fenix 3, and used it with GPS and bluetooth on yesterday for a race. Got almost 15 hours before it died. When it was new, I got about 16 hours with GPS on. For a watch that is several years old, I'd say the battery is holding up well.

I have the Fenix 5S, it is big and heavy (especially when I was coming from a Fitbit Charge) but I got used to it and wear it 24/7.

The aforementioned ski mode is awesome, as are the golf features.

As for everything else I don't think I've really scratched the surface of what this thing can do.

I have a Garmin 5X and wear 24/7. In addition to the exercise tracking, you can track your sleep as well which is great since I have a sleep disorder.