Heart Rate Information
The SkiErg provides an easy and powerful platform for heart rate training.
Ease of use
It’s easy to use either Polar or Suunto heart rate systems on the SkiErg. Just wear a chest belt and your heart rate data will be displayed on the Performance Monitor (PM) in real time, as well as stored on either the monitor or a LogCard for later analysis.
Here’s how it works:
| HR system | Works with… | We provide… | You provide… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polar | PM3 or PM4 |
|
|
| Suunto | PM4 only |
|
Note: Polar W.I.N.D. products are not compatible with Concept2 Performance Monitors.
Methods & Effectiveness
When used with a heart rate monitor, the SkiErg can accurately correlate your output and effort level thanks to the accuracy and repeatability of the Performance Monitor. Once you establish your target training zones on the SkiErg, you can apply that information to other training activities as well. The SkiErg allows you to monitor improvements in your heart rate efficiency.
There are several ways to determine your heart rate training levels, depending on the testing capability available to you.
- PM and Heart Rate Monitor: Heart rate helps you learn a lot about your conditioning and training progress. The Performance Monitor self-calibrates on every recovery, ensuring that results on any SkiErg can always be compared—from day to day, person to person, and from one location to another.
- Periodic Testing: Choose several test distances that relate to your training goals and repeat them at regular intervals throughout the training season. Record your time and heart rate. If it’s a personal best, post it to the Online Ranking! Recommended test distances might be 1000 meters for sprinters or 5000 meters for all racers—depending on your goals.
- Testing Across a Range of Distances: Within a week or two, perform a range of tests from 500 meters to 5000 meters. See where your score puts you on the Online Ranking, what distances you perform well, and which distances you would like to improve. For example, if you rank highly for 500 meters, but lower for 5000 meters, this would suggest that you need to work on your aerobic fitness more than your power.
- Test at Distances that Correlate to VO2 max and Anaerobic Threshold: In general, 2000 meters is a test of your VO2 max, and your best time for 30 minutes provides a good estimate of your anaerobic threshold. Although these tests won’t give you VO2 max in kg/ml or lactate in mmoles, you can get a sense of improvement (or decay) in these physiological measures by doing these tests on the SkiErg.
- VO2 max Testing: If you have access to physiological testing equipment, you can use the SkiErg for VO2 max testing. A standard stepped protocol produces VO2 max results comparable to running and biking. If you use Parvo equipment, you can update your software to include PM data directly into your Parvo program.
- Lactate Testing: A stepped protocol of increasing intensity on the SkiErg with periodic lactate sampling will enable to you to determine both your intensity level (in pace or watts) and your heart rate at your anaerobic threshold. You can test how quickly you build up lactate and determine your maximum lactate level, and then use this data in planning other workouts in your training program.
