Heart Rate Variation (HRV) Analysis Heart Period is the time difference between consecutive heart beats. Heart Rate Variation (HRV)* is the variance in the Heart Period. Heart Period and HRV convey important physiological information and have been proven to correlate highly with other physiological parameters, such as oxygen consumption, calorie consumption, respiration rate and others. Suunto Training Instruments and software conduct advanced HRV analysis and can calculate up to 7 physiological parameters (such as EPOC). The analysis has been proven to be comparable to laboratory analysis performed in sports science laboratories. * Basic principle of HRV: At rest heart rate is slow but irregular (High HRV). While exercising heart rate is faster but regular (Low HRV) Exces Post -exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) EPOC is the additional amount of oxygen the body needs to recover from exercise. It is a scientific indicator for the accumulated training load and until now has only been measurable in sports laboratories. EPOC makes it possible to objectively measure whether the training session was sufficient to improve your fitness level. Training Effect can be determined by comparing the EPOC value with the athlete’s performance level. Suunto Training Instruments makes it possible to use EPOC analysis as part of an everyday training routine. Training Effect (TE) TE shows the real time effect of a workout during the exercise and even tells how much longer to train to reach the individual goal. TE is real time EPOC value compared to fitness level. Analysis of the level of exertion is on a scale of one to five. Suunto devices display the TE as a single, easy-to-read value. This answers the questions “How strenuous was the exercise to my body? Which TE can I expect from it? How long do I need to recover?” Figure 4: Training Mode/Training Effect view HR Zones: Training within HR zones is the common way of setting the training load and monitoring an endurance workout. Suunto Sports Instrument provide full ability to train using HR zones in both the instrument and software. HR Zone vs. Training Effect: Training with HR zones has its limitations as HR is ependent on additional influencing factors (such as stress, fatigue, temperature, type of sport). These factors can cause a difference of up to 15 beats / minute for the same training load. Additionally sports with erratic HR such as trail running and biking in hilly territory make it difficult to stay within HR zones. TE offers an advantage in these situations by offering an accumulated training load over the time of the workout. Figure 5: Description of Suunto's 5 Training Effect Levels. Suunto Coach Function Suunto Coach is a virtual training advisor that enables a safe and effective training that helps you to improve aerobic fitness in an optimal way. Based on the guidelines of ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) Suunto Coach plans the Training Effect and time of your workouts for the next 5 days. It finds the ideal next workouts regardless whether the earlier recommendations were followed or not. The recommendations are based on the fitness level, earlier workouts and, based on these, your estimated recovery time. Figure 6: Suunto Coach - Individual and Dynamic Training Schedules - How it works. Figure 7: Suunto Coach - Individual Training Stages for all Fitness levels Disturbance Fre ANT-Transmision Technolog y Suunto’s digital 2.4 GHz radio frequency with 65.000 unique ID-codes guarantee: - disturbance free transmission against electromagnet fields such as powerlines and - no interference with other HR monitors. ANT radio technology is proprietory to Dynastream Innovations Inc. Display Unique easy-to read dial display provides all necessary information at one glance. Last column can be adjusted in all modes to personal preferences. Eas y-To-Use User Interface Suunto HR-monitors offer easy to understand scrollable menus - similar to those on mobile phones.