MIO ALPHA, read your heart-rate without a chest-strap.

This is nothing new, as this watch and the technology have been out for a few years already, but wanted to inform others that hate wearing a chest strap, there is something you can do about it. Hate wearing a chest-strap?  Here is the perfect answer.  The MIO ALPHA reads your heart-rate off your skin. Under the watch band is a sensor, similar to those devices that read your pulse off your finger. The watch displays your heart-rate. With the Bluetooth or ANT+ connection it sends the information to paired devices. I have both Bluetooth and ANT+ models, two separate watches.  I paired my ANT+ with my Suunto Ambit 2S and then wear a watch on each wrist. The ANT+ model I own I have paired with my Samsung smartphone. 

From what I am finding out, the ANT+ model is no longer available, as it is only being produced in the BLE. 

 

From what I am finding out, the ANT+ model is no longer available, as it is only being produced in the BLE. 

The watch features an LED light, lighting up blue, green or red, letting the user know if their heart rate while working out is too low, too high or right in their zone, all without wearing a chest strap I might add again.  

The watch comes with a charger that can be plugged into a USB port and the LED then too lights up to show you it is charging as well as when it is fully charged. 

Here the MIO Alpha is paired with my Suunto Ambit 2S. 

Set your Zone in which you want to keep your heart rate in. Not only will the LED change color depending upon if you are in the zone you are wanting to be in, but a “beep” will also go off.  These are great because many times if using the watch like this, if you are wearing headphones you can still monitor where your heart rate is with the LED’s or as well as looking at the screen itself. 

There are only two buttons to operate the watch, one on either side of the face. You can use the timer in the exercise mode to track your workout time. I use my Suunto Ambit 2S for gathering exercise time. 

The watch comes with its own USB charging cradle. Simply line up the pins on the back to the charging ports and charge the watch.  

Download the free app for allowing your smartphone to track your exercises and then export the TCX file into your favorite program later on. With the app it will show basic features, unless you play to download the full version of the app.

This is if the watch is paired with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) 

January has been great, February your up next

I have been able to continue my "at least a mile a day" and have started my indoor roller workouts.  Light weight workouts will also be added in Feb. My Suunto Ambit 2S is what I am using to capture my data including my heart rate,  while off and on using the MIO Alpha wrist watch with ANT+ instead of the chest strap.  

The Suunto Ambit 2S

The display is very bright and large and you can choose and option to invert the display. 

I have been using the Suunto Ambit2S for about six months now.  I know they have released the Ambit3 already, but the Ambit2S is a great device for monitoring and capturing your workouts.  With over 3000+ apps designed for the Ambit2 its incredible with GPS and Heart Rate. Don’t find the app you are looking for or what it can capture? Design your own if you know what you are doing. The apps are training programs too.  Search the http://www.movescount.com site and browse through the training programs available for a lot of sports.  I have stuck to using the open water swimming app, running, mountain biking, road cycling, triathlon (multi-sport) and even the app created to monitor your heart rate while you sleep.  Each app is customizable to let you set if you want the GPS to ping every second or every 10 seconds, etc, helping save the battery. With the watch having ANT+, it can synch with foot pods, cadence, and power meters.  I have used it on and off synching it with my MIO ALPHA which is also ANT+ enabled.  Could it be a match made in heaven for those who don't like the chest strap? 

 Suunto Ambit 2S, left, MIO ALPHA with ANT+

It's a great option. This watch and the technology built in it is pretty amazing. When I first started using it during pool / lap swims and I would download the data and it was able to tell the stroke (freestyle) I was swimming. It also calculated my stroke rate as well as numerous other types of data I selected it to collect. 

Keep checking back as I explain more of the Suunto Ambit2S. 

Week Two Marathon Training Update

Finished my second week of marathon training and am feeling pretty good.  The shorter runs I have done during the week have been late in the day, but I am still getting them done.  Monday I completed my weekly long run of nine miles.  Before I headed out, my left knee started bothering me, feeling very tight on the inside.  I started off slowly, keeping my pace a little slower than normal as to not go out to fast.  Averaged a HR of 146 with my MIO Alpha with only a few times slowing to walking to kind of rest.  The weather was perfect in the low 70's and full sun.  I know for sure last week I over dressed.  I actually felt stronger and more relaxed than during my last weeks long run. I am getting in the groove of the pace and HR.   I was fully hydrated with my HoneyMaxx orange traveling in my Orange Mud HydraQuiver.  In the time I was out, I still had some left over in my bottle when I got home.  

I am working this week on increasing my cardio on the rollers and a few runs are planned during the week with my next long run coming next Sunday.  

No real tight muscles to complain of but I will still work with the RumbleRoller Beastie this week. 

A quick look at the LED's on the MIO Alpha chest strapless heart rate monitor

Here is a quick video showing how the MIO Alpha, chest strapless heart rate monitor,  LED's change color when  under, right on and over your target heart rate.

How the MIO Alpha compares......

Here is a quick comparison video of the MIO Alpha (No Cheststrap) tracking my heart rate along side with the MIO Energy Pro (Cheststrap) and MIO Quest (Cheststrap).  Like clockwork, right on the money.  Both the Energy Pro and Quest were getting heart rate info from a chest strap I was wearing.

My first look at the MIO Alpha

Here is my first look at the MIO Alpha.  I have been using it for just over two weeks.  I have the BLE  (bluetooth low energy) version and have yet to connect it to a smartphone to gather information into an app.  I have entered my heart rate zone I am wanting to workout in for now and its very accurate.  Keep in mind there is no chest strap involved gathering my heart rate.  I look forward to doing more updates on innovative heart rate monitor from MIO.