Last Updated on December 28, 2022 by pg@petergamma.org
We where often attracted by parameters on Garmin watches, which are as far as we know Firstbeat parameters, but not published in a way so that they can be reproduced, and not parameters which can be used for calculations, and we are not allowed to access those, as for as for instance:
Firstbeat recovery time
- recovery time from Firstbeat is interesting, but values differ on two different watches
- how can it then be accurate?
- Firstbeat stress algorithms are not published in a way that it can be reproduced
- we suppose if we to a literature search, we will find somewhere papers about recovery time algorithms.
- no one knows how long we precisely have to recover before we recovered to start a new activity
Firstbeat stress
- If we are stressed, Firstbeart stress is high, if we are not stressed, Firstbeat stress is low, but the same is true for heart rate.
- If we wear two watches with Firstbeat stress on it, they show different values on it.
- Stress algorithms are not published by Firstbeat in a way so that the values can be reproduced and tested, as for instance with heart rate.
- We are convinced there are papers which can be found with algorithms about stress.
- Stress is a complex research topic, and cannot be measured in a simple way, and expressed by a simple number.
- Firstbeat stress on a Garmin watch is a boosted parameter derived from the heart rate, but we cannot make any calculations with it, it is not possible in any sports platform, and it is not defined in a way so that it can be reproduced.
Firstbeat respiration rate
- Has been discussed before on our journal, and is inaccurate. We tested it by manual counts on seveal watches. With or without chest strap. We do not believe in the chest trap during activity story, and the wrist based at rest story. Respiration rate needs to be calibrated, and we are convinced that the respiration rate on Garmin watches is not calibrated, since it is so inaccurate.
- we suppose it is based on respiration rate estimation on Garmin watches, but not calibrated, as it can be calibrated in the Respiratory Rate Matlab Toobox
The described Firstbeat parameters are parameters which we on certain Garmin watches are only allowed to look at the values on the watch face, sometimes they are synchronized to Garmin Connect, but they have no scale on Garmin Connect, or a very rough scale, and cannot be synchronized to Strava for data analysis, as for instance respiration rate, and need to be read out of the .fit file by specialized software tools, some of those had to be developed by the data scientist Max Candocia.