Heart Rate Monitors/GPS Devices
Wearable sports technology has come such a long way in the past 50 years. They can track just about everything and anything these days; overall volume, overall intensity, heart rate, movement, overall distance, run cadence, idle time, walk time, number of sprints, distance of sprints, etc.
As for Heart Rate monitors, they have started increasing in popularity among recreational users, amateur athletes, and professional athletes. Some of the big names are Polar, Garmin, Whoop, and Apple.
Polar and Garmin are for the serious athlete looking for real time heart rate data feedback. They both provide a wrist-based watch heart rate monitor, or they can use a chest strap sensor which provides better heart rate data accuracy. The chest strap sensor can partner with the watch or without through Bluetooth or ANT+ technology. If pairing with the watch you will be able see it visibly on the watch screen display. Both these manufactures provide GPS support and track your distances on training runs/matches. Both will track your everyday movement as well as your sleep data if you wear it while you rest. They measure your strain from your workout and how much energy you have used to make sure you don’t overtrain on your next workout. You can also buy a third-party chest strap monitor that will pair with Polar or Garmin that has extra features like the Wahoo Tickr or TickrX. Both Polar and Garmin have great apps that allow easy download on android or apple products.
Whoop is also meant for the serious athlete and provides a mixture of activity tracking, sleep, heart rate monitors, GPS combined, which also measures your heart rate variability from workouts. This one is also measured from the wrist or forearm; however you won’t be able to see your heart rate as this is not a watch but just a sensor. It also measures your stress levels of everyday life, sleep, training/workouts. Lastly, it will provide information to you about your recovery and how hard you should go in your next workout. It will also tell you how much sleep you will need based upon your training and stress. You will be able to see all your data from their app, once your session is uploaded.
Apple is the last main player we will talk about in heart rate monitors. They are geared towards the recreational user for their ease of use and not as in-depth heart rate data and GPS. Apple watches are based as an activity tracker to make sure you are getting enough exercise; it also has a fitness app tackers you can use if you are training to see how many calories you burn. Apple continues to get better and better with their heart rate and GPS tracking technology as evident with their Ultra watch. Apple watches are great if you are just starting off in your referee fitness journey because it will provide real time feedback and give some good heart rate data feedback.
NOW! Onto the phase 2 of this blog - GPS Tracking systems! Just like the heart rate monitor devices - GPS Tracking systems have continued to get better and better every year - they are also now becoming readily available and affordable. Catapult Sports/Playertek, SPT, StatSports, McLLoyd, are the big names in these categories. These devices are to be worn with the sensor between the shoulder blades just below the neck in a specialized compression shirt or sports garment that is provided by the company when purchasing. If you have ever watched a professional soccer match and see a hump or bulge coming out of a player’s/referee’s back just below the neck - that would be these GPS Devices.
These sensors/devices are basically all the same technology with a few modifications between manufacturers and models, based on price point. All of these will be using high frequency satellite GPS tracking with accelerometers to measure overall distance, speed, sprints, sprint volume, intensity, etc. Also, some will have pairing capabilities that can pair with you heart rate data monitors and can be recorded together at the same time. This will help eliminate piecing the data separately and provide better overall feedback to the athlete. All will have software, where you can download your data after each match or training session that you wear it.
Now the one question I do get asked all the time is, “My heart rate monitor watch has a GPS already built into it, why do I need another one?” Well here is where it gets interesting if you are a serious athlete/referee. The heart rate monitor watches like Polar and Garmin operate on a lower frequency satellite then these GPS devices. This means that when you are running around the field the satellite updates every 5 seconds from your watch, meaning you are losing all that distance covered in that 5 seconds. In a full 90-minute match those 5 seconds can add up to a lot of missed distances covered with the GPS devices because they operate on a higher frequency satellite, it tracks your movement and positioning live, meaning there is no lag time or distance lost when running around the field. Basing this off of my own experiences while wearing my heart rate monitor and GPS device at the same time on matches; at the end of the match my heart rate monitor will ready 5.0 miles in a match, my GPS Device when the data is uploaded will read 7 -7.5 miles! Quite a big difference, especially when it comes to training preparation for matches!
Ok, so which of these monitors/devices are the best and do I have an opinion on them?
When it comes to heart rate monitors and if you are looking to get the best heart rate data tracking possible, in my opinion Polar is the best. Polar was the first to develop this technology, for heart rate data tracking wearables. They have spent countless hours on research year and after year and their devices are top notch, they are the gold standard when it comes to this industry. Second on my list is Garmin. Garmin provides top level heart data feedback and great GPS. Garmin started as GPS tracking company then started working on their heart rate data tracking. Garmin is still a great product and has accurate heart rate data and great GPS.
When it comes to GPS Tracking Devices up until a few weeks ago, I would have said Catapult Sports/Playertek, however, with some recent testing with other companies, I have felt that SPT is just as good as Catapult/Playertek device. Also, I like the breakdown of data on the software on SPT much more than Catapult. It provides clear understanding of data and breakdown, while also not throwing numbers at you; also, they have tutorial videos if you need help understanding a certain metrics.
SPT and Catapult have great products and provide phenomenal customer service and support, while also having clear cut understanding of metrics on their software. StatSports is a second choice in this field, however with some recent chats with other athletes that have used the APEX Athlete series, they stated it can be unreliable and the metrics aren’t as Indepth as SPT or Catapult.
Overall, all these products listed can help aid in a referee’s fitness training. They are able to record heart rate data and GPS distances accurately. Being able to dissect and analyze this data is just as important as recording it. By being able to use these devices and dissect their recorded data accurately will help boost a referee’s performance both on the field and in daily training.