Multisport device offers enhanced training metrics

In a statement, Dan Bartel, Vice President of global consumer sales at Garmin, described the Forerunner 935 as a device designed for athletes focused on performance and results and highlighted how these three new features improve support for multisport athletes. “As a top-of-the-line GPS smartwatch, the Forerunner 935 not only provides users with insight into how their body is responding to fitness, but also offers data for every activity,” he said.

Echoing those sentiments, Aki Pulkkinen, Firstbeat head of consumer products, explained: “Most people aren’t just runners or cyclists, active people do lots of different things. If you’re looking to improve performance, then it’s important to look at the big picture while focusing on the details. Remarkably, the training analytics onboard the Forerunner 935 allow you to do both simultaneously.”

In support of the launch, Garmin announced a new print, digital, and social media campaign that will feature professional Garmin-sponsored elite athletes and triathletes from around the world. With the new Forerunner 935, these athletes will gain access to features previously only available via the Firstbeat Sports Monitor, a professional grade training load and recovery monitoring platform used by elite sports teams around the world.

Notably, in the Forerunner 935, Firstbeat’s popular Training Effect feature has been rebranded as Aerobic Training Effect and is now supplemented with a new metric, Anaerobic Training Effect. The new metric was developed by Firstbeat based on input from top coaches and trainers in the NHL, who were keen to better match individual training activities with demands of the game, style of play, and even position. When used in conjunction, the combination of insights provided by Aerobic and Anaerobic Training Effects makes that goal possible.

While Aerobic Training Effect describes the impact activities will have on aerobic performance capacity - reflected in changes to VO2max fitness levels - Anaerobic Training Effect reports how training activities will impact more explosive performance capabilities, like the ability to perform sprints repeatedly. Both Aerobic and Anaerobic Training Effect scores provide individualised feedback based on user fitness and training histories and are reported on a scale of 0.0-5.0. Because Training Effects are updated in real time, users can modify their approach to the day’s training on-the-fly to ensure they achieve their goals.

The Forerunner 935 will also introduce Training Load to the Forerunner series. This new feature relies on Firstbeat’s ability to measure the accumulating physiological impact of training activities via heartbeat data. As a result, with the Forerunner 935, you can instantly see the total collective impact your activities over a seven day rolling period have on your body. Personalised feedback is also provided to help locate the Training Loads that best match your needs. This is a particularly valuable resource for multisport enthusiasts, who cannot get the full picture from running and cycling distances alone.

With the potential to revolutionise user expectations for the fitness device industry, Training Status will also be making its debut in the Forerunner series with the Forerunner 935. To produce this feature, Firstbeat brings streams of physiological and performance data together to provide big picture perspectives on the sum of training activities. Changes in user VO2max fitness levels are expertly examined and interpreted in light of current training loads and historical training patterns to reveal the user’s current performance status. Based on real data, users will see in clear, easily understood terms whether training efforts are productive or unproductive, are producing states of detraining, recovery, maintaining, or peaking, and even be notified when they are overreaching.

In addition to Training Status, Training Load, and Aerobic/Anaerobic Training Effect, the Forerunner 935 also delivers a bevy of other physiological insights powered by Firstbeat. These include automatic VO2max detection, Recovery Advisor, Performance Condition, Lactate Threshold (running), Functional Threshold Power (cycling), HRV Stress Test, and heart rate based calorie counts.