Jeg har som tidligere nevnt tatt et kurs i anatomi og fysiologi ved universitetet i høst. Tenkte jeg kunne prøve å beskrive litt om ting som jeg har funnet interessant angående muskelfysiologi. Jeg har ikke lært noe revolusjonerende nytt sett fra et treningsperspektiv, det som er interessant i treningssammenheng hadde jeg allerede fått vite via artikler i treningsmagasiner.
Hvordan muskler trekker seg sammen
Muskler består av muskelfibre. En slik fiber er en celle og den kan være lang. Inne i fiberen er det flere tråder som ligger parallelt. Disse trådene er delt opp i segmenter, en fiber har mange slike segmenter. Det finnes 2 typer av slike tråder og de er festet i hver sin ende på segmentet. Selve sammentrenkingen foregår ved at den ene typen tråder, ved hjelp av kjemi, "klatrer" på den andre typen. Siden de er festet i hver sin ende så trekkes segmentet og dermed muskelen sammen. Dette skjer inne i hvert segment samtidig, slik at den totale sammentrekningen kan bli stor. "Klatringen" foregår ved at et molekyl fra den ene typen tråder fester seg til et punkt på den andre typen. Molekylet endre så form, det får en liten knekk, som gjør at trådene trekker i hverandre. Deretter så må molekylet slippe taket igjen og klargjøres for en ny omgang. Det er faktisk dette som krever energi.
Hva gir muskelen energi
I denne kjemiske reaksjonen i muskelcellen bruker kun en type stoff som gir energi, dette stoffet kalles ATP. Cellene har et lager av ATP for 4-6 sekunder med aktivitet. Når det brukes, så blir det omdannet og det må gjenvinnes for å kunne brukes på nytt. Dette skjer heldigvis raskt ved hjelp av andre stoffer. Creatin er et slikt stoff. Cellene har et lager av dette stoffet for 14-16 sekunder. Videre energi skapes ved anareob splitting av glukosemolekyler. Dette gjenvinner 2 stk ATP molekyler. Slik splitting danner en syre som kalles pyruvic syre. Denne syre blir videre nedbrutt areobt av mitokondriene til å danne mye mer engergi, 32 stk ATP molekyler. Når aktivitetsnivået til muskelcellen når ca. 70% av maks, så klarer ikke den areobe prosessen og bryte ned denne pyruic syren fort nok og den blir omdannet til melkesyre, som muskelen ikke kan bryte ned videre. Denne syren blir fjernet fra cellene via blodet. (Interessant nok så kan muskelfibrene i hjertet forbrenne melkesyre. De har også så mange mitokondrier i hver celle at de aldri blir utslitt) Som en ser over så gir den anareobe prosessen lite enegi pr. glukosemolekyl. Den bruker derfor mye glukose. Læreboken sier at p.g.a. dette så kan en ren anareob forbrenning kun vare i 30-40 sekunder.
Tretthet
Tretthet som definert ved at muskelcellene får nervestimuli, men trekker seg likevel ikke sammen, er ikke helt forstått. Mest sannsynlig har det med å gjøre at signalet ikke helt virker slik det skal, enn at det har med muskelens evne til å trekke seg sammen. Melkesyre har faktisk ikke noe med dette å gjøre, hevder læreboken. Melkesyre har mer en psykologisk effekt enn fysiologisk.
Hva kan trening gjøre for musklene
Mitokondriene er viktige for energiomsetningen og trening kan påvirke muskelcellene til å lage flere mitokondrier og flere "tråder" inne i hver fiber. Trening gir også et bedre utbygget kapilarårenett. Som sikkert kjent av de fleste som trener, så har vi 2 typer muskelceller, de som er beregnet på utholdenhet og de som er beregnet på hurtighet og styrke. Ved mye trening på kun en type av disse to typer aktiviteter, så kan noen muskelceller omdanne seg til det som det trenes på.
søndag 6. februar 2011
How to reset the Polar RS800cx (and change display contrast)
It was kind of ominous to read in the manual that the watch had a function for resetting the watch. Does it really need that? Is it just an extra precaution?
Is is also easy to exchange battery on the RS800cx.
I never shut down my PC and only rarely reset it, and I have notice that the USB IR adapter that is used to transfer data to and from the watch, works a little less good each time I use it, since last reset. There is also always a chance to get the IR adapter out of position during a transfer. I think a combination of those two things happened when I was transferring a new planned training to the watch. It took a much longer time than usual.
When I started the exercise, the training zone alarm started sounding at a way to low HR. Afterwards when trying to transfer the session to the PC, there were some extra phantom sessions in the watch memory also. The training session memory and the planning memory looked pretty garbled. I immediately set this into relation with the problem transferring the planned session. I can imagine that missing data or bad data can cause all sorts of problems, if you allow that to happen. I managed to get out my training sessions, so I didn't loose any training data. I was able erase all training data in the watch, but I never managed to clean the planned training data. It was still pretty garbled. Then I recalled the reset function. Here is the description of it from the FAQ:
"Reset the training computer by pressing all the buttons simultaneously for two seconds until the display fills with digits. Press any button and set the time and date in Basic Settings after the reset. All other settings are saved. Skip the rest of the settings by pressing and holding STOP."
Holding down the 4 buttons (excluding the start/stop button) surely reset the watch. I guess that during the reset, the watch did a check of the memory and found out that it was garbled and decided to do a full reset. The result was that I lost all settings on the watch. Most settings can be easily set from the PC software, Protrainer 5, so this is not a problem, but also the LCD display contrast setting were reset. This made the display much more unreadable. If you have never adjusted the contrast on a black/white LCD display, it is hard to explain what is is. If it is too strong, the "off" state or "white", gets too dark compared to the surroundings, the "on" state or "dark" also gets darker and thus more clear. It has to be balanced to the rest of the display background for maximum readability.
Nowhere in the manual or FAQ did I found where to change this setting. Luckily, someone posted a description on the Polar forum after having been in contact with Polar customer support. I will copy that here. The key is that you get the watch into the internal test mode, which allows you to change this setting.
- Press and hold all four buttons to reset the watch.
- Press Stop x1 immediately followed by Up x1 to get into the Monitor screen.
- Press Up x1 to get to the Internal test screen.
- Press Start to get the sub menus.
- Press Up x3 to get to the LCD Adj. menu. You will have a number here for the current setting (mine was 5).
- Press and hold Start and then press Up and/or Down until you have the contrast you want (selectable values are 0 to 15).
- Press Stop x4 to get to the basic settings dialog.
- Press and hold Stop x1 to exit from the basic settings dialog.
Is is also easy to exchange battery on the RS800cx.
I prefer a gadget with lots of useful functions, but which may need a reset once in a while, over another gadget that is 100% stable, but miss all those nice functions.
When I started the exercise, the training zone alarm started sounding at a way to low HR. Afterwards when trying to transfer the session to the PC, there were some extra phantom sessions in the watch memory also. The training session memory and the planning memory looked pretty garbled. I immediately set this into relation with the problem transferring the planned session. I can imagine that missing data or bad data can cause all sorts of problems, if you allow that to happen. I managed to get out my training sessions, so I didn't loose any training data. I was able erase all training data in the watch, but I never managed to clean the planned training data. It was still pretty garbled. Then I recalled the reset function. Here is the description of it from the FAQ:
"Reset the training computer by pressing all the buttons simultaneously for two seconds until the display fills with digits. Press any button and set the time and date in Basic Settings after the reset. All other settings are saved. Skip the rest of the settings by pressing and holding STOP."
Holding down the 4 buttons (excluding the start/stop button) surely reset the watch. I guess that during the reset, the watch did a check of the memory and found out that it was garbled and decided to do a full reset. The result was that I lost all settings on the watch. Most settings can be easily set from the PC software, Protrainer 5, so this is not a problem, but also the LCD display contrast setting were reset. This made the display much more unreadable. If you have never adjusted the contrast on a black/white LCD display, it is hard to explain what is is. If it is too strong, the "off" state or "white", gets too dark compared to the surroundings, the "on" state or "dark" also gets darker and thus more clear. It has to be balanced to the rest of the display background for maximum readability.
Nowhere in the manual or FAQ did I found where to change this setting. Luckily, someone posted a description on the Polar forum after having been in contact with Polar customer support. I will copy that here. The key is that you get the watch into the internal test mode, which allows you to change this setting.
- Press and hold all four buttons to reset the watch.
- Press Stop x1 immediately followed by Up x1 to get into the Monitor screen.
- Press Up x1 to get to the Internal test screen.
- Press Start to get the sub menus.
- Press Up x3 to get to the LCD Adj. menu. You will have a number here for the current setting (mine was 5).
- Press and hold Start and then press Up and/or Down until you have the contrast you want (selectable values are 0 to 15).
- Press Stop x4 to get to the basic settings dialog.
- Press and hold Stop x1 to exit from the basic settings dialog.
onsdag 2. februar 2011
Skovalg om vinteren
I et innlegg om vinterbekleding i desember i fjor, så nevnte jeg aktiv varme i skoene. Dette fungerte for så vidt bra, men jeg fikk likevel en innskytelse om å kjøpe meg vintersykkelsko og ble da også anbefalt vintertrekk. Dette må jeg si har fungert kjempebra for meg. Nærmest uansett temperatur så kommer jeg hjem relativt tørr og varm på beina. Har ikke vært i frøse et sekund og det uten å bruke noe aktiv varme. Når det har regnet mye så har det rent noe vann ned langs beinet, men jeg har likevel holdt varmen.
Jeg tror at vintertrekket er en viktig ingrediens. Det var en dag det var litt varmere, så jeg tenkte at det kanskje ville bli for varmt med vintertrekk og jeg tok på det gamle Gore-tex trekket. Da ble jeg mye våtere og kaldere med en gang. Jeg tror at cluet med vintertrekket er at det er isolert og at denne isolasjon hindrer fuktig luft inne i skoen fra å kondensere. Den får tid til å diffundere ut av skoen.
Jeg bruker Chiba trekk og NW sko.
Jeg tror at vintertrekket er en viktig ingrediens. Det var en dag det var litt varmere, så jeg tenkte at det kanskje ville bli for varmt med vintertrekk og jeg tok på det gamle Gore-tex trekket. Da ble jeg mye våtere og kaldere med en gang. Jeg tror at cluet med vintertrekket er at det er isolert og at denne isolasjon hindrer fuktig luft inne i skoen fra å kondensere. Den får tid til å diffundere ut av skoen.
Jeg bruker Chiba trekk og NW sko.
mandag 31. januar 2011
Erfaring med nytt treningsopplegg - del 2 (etter 2 mnd)
Jeg har nå tilbakelagt 2 måneder med periodebasert trening. Vi, den gruppa i klubben som deltar på dette, har mottatt relativt detaljerte treningsplaner fra vår mentor. Disse planene har innebygd fleksibilitet angående mengde, slik at de kan tilpasses den treningsmengden som en ønsker å legge ned. Jeg har også lest boken som disse planene er basert på, Joe Friels: "Cyclist's Training Bible". Våre treningsplaner er basert på mange års erfaring med bruk av opplegget som er beskrevet i boken og er mer detaljerte. Når jeg først leste boken så savnet jeg en litt mer praktisk anvendelse. Det er ikke lett å komme i gang, selv om boken i og for seg inneholder mange forslag til treninger. Nå får vi det servert på sølvfat.
Siden forrige innlegg så har vi nå gjennomført 8 uker med base 1 og er nå inne i base 2. I base 2 skal treningsmengden økes litt og samtidig intensiteten noe. En skal være forsiktig med å øke intensiteten for mye, da dette, etter hva vår mentor sier, kan starte en mini "formtopp" og det vil en unngå. Målet er å lage base nå og bygge opp mot en solid formtopp på selvvalgt tidspunkt, i senere build perioder.
En justering jeg har gjort etter å ha lest boken, var å skifte fra periodisering over 4 uker, til over 3 uker. Årsaken til dette var at jeg følte jeg hadde litt lite treningsoverskudd mot slutten, før hvileuka. Når kjører jeg 2 "uker" á 8 dager, og tar så en 5 dagers "hvile uke". Jeg bruker da de 2 siste ukene i henhold til planen og den 8ende dagen gir en ekstra treningsdag. Dette gir like mange treningsdager i snitt som 4 ukers opplegget, men med litt tøffere treninger og samtidig gjennomført med mer overskudd.
I forrige innlegg klaget jeg over at jeg hadde problemer med å motivere meg for å sykle i sone 2 på langtur. Dette har jeg ikke problemer med nå, nå er det mer snakk om å holde igjen :) Dette tempoet er nok høyere enn hva jeg har syklet ved vintertrening i tidligere år. Selv ved organiserte klubbtreninger har alltid langturene vært veldig rolige. Hvis jeg derimot ser tilbake på min tidligere løpetrening så er sone 2 mer vanlig, jeg løper aldri senere enn det. Da er det vel logisk at en også må sykle med samme intensitet. Sykkellangturer varer riktignok lenger, men en får alltid mange pauser i belastningen under sykling, løping har en mer jevn belastning.
Siden forrige innlegg så har vi nå gjennomført 8 uker med base 1 og er nå inne i base 2. I base 2 skal treningsmengden økes litt og samtidig intensiteten noe. En skal være forsiktig med å øke intensiteten for mye, da dette, etter hva vår mentor sier, kan starte en mini "formtopp" og det vil en unngå. Målet er å lage base nå og bygge opp mot en solid formtopp på selvvalgt tidspunkt, i senere build perioder.
En justering jeg har gjort etter å ha lest boken, var å skifte fra periodisering over 4 uker, til over 3 uker. Årsaken til dette var at jeg følte jeg hadde litt lite treningsoverskudd mot slutten, før hvileuka. Når kjører jeg 2 "uker" á 8 dager, og tar så en 5 dagers "hvile uke". Jeg bruker da de 2 siste ukene i henhold til planen og den 8ende dagen gir en ekstra treningsdag. Dette gir like mange treningsdager i snitt som 4 ukers opplegget, men med litt tøffere treninger og samtidig gjennomført med mer overskudd.
I forrige innlegg klaget jeg over at jeg hadde problemer med å motivere meg for å sykle i sone 2 på langtur. Dette har jeg ikke problemer med nå, nå er det mer snakk om å holde igjen :) Dette tempoet er nok høyere enn hva jeg har syklet ved vintertrening i tidligere år. Selv ved organiserte klubbtreninger har alltid langturene vært veldig rolige. Hvis jeg derimot ser tilbake på min tidligere løpetrening så er sone 2 mer vanlig, jeg løper aldri senere enn det. Da er det vel logisk at en også må sykle med samme intensitet. Sykkellangturer varer riktignok lenger, men en får alltid mange pauser i belastningen under sykling, løping har en mer jevn belastning.
lørdag 22. januar 2011
RS800cx an update after some use
This post is an update of the previous post regarding differences between S625x and RS800cx.
I'm getting into a rhythm of using the new watch. I have been looking more into the exercise planning feature together with the Protrainer 5 software. As I just recently, as a part of a group in my cycling club, started to exercise after a plan with fairly detailed exercises, this feature is a really great help. The Protrainer 5 exercise planner can plan really detailed and complex exercises. These can be stored and can easily be reused. You add these exercises to a day and transfer the plan to the watch. Then, when ready to start the exercise, you just select "Today" on the watch, press start and you are ready to go. All wanted watch settings are defined together with the exercise.
Afterwards, when the results have been transfered from the watch to the Protrainer SW, you can easily compare the plan against the results.
Personally, I mostly use this feature to get all the settings into the watch, but also do define more complex exercises that consists of many time intervals with different levels of intensity.
Otherwise the watch seem for function OK, no problems noted. The possibility to zoom numbers on the watch display is great, but the bent glass that is placed over the watch significantly reduce the readability during low light conditions, e.g. indoor in a reduced lighted spinning hall or outdoor at night when trying to read the watch using the street lightning. The watch has built in light though.
I have not got scratches in this glass yet, but it is very exposed. In the S625x, the glass is more protected, because it is a little sunken into the top of the watch.
Another very annoying issue is that it is very easy to activate the start button without wanting it.
Edit since first publish: Truls reminded me that the watch has a keylock function that can be used to prevent accidental keypress of the start button. So this is not on the list of annoyances anymore.
The start button is much easier to activate on the RS800cx than the S625x. On the S625x, this button is a little sunken into the surface, on the RS800cx, it is elevated. On the S625x you can have the problem of not getting this button activated when you want to and because of weak audio feedback and poor tactile feedback, you may miss that it didn't register. The RS800cx has better tactile feedback and better sound. On the S625x, dirt can fill up underneath the button to amplify this problem to the level where you can't activate it.
I will also mention that I think it is unpleasant to to wear the watch. I have been wearing watches for many years, but I have never had to stop wearing a watch because it has a sharp edge that is digging into my skin. This is probably related to the anatomy of my wrist, but still, it could have been made more smooth.
I would really have liked if Polar had designed the watch for maximum display light reflexion and broader anatomical compatibility. My guess is that it is a trade-off from trying to make watch look better. I have no opinion on that, other than noting that it is less high than the S625x.
I'm getting into a rhythm of using the new watch. I have been looking more into the exercise planning feature together with the Protrainer 5 software. As I just recently, as a part of a group in my cycling club, started to exercise after a plan with fairly detailed exercises, this feature is a really great help. The Protrainer 5 exercise planner can plan really detailed and complex exercises. These can be stored and can easily be reused. You add these exercises to a day and transfer the plan to the watch. Then, when ready to start the exercise, you just select "Today" on the watch, press start and you are ready to go. All wanted watch settings are defined together with the exercise.
Afterwards, when the results have been transfered from the watch to the Protrainer SW, you can easily compare the plan against the results.
Personally, I mostly use this feature to get all the settings into the watch, but also do define more complex exercises that consists of many time intervals with different levels of intensity.
Otherwise the watch seem for function OK, no problems noted. The possibility to zoom numbers on the watch display is great, but the bent glass that is placed over the watch significantly reduce the readability during low light conditions, e.g. indoor in a reduced lighted spinning hall or outdoor at night when trying to read the watch using the street lightning. The watch has built in light though.
I have not got scratches in this glass yet, but it is very exposed. In the S625x, the glass is more protected, because it is a little sunken into the top of the watch.
Edit since first publish: Truls reminded me that the watch has a keylock function that can be used to prevent accidental keypress of the start button. So this is not on the list of annoyances anymore.
The start button is much easier to activate on the RS800cx than the S625x. On the S625x, this button is a little sunken into the surface, on the RS800cx, it is elevated. On the S625x you can have the problem of not getting this button activated when you want to and because of weak audio feedback and poor tactile feedback, you may miss that it didn't register. The RS800cx has better tactile feedback and better sound. On the S625x, dirt can fill up underneath the button to amplify this problem to the level where you can't activate it.
I will also mention that I think it is unpleasant to to wear the watch. I have been wearing watches for many years, but I have never had to stop wearing a watch because it has a sharp edge that is digging into my skin. This is probably related to the anatomy of my wrist, but still, it could have been made more smooth.
I would really have liked if Polar had designed the watch for maximum display light reflexion and broader anatomical compatibility. My guess is that it is a trade-off from trying to make watch look better. I have no opinion on that, other than noting that it is less high than the S625x.
lørdag 1. januar 2011
Polar S625x vs. Polar RS800cx. Is is worth to upgrade?
If you don't have any of them and wonder which to buy, go for the RS800cx, the S625x is on the way out of production, last summer I could not buy new cycling sensors.
Both these watches are built for persons doing multiple sports, that is at least running and cycling. If you only do one of these sports, there are probably another watch that is less expensive as still fulfill your needs.
It is rather expensive to switch from S625x to RS800cx, especially if you have several sensors that you use, because you have to buy new ones. The old ones are not compatible. The new sensors use a different transmitter frequency. This leads to one of the improvements of the RS800cx:
Sensor technology improvements: The new sensors are less susceptible to electromagnetic interference from other equipment. Where I live there we have electric driven trains and several cycling paths along the railroads, this gives long periods of no sensor input. Another improvement is paring the sensors with the watch, so that the watch does not read input from other sensors when exercising with other people. I must say I have only rarely noticed such misreadings. The downside of the new transmitter frequency is that there are a lot of other equipment that can read the old Polar heart sensor input, that will not work with the new sensor. E.g. training studio equipment. This is only troublesome if you use such equipment to do physical fitness tests.
Pulse zone awareness: The RS800cx is fully aware of pulse zones, not just one predefined target zone, but every zone you have defined in the accompanying Protrainer 5 PC software. Thus you don't have to memorize the pulse limits for every zone. After the exercise the watch also lets you see how much time you spent in each zone, just as the PC software does.
Defining exercises: You can define exercises and store in watch. You can use the PC software for this. I have not studied this fully yet, but from what I read it looks like a great way to predefine you exercise settings so it is quick and easy to switch between various activities. It does also sounds very flexible, so maybe I don't have to bring my old Casio watch when running 20sec intervals. This brings me to another improvement:
Speaker volume: In my opinion the S625x have a too low speaker volume to hear it when you use it to control an exercise. This seems to be improved with the RS800cx.
Multisport: The S625x did not have support for doing a sport where you switch sensors during the activity, without stopping the logging and switch to a new sport and start a new one, which is not an option during a competition. The RS800cx have support for this, I have read but not tried. In any case since it has GPS support, you don't have to switch sensors.
GPS support: This truly make the watch capable for multiple outdoor sports, skiing, kayaking, etc. This may also save you from buying running and cycling sensors, especially if you have several bikes you switch between.
The downside of the GPS sensor is that it, as all GPS sensors, uses some current and has limited battery capacity. They say 15 hours for a Alkaline AA battery. Since is always annoying to get an empty battery during an exercise, you probably want to use rechargeable batteries that are always recharged. Which means you have to get into a certain routine.
While that is said, it is really fun to get the GPS track of the exercises. The integration with Google Earth is very good. The track is colored with the pulse zones, the data for intermediate and final times are included. So you can use Google Earth as an archive of your activities.
The GPS gets its signal rather quickly, it compares well with the newest Garmin GPS equipment, this will vary with the conditions. When I try this in less than optimal conditions, it gets ready in about 30 sec.
Display readability: As one gets older, the small characters on the display gets harder to read. The two uppermost lines of the RS800cx display has smaller characters. However it does have a zoom function that double the size of either of the these lines. So with a little careful preparation of the display setup, you don't have to read the small character during an exercise. With the zoom function, the display is easier to read than the S625x. This is an advantage especially in poor light conditions. I currently don't have any problem reading the display in normal clouded daylight conditions. I haven't tested it in sun yet, I live in the southwestern part of Norway, only cloudy, misty, rainy and snowy conditions.
Design: I am no expert on design, but the watch does not look bulky as the S625x do, but it is still a big watch. They have put a big glass on the top of the watch. I wonder how that will work with scratches etc. The big glass is also slightly bent which gives a reflection from more angles.
It is also worth mention that the RS800cx can measure and store RR intervals. This gives the possibility to calculate heart rate variability. I have no clue what this can be used for though.
There are also many other improvements that I have not mentioned. This also goes for the Protrainer 5 PC software that replaces the Polar Precision Performance software. I think that both the watch and PC software has matured a lot. It looks as they have examined and listened a lot to customers and fixed some smaller issues.
So to answer the question "Is it worth to upgrade?", I would say it depends of how important these improvements are to you. GPS is a really fun feature, but I have used additional GPS devices for years. It does not add a lot to get this included into the watch. Sometimes, you want a GPS with map functionality, this can't this watch provide. As I said, it depends on your usage.
Both these watches are built for persons doing multiple sports, that is at least running and cycling. If you only do one of these sports, there are probably another watch that is less expensive as still fulfill your needs.
It is rather expensive to switch from S625x to RS800cx, especially if you have several sensors that you use, because you have to buy new ones. The old ones are not compatible. The new sensors use a different transmitter frequency. This leads to one of the improvements of the RS800cx:
Sensor technology improvements: The new sensors are less susceptible to electromagnetic interference from other equipment. Where I live there we have electric driven trains and several cycling paths along the railroads, this gives long periods of no sensor input. Another improvement is paring the sensors with the watch, so that the watch does not read input from other sensors when exercising with other people. I must say I have only rarely noticed such misreadings. The downside of the new transmitter frequency is that there are a lot of other equipment that can read the old Polar heart sensor input, that will not work with the new sensor. E.g. training studio equipment. This is only troublesome if you use such equipment to do physical fitness tests.
Pulse zone awareness: The RS800cx is fully aware of pulse zones, not just one predefined target zone, but every zone you have defined in the accompanying Protrainer 5 PC software. Thus you don't have to memorize the pulse limits for every zone. After the exercise the watch also lets you see how much time you spent in each zone, just as the PC software does.
Defining exercises: You can define exercises and store in watch. You can use the PC software for this. I have not studied this fully yet, but from what I read it looks like a great way to predefine you exercise settings so it is quick and easy to switch between various activities. It does also sounds very flexible, so maybe I don't have to bring my old Casio watch when running 20sec intervals. This brings me to another improvement:
Speaker volume: In my opinion the S625x have a too low speaker volume to hear it when you use it to control an exercise. This seems to be improved with the RS800cx.
Multisport: The S625x did not have support for doing a sport where you switch sensors during the activity, without stopping the logging and switch to a new sport and start a new one, which is not an option during a competition. The RS800cx have support for this, I have read but not tried. In any case since it has GPS support, you don't have to switch sensors.
GPS support: This truly make the watch capable for multiple outdoor sports, skiing, kayaking, etc. This may also save you from buying running and cycling sensors, especially if you have several bikes you switch between.
The downside of the GPS sensor is that it, as all GPS sensors, uses some current and has limited battery capacity. They say 15 hours for a Alkaline AA battery. Since is always annoying to get an empty battery during an exercise, you probably want to use rechargeable batteries that are always recharged. Which means you have to get into a certain routine.
While that is said, it is really fun to get the GPS track of the exercises. The integration with Google Earth is very good. The track is colored with the pulse zones, the data for intermediate and final times are included. So you can use Google Earth as an archive of your activities.
The GPS gets its signal rather quickly, it compares well with the newest Garmin GPS equipment, this will vary with the conditions. When I try this in less than optimal conditions, it gets ready in about 30 sec.
Display readability: As one gets older, the small characters on the display gets harder to read. The two uppermost lines of the RS800cx display has smaller characters. However it does have a zoom function that double the size of either of the these lines. So with a little careful preparation of the display setup, you don't have to read the small character during an exercise. With the zoom function, the display is easier to read than the S625x. This is an advantage especially in poor light conditions. I currently don't have any problem reading the display in normal clouded daylight conditions. I haven't tested it in sun yet, I live in the southwestern part of Norway, only cloudy, misty, rainy and snowy conditions.
Design: I am no expert on design, but the watch does not look bulky as the S625x do, but it is still a big watch. They have put a big glass on the top of the watch. I wonder how that will work with scratches etc. The big glass is also slightly bent which gives a reflection from more angles.
It is also worth mention that the RS800cx can measure and store RR intervals. This gives the possibility to calculate heart rate variability. I have no clue what this can be used for though.
There are also many other improvements that I have not mentioned. This also goes for the Protrainer 5 PC software that replaces the Polar Precision Performance software. I think that both the watch and PC software has matured a lot. It looks as they have examined and listened a lot to customers and fixed some smaller issues.
So to answer the question "Is it worth to upgrade?", I would say it depends of how important these improvements are to you. GPS is a really fun feature, but I have used additional GPS devices for years. It does not add a lot to get this included into the watch. Sometimes, you want a GPS with map functionality, this can't this watch provide. As I said, it depends on your usage.
How to transfer data from Polar Precision Performance to Polar Protrainer 5
This is a rather simple task, but because Polar traditionally have stored the data in a sub folder of "Program Files", you soon get into troubles when running on Windows Vista or Windows 7. If yo both run the PPP and the Protrainer 5 on a Windows XP machine, you can skip the next 2 sections that will explain what happens when running on Vista and Win 7 with UAC (User Account Control) enabled. In Windows XP the data will be stored in "C:\Program Files\Polar\Polar Precision Performance".
The reason for this trouble is that only users with administrator rights are allowed to write to "Program Files". (This is done by Microsoft to protect programs from being changed by virus, Trojan horses, etc.) In Windows XP typically everybody run as administrators, but in Vista and Win 7, user with administrator rights, don't run as administrators, but as normal users. When installing a new program Windows prompts you to evaluate your user rights to run as administrator. This is to notify you before writing to "Program Files".
So far, so good, but what happens when a program tries to write data to a "Program Files" sub folder?
Well, Microsoft soon realized that this change would break the functionality of many programs, so they created something called VirtualStore. Whenever a program tries to write to "Program Files" and the program is not started in administrator mode, the write is redirected to the VirtualStore. So to find the data on a Vista or Windows 7, you must look in the VirtualStore. On my computer running Win 7 64 bit, the PPP data are found in this folder: "C:\Users\MyUsername\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Polar\Polar Precision Performance". Where "MyUsername" is my Windows user name and will be different for you. Since I run on a 64 bit operating system, "Program Files" are called "Program Files (x86)" on my machine.
So now we know where the data are. All the data for a person in the PPP, are stored in a sub folder that has the same name as the person, it is this folder you shall copy. It is smart to take backup of these data, but it should not be necessary if you follow the steps I suggest. First step is to copy the data to a new location. I suggest this not to be in "Program Files", especially when running Vista and Win 7. Protrainer 5 has up to the latest version still used "Program Files" as the default location, but the latest version now uses a more sensible location, Link to polarusa web site explaining the new location. Unfortunately, as the document explains, when installing from a CD and even when upgrading to latest version, the program still defaults to the old location. I do recommend to copy the data to the location described in that document. Personally I chose to copy the data to "My documents". It does not really matter where you copy the data to, as long as it is outside of the "Program Files".
Now you have copied the old PPP data, now it is time to get the data into Protrainer 5. Here I assume that you have a new and empty Protrainer 5 installation and have not already created a with the same name. I do recommend downloading and running the latest Protrainer 5 update file. Normally this is done from within the program, but it is possible to download the update program from your webbrowser also.
When starting up Protrainer 5, the first thing you are asked is to create a new person. At the bottom of this dialog is a button called "Add existing person". When clicking this button a browser window opens up asking you to locate the ppd (Polar Person Data File) of the person to add. Then just open to folder you just copied, select the person ppd file and click open. Then the data are automatically converted to the new format and you are ready to go. All training zones and new exercise types are automatically added. I have so far not seen anything missing. It looks so suspiciously similar to PPP that one have to wonder what the improvements really are, but that is a different topic.
If you want to add more persons in Protrainer 5 you should change the default data location. This can be done by selecting options and preferences in the menu and selecting "File locations" tab in the preferences dialog. Change the data location to the folder where you copied the old PPP person to.
The reason for this trouble is that only users with administrator rights are allowed to write to "Program Files". (This is done by Microsoft to protect programs from being changed by virus, Trojan horses, etc.) In Windows XP typically everybody run as administrators, but in Vista and Win 7, user with administrator rights, don't run as administrators, but as normal users. When installing a new program Windows prompts you to evaluate your user rights to run as administrator. This is to notify you before writing to "Program Files".
So far, so good, but what happens when a program tries to write data to a "Program Files" sub folder?
Well, Microsoft soon realized that this change would break the functionality of many programs, so they created something called VirtualStore. Whenever a program tries to write to "Program Files" and the program is not started in administrator mode, the write is redirected to the VirtualStore. So to find the data on a Vista or Windows 7, you must look in the VirtualStore. On my computer running Win 7 64 bit, the PPP data are found in this folder: "C:\Users\MyUsername\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Polar\Polar Precision Performance". Where "MyUsername" is my Windows user name and will be different for you. Since I run on a 64 bit operating system, "Program Files" are called "Program Files (x86)" on my machine.
So now we know where the data are. All the data for a person in the PPP, are stored in a sub folder that has the same name as the person, it is this folder you shall copy. It is smart to take backup of these data, but it should not be necessary if you follow the steps I suggest. First step is to copy the data to a new location. I suggest this not to be in "Program Files", especially when running Vista and Win 7. Protrainer 5 has up to the latest version still used "Program Files" as the default location, but the latest version now uses a more sensible location, Link to polarusa web site explaining the new location. Unfortunately, as the document explains, when installing from a CD and even when upgrading to latest version, the program still defaults to the old location. I do recommend to copy the data to the location described in that document. Personally I chose to copy the data to "My documents". It does not really matter where you copy the data to, as long as it is outside of the "Program Files".
Now you have copied the old PPP data, now it is time to get the data into Protrainer 5. Here I assume that you have a new and empty Protrainer 5 installation and have not already created a with the same name. I do recommend downloading and running the latest Protrainer 5 update file. Normally this is done from within the program, but it is possible to download the update program from your webbrowser also.
When starting up Protrainer 5, the first thing you are asked is to create a new person. At the bottom of this dialog is a button called "Add existing person". When clicking this button a browser window opens up asking you to locate the ppd (Polar Person Data File) of the person to add. Then just open to folder you just copied, select the person ppd file and click open. Then the data are automatically converted to the new format and you are ready to go. All training zones and new exercise types are automatically added. I have so far not seen anything missing. It looks so suspiciously similar to PPP that one have to wonder what the improvements really are, but that is a different topic.
If you want to add more persons in Protrainer 5 you should change the default data location. This can be done by selecting options and preferences in the menu and selecting "File locations" tab in the preferences dialog. Change the data location to the folder where you copied the old PPP person to.
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