Open Access To Exercise Data?

identity0 writes "A recent Slashdot discussion about heart-rate monitors in schools got me thinking about getting one for my own exercise. It turns out that the available models have a wide range of features: calorie rate, pedometers, GPS, PC connectivity, etc. Being a geek, I want one that will let me look at my exercise data, and I'm curious what experiences Slashdotters have had with them. Some download data to a proprietary application — are open source alternatives available or is the data format easily readable? Others upload data to an online app — can the data be pulled off the site or is it forever trapped on their servers? While I'm not an open source zealot or a paranoid about my data being shared, I would like to know that I can access my data in the future. Whatever method you guys use to monitor your exercise, I'd love to hear about it."

C2 Rower

[mike260]

Concept2 rowers will dump their full workout log to CSV, and also allow realtime monitoring via USB + a supplied SDK.
I've got my rower hooked up to a WinAmp plugin I wrote which pipes heartrate, rowing speed and stroke rate into the visualisation system. This gets projected onto a 2m wide screen, so the harder I work, the more intense and psychedelic the visuals get.

My next project will be to connect the playback speed of VLC to the rower so I have to keep rowing at my target rate to keep watching House.

Over stimulation by options

[pdp1144]

I bought one a few months ago. My brain was swimming with options and I didn't want to spend $500.00 on this equipment. I ended up going with a $100 timex solutions that does everything I need. I felt it was a good investment.

Re:Garmin is reasonable

[juletre]

I have the Forerunner 405, and I am quite pleased. You can dump the data as an xml-file with GPS-coordinates, heart rate, elevation etc for each logged point. (I dont have en example at the moment)

The garmin site for publishing tracks is somewhat cumbersome to use, but works nicely when you get used to it. It has functionality for both importing and exporting.

However, as with the iphone, the elevation tracking jumps wildly. I know from painful experience that the Berlin Marathon is quite flat, but it keeps on insisting I had a 2000m ascend.

Re:PolarViewer

[corbettw]

My wife uses a Polar heart rate monitor (http://www.polarusa.com, I forget which model). All of the data is stored in CSV files for easy import into spreadsheets and databases.

a more-open solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you heard of SportTracks?

http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/

I have a Garmin 305 and it collects wonderful data, but the bundled Garmin software is crap and the Garmin website is subscription based. So I use SportTracks, which allows me to get closer to the data, look at it on google maps, get spilts, etc.

Re:Minimalism

[Don_dumb]

I run and feel good running.
I also want to know how far I've been and gone. I could draw the map on Google Earth or a paper map and get an approximation OR I could just read the distance and time off of the Garmin Forerunner on my arm to get the most accurate measurement.
The reason we want the records is so that we can work out which route will take me (or us) so far.

Having a goal, short and/or long term, is by far the best motivator to keep human beings going, whether you enjoy something or not. RPGs understand this with levelling up. Some of us just want to be the best we can be from ourselves - competitive yes, but humans *are* competitive beings.

Being competitive with others or setting goals for yourself is the most effective way to get something out of exercise. If I don't have a race coming up, even 6 months ahead, I lose motivation to get out there. I know I'm not alone in this. I don't think it is strange to want to run the next one quicker, I would find it strange to run for 6 years and not want to get any better during that time.

But it seems less pure than simply going for a hike, a run, or living some free weights.

I agree going for a hike should be about the stroll and enjoying the outdoors. But a scientific exercise such as lifting weights without a plan of what you are trying to achieve is a pointless exercise that will end up with you wasting your time. The specific counting (kgs, reps, sets) is the whole idea.

Garmin forerunner 305 and linux

[roalt]

I've written some blog entries about my Garmin Forerunner 305. I also got it to work under linux: http://www.roalt.com/content/blogcategory/28/31/ [roalt.com] Just one month ago, I also added a quick release fix and a Cadence meter, so I can use it both with running and with cycling. With the release kit it's also perfect if you want to do triathlon (although I'm not so sure it's swim-proof)...

Re:I was just wondering...

[R2.0]

He said:

"There are already a few available continuous blood glucose meters [diabetesnet.com] available and last time I checked at least a few of them were approved by the FDA (thus covered by medical insurance in the USA).

Being a type 1 diabetic myself, I have fought to get one of these myself but the powers-that-be here in Norway seem to think there are no advantages to having your blood glucose measured every 1-2 to 5 minutes for 3-7 days (depending on which monitor you get), at least not compared to the price of these gadgets. Pretty insanely ignorant, as having this info available would let me easily have perfect blood glucose levels at all times. Hell, some of these meters even come with an optional automatic insulin pump!"

And I said:

"Wait a minute - are you saying that there's some aspect of the US health care system that's better than some other country's?"

And the best part is, your reflexive reaction is EXACTLY the kind of response I was hoping to get, therefor reinforcing the point I was trying to make. Thanks!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

BodyMedia, research version

[awtbfb]

This is probably outside the price range of most folks, but BodyMedia makes a research version [sensewear.com].

And before you complain, yes research versions of such equipment are almost always more expensive than consumer versions. This has to do with the added technical support ("we want people to do [insert crazy unusual thing] while using your device, will it work?") and typical "hey, that's odd data, can you explain it?" types of follow-up. When you're doing research, this level of support and debugging has a definite, non-zero value.