Suunto Blog

Race to the Summit Two years ago, Dani Arnold completed the biggest project of his life: climbing the six large Alpine north faces – alone and in record time. The project occupied, accompanied and shaped him over a period of 10 years. Now the Netflix is devoting a 90-minute report to three of these climbs. Race to the Summit features the dizzying feats of Dani Arnold and the late Ueli Steck, two great Swiss alpinists and long-time Suunto ambassadors. Experienced mountaineers need a day or more to climb the infamous north faces of the Eiger or Matterhorn. But Dani and Ueli climbed them alone in less than three hours. The duel thrilled the climbing world and electrified the media. Watch the trailer above and the full film on Netflix.   Lost Then Found TDS winning athlete Christian Meier shares his inspiring story in Lost Then Found. Christian started his athletic career as a cyclist and has since made a transition from the pro peloton to the top of ultra-running. ”Life is a constant evolution of who you are as a person and Lost Then Found marks an important turning point in my life not only as an athlete but as an individual. From losing cycling to finding trail running this is a story of self-discovery and I am happy to be able to share that journey,” says Christian.   Arctic Lines – Sunny Car Center In the Arctic Lines video series, backcountry snowboarder Antti Autti explores the vast wilderness of northern Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The series is now in its third season, and in the latest episode, 'Sunny Car Center,' Antti seeks—and finds—a new special zone in Northern Norway. ”Exploring expands your horizons and finding new locations is one of the most important aspects of freeriding,” says Antti.   Balkan Express Ski mountaineers Jochen Mesle and Max Kroneck rode 2500 km from Greece to Germany – and stopped to ski along the way. Balkan Express, their film about the adventure, has won acclaim at international film festivals. “We really wanted to experience some mountains, cultures, people we didn't know. We looked at a map of Europe and saw that the Balkans are pretty interesting. The sport side wasn’t the main focus of the project. It was about getting to know the culture and people,” says Max.   Nomadland – Bikepacking in Mongolia Alba Xandri and Erreka Calmet found beautiful landscapes, friendly people and an epic adventure while bikepacking in in the Mongolian grasslands – and made a film about it. ”Mongolia far exceeded our expectations. It is a backcountry bikepacker’s paradise,” says Alba.   Ride to Ski – Bikepacking adventure through the Dolomites Lack of snow forced Henna Palosaari to think outside the box and led her to invite two of her friends, Sami Sauri and Malva Björkman, on a bike & ski adventure. The 9-day journey that combined two of her favorite sports, turned out to be a beautiful mix of sweat, laughs, ice, snow, and friendship.  ”It wasn’t a pure sufferfest,” Henna laughs.   Max Ammer, Raja Ampat and the richest reefs in the world This is an oldie but goldie: Max Ammer, founder of Papua Diving and two Eco Resorts, Sorido Bay and Kri Eco Resort, shows us why these incredible projects are more than just places to stay, dive and enjoy the unique ecosystems. Over the past 30 years, a remarkable conservation project has unfolded. The local team, with unwavering dedication, has prioritized the protection of the flourishing ecosystem. This strategic focus has proven to be wise, as the tangible outcomes of their hard work, long-term planning, and precise execution are evident in the thriving fish and coral counts. This stands as a rare case where the reefs are experiencing unprecedented richness – and gives hope for other areas as well.   Lead image by Richard Bucher / Ride to Ski

Keep an eye on what's happening inside your muscles with a Train.red muscle oxygen sensor and your Suunto watch. Exercise technology is developing fast and new ways to measure and understand what is going on in our bodies emerge frequently. SuuntoPlus gives sensor companies an agile way to integrate with Suunto watches for real-time monitoring and data collection. The latest addition to compatible devices is Train.Red muscle oxygen sensor. Muscle oxygen sensors are tiny devices that monitor the level of oxygen saturation in the muscles. The concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in muscle tissue is commonly measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) devices. These sensors provide valuable data by detecting the saturation of oxygen in the muscle, which can assist athletes in maximizing their performance and recovery. How Muscle Oxygen Sensors Work Muscle oxygen sensors work by emitting light into the muscle tissue and measuring the amount of light that is absorbed and scattered by the hemoglobin in the muscle. This allows the sensor to determine the concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the muscle tissue, which can be used to calculate the oxygen saturation level.   When using SuuntoPlus Train.red sport app your TrainRed muscle oxygen sensor will provide real-time feedback on the oxygenation status of muscles.   The Advantages of Muscle Oxygen Sensors in sports Performance Evaluation One of the key advantages of sports muscle oxygen sensors is that they provide vital data on an athlete's performance. Athletes can receive insight into how their bodies are doing and how they can enhance their performance by monitoring the saturation of oxygen in the muscles during exercise. Improving Endurance Muscle oxygen sensors can also be used to improve endurance. By monitoring the oxygen saturation levels in the muscles during exercise, athletes can determine when their muscles are becoming fatigued and adjust their training accordingly. This can help athletes train more efficiently and effectively, leading to greater gains in endurance and overall performance. Avoiding Injury Muscle oxygen sensors can potentially be utilized to aid in injury prevention. Athletes can tell whether their muscles are exhausted and at risk of injury by monitoring the oxygen saturation levels in their muscles. This enables them to modify their training to avoid injury and retain optimal performance. Personalized Training Muscle oxygen sensors can also be used to create personalized training plans. By analyzing the data provided by the sensors, athletes and coaches can identify areas of weakness and develop training plans that are tailored to their specific needs. This can lead to more efficient training and greater gains in performance. Monitoring the Recovery Process Finally, muscle oxygen sensors can be employed to track recovery progress. Athletes can evaluate how quickly their muscles recover by measuring the oxygen saturation levels in their muscles after exercise and adjusting their training accordingly. This can aid in the prevention of overtraining and injury, resulting in more consistent performance over time. How to use Train.red with Suunto When using SuuntoPlus Train.red sport app your TrainRed muscle oxygen (SmO2%) sensor will provide real-time feedback on the oxygenation status of muscles, helping you optimize your training and performance. Go to Suunto app’s App Store and save Train.red sport app in your sport apps. Go to “My SuuntoPlus sport apps” and “install” the Train.red sport app. Sync your watch with the app Before starting an activity, go down to the exercise settings and select Train.red sport app. During activity your Train.red data will be shown on a specific Train.red screen. After the activity your muscle oxygen data is saved and synced to Suunto app for post-exercise analysis.

Recovery is a crucial component of training that allows the body to repair and adapt to the stress of exercise. During recovery, the body replenishes energy stores, repairs damaged muscle tissue and strengthens muscles and connective tissue to better handle future physical demands. Without adequate recovery, the body may become overtrained, leading to fatigue, decreased performance, and increased risk of injury.    Suunto GPS watches and Suunto app’s Training Zone collect and help you analyze your recovery based on indicators like heart rate variability, sleep, training stress balance and subjective feeling after workouts.      Monitor recovery with heart rate variability Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures the variation in time between consecutive heartbeats, providing valuable insights into the balance of the autonomic nervous system and overall health. HRV is not just about heart rate but the fluctuations in the intervals between beats. A higher HRV generally indicates a more adaptable autonomic nervous system, reflecting the body's ability to handle stress effectively. Various factors, including intense training, mental stress, or illness, can influence HRV readings. Suunto Race, Suunto Vertical, and Suunto 9 Peak Pro offer HRV tracking during sleep, providing a reliable and easy way to gather comparable data. Interpreting HRV data is highly individual, and higher values usually signify better autonomic balance within an individual's normal range. Suunto defines an individual's normal range over 60 days, comparing the rolling seven-day average with that baseline. Consistently low HRV values may indicate a compromised recovery state due to factors like chronic stress, inadequate sleep, overtraining, or underlying health issues. After intense efforts or races, it's normal for HRV to temporarily drop below the normal range. Abnormally high HRV, indicated by a yellow or red warning in the app, may suggest excessive recovery (parasympathetic nervous system activity), often in response to accumulated stress. Learn more about HRV tracking with Suunto     Understand how much sleep you are getting Sleep plays a crucial role in recovery by allowing the body to repair and regenerate tissues that have been damaged during exercise. During sleep, the body releases growth hormone, which helps build and repair muscles, and the immune system releases cytokines, which fight off inflammation and infection. Additionally, sleep helps regulate hormones that affect appetite and metabolism, which can impact weight management and overall health. Lack of sleep can lead to decreased performance, increased risk of injury, and other negative health consequences. To optimize recovery, athletes should aim for at least 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night and establish a regular sleep routine that includes a consistent bedtime and wake-up time. To track sleep, you need to enable sleep tracking in the watch settings and wear the watch during sleep. In the settings, you also define your bedtime. Your watch uses that period to determine when you are sleeping (during your bedtime) and reports all sleep as one session. If you get up for a drink of water during the night, for example, your watch still counts any sleep after that as the same session. When you wake up, you are greeted with a summary of your sleep. The summary includes, for example, your average and minimum heart rate, and the total duration of your sleep, as well as the estimated time you were awake and the time you were in deep sleep. In addition to the sleep summary, you can follow your overall sleep trend with the sleep widget on your Suunto Vertical, Suunto Race and Suunto 9 Peak Pro. When you sync your watch with the Suunto app, you will see more sleep data and trends.    Read about six ways to improve your sleep   Know the balance between your long and short-term training load Training stress score (TSS) is a metric that quantifies the stress training puts on your body. Over time, this load adds up. This is illustrated by Acute Training Load (ACL), the weighted seven-day average of your TSS, and Chronic Training Load (CTL), the weighted 42-day average of your TSS. CTL is also called ‘fitness’ as it indicates how much – or how hard – you’ve been training. When you compare these two cumulative training stress metrics, you get Training stress balance (TSB). If your acute load is smaller than the chronic load, your Training stress balance is positive: your training recently has been lighter than over the past several weeks. A positive TSB indicates that you are adequately recovered and may be ready to increase your training load, while a negative TSB suggests that you may need more rest or recovery time before increasing your workload. By using TSB as a guide, you can optimize your training and reduce the risk of injury or burnout. Learn more about Training stress score   Trust your subjective feelings as well Monitoring feelings after an activity can provide valuable insight into your overall recovery status. If your feelings after exercise start to trend downward, something is not right. You may be pushing too hard, not recovering well enough or might be getting sick. Consider taking a break or doing something different for a change    You can add your feeling on your watch when saving an activity. You can then view the feeling trend in the Suunto app’s Training zone. The app shows your subjective, after-workout feeling for both the current week and the previous six weeks. Learn who is having the most fun exercising (based on data)   Read more Follow your progress with Suunto Understand and manage your training load with Suunto Manage your training with Suunto app's Training Zone

Follow the latest updates and developments of your Suunto 9 Peak Pro GPS watch and enjoy it to its full potential. On this page you can see in a timeline view how your Suunto 9 Peak Pro has evolved since it was launched in October 2022. To always have the latest watch software, we recommend you enable automatic, over the air software updates in the watch settings. Also, make sure you are using the latest version of Suunto app for iOS or for Android.     You can find dozens of SuuntoPlus sports apps in Suunto mobile app’s SuuntoPlus Store and the ever-growing list of Suunto compatible partner services is here.   March 2024 The new Vertical Week sports app was published to SuuntoPlus Store. The SuuntoPlus Vertical Week sports app can be used to track the total elevation gain of multiple workouts during the week. Learn more about Suunto World Vertical Week 2024. Pace your mountain races with SuuntoPlus Vertical Race sports app. The Vertical Race sports app is designed to be used on vertical races. Set you race distance, vertical meters and goal time and follow the pace data live on your Suunto. Follow and improve your running technique with Stryd SuuntoPlus sports app. The Stryd sensor provides data such as ground contact time, vertical oscillation, leg stiffness and impact loading rate. Read more about improving your running technique with Suunto and Stryd here For ultrarunners, there is now an Ultrarun& walk SuuntoPlus sports app that will track how much one runs, walks, or stays still on the race. The app helps you to pace & analyse long efforts. This sports app has been built by trailrunner Alessio Sclocco who is also part of Suunto fieldtest community. A software update for Suunto Vertical, Suunto Race and Suunto 9 Peak Pro was released. The update delivered three new watch faces, better support for emojis in mobile notifications and a pause reminder. The update also provided navigation enhancements with improved high contrast map style for use with always on display and a new ruler tool to measure distances on map to nearby locations. Suunto app was updated with performance improvements to data sync between watch and Suunto app and a user interface change to how workout summary values are shown in the app. New Suunto connected partner services include Base de Vitesse aimed for surfers and sailors, Be Number one sport for competing in your sports, MoveEffect aimed for corporate health and Mia Health to engage in your fitness journey. You can find the latest list of partners from here   February 2024 New Winter maps map layer with downhill and cross-country skiing tracks came available in Suunto app to help you find the best places to ski. Waypoint import was improved for GPX route import with better waypoint compatibility with route planning services. Training Zone Summary now shows swim pace, average power and normalised power. Performance improvements to data sync between watch and Suunto app Suuntoplus Power Zones and Pace Zones sports apps were published for runners and riders. Now you can follow the cumulative time in each zone and see which zone you currently are working out. Suunto is now compatible Xioami MiFitness. Xiaomi users can now connect their devices with Suunto via Mifitness app. This gives the possibility to use Suunto app tools as well as get connected with Suunto ecosystem. Read more here.   January 2024 Race with the new SuuntoPlus Race Pacer sport app. Set your target distance and time with even or negative splits. Now you can follow your Runna training plans in your Suunto watch FIT-UP app is now suunto compatible, designed for fitness, nutrition and mindfulness Suunto app calendar view now includes date numbers, offering a clearer overview of your training schedule. New interactivity in Suunto app route planning: touch the altitude profile chart to see corresponding locations on the map. Sleep analysis in Suunto app has been upgraded to support multiple naps within a single day, giving you a more comprehensive understanding of your rest patterns. Switching between the data table and graph in Suunto app’s Training Zone Summary is now more intuitive and user-friendly. Suunto app now remembers your last used settings for feed filtering (All/Me/Following) and your preferred Training Zone tab and graph types, making your experience more personalized and efficient. In the Training Zone Summary, selecting categories like All running sports, All cycling sports, and All swimming sports is now simpler. You can choose these categories without having to select each sport individually. We've fixed formatting issues in SuuntoPlus data, ensuring more accurate and readable information. We have also made several other bug fixes and performance improvements to ensure a smoother and more reliable experience.   December 2023 Better Training analysis Suunto app’s Lap Table now features color-coded columns. Variations from the median lap values are highlighted in shades of red and blue. This color-coding makes it easier to spot laps where your performance was significantly higher or lower than median. We’ve introduced zone graphs for Pace and Power in the workout analysis. These graphs are complemented by a distribution view of pace and power zones, providing a more intuitive understanding of your workout intensities. With Training Zone Summary you can now visualize your selected data through a graph. Summary also includes filters for both automatically and manually tagged workouts. For added convenience in filtering, options such as “All running” or “All cycling” are available, enabling you to select all activities under these categories effortlessly. Plan your adventures with Suunto App Suunto App Route planning has received new features: the ability to reverse planned routes and the addition of “Back to Start” and “Backtrack” options, enhancing your planning capabilities. User experience enhanced. New defaults Sport apps preinstalled to sport modes. When you, as an example, start your tennis workout, it already has tennis sport app, and weight training has Gym Timer. Suunto App has now streamlined the recovery features by combining the Recovery and Sleep tabs into a single, unified Recovery tab, simplifying access to your recovery and sleep data Celebrate the end of the year with your achievements with Annual report in Suunto app and share the updated yearly summary also in story format (9:16). Get more out of your sports with new partners RaceID miles partner app gets Suunto compatible Runology running technique video analysis gets Suunto compatible Runredeem is now Suunto compatible with their loyalty program customers Surlo app for sailing and other water sports gets Suunto connected Get more out of your Indoor cycling training with Suunto compatible ICTtrainer Ride with BMC companion app which is now Suunto compatible   November 2023 Training, recovery and progress come to your watch, including Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Follow training load and volume with training widgets in your watch. Follow recovery status from training with TSB and feeling in your watch. Measure Heart rate variability (HRV) to optimize your recovery. Follow your progress with chronic training load (CTL) widget. Get Suunto Coach comments in training widgets. Exercise with new rope skipping activity type. Read more:How to use HRV to optimize your recovery How to follow your progress with Suunto Training with TSS Follow Training load Must-read articles that guide you into Suunto’s world of training   The watch now fits better to your daily life New UI structure with mini widgets Customization of the widgets using Suunto app: Select the widgets you want to have on your watch and change the order they are shown. Improved the watch user interface speed ‘Find my phone’ feature on your watch Do not disturb mode New media controls Multiple alarms   New connections KML file import in Suunto app Suunto Vitality compatibility now includes AIA Malaysia   October 2023 Better Training analysis Follow the training impacts of workouts in Suunto app SuuntoPlus Vertical race segment guide available in SuuntoPlus Store for Malaysian Suunto fans.     Enhanced user experience The Suunto App home screen can now be filtered with all, me or following. New, colourful Suunto accessory straps    September 2023 New tools to understand you training impact and intensity Training summary: A tool to analyse & find your key workouts in Suunto app. Go to Training Zone tab and check the Summary. Movement: Track your movements with wrist acceleration to follow the overall workout intensity. Gets you the insights of rapid efforts. Heart rate zones: Follow the cumulative time spent on different heart rate zones on one screen. Great to keep the intensity on target. Fused zones: Shows which intensity zone you are currently in, looking at different intensity metrics and based on that evaluating the best matching as a result. Peak Pace: Track the peak pace efforts on your run. Peak power: Track the hard sprints and efforts on your wrist. Plan better Interval planner: Use the Interval planner in Suunto app now with all activity types. Prepare for optimal race Race nutrition: Plan your race nutrition and get reminders right on your Suunto. Race companion: A simple, customizable tool that shows you the key information during a race. Backyard ultra: Race companion for Backyard Ultra racers. Follow each 6.7km loop and keep track of the laps – and when to go next! Get most out of your sport Gym Timer: Follow the recovery time between the sets. Adjust as needed and then go again. Score – Golf: Count each strike and measure the distance of the drives with the Golf Score sport app. Score – Tennis: Keep count of the game score on your wrist. Score – Soccer: Keep up with the game score and get alerted with the half time. Score – Badminton: Keep up with the badminton game score. Score counter: Counter for any game. Play with 1–4 players and keep the results on your wrist. Learn more: Discover dozens of SuuntoPlus sport apps for your Suunto   July 2023 New sensor compatibility Train.red: Connect your Suunto with a Train.red sensor to follow your muscle oxygen levels. The data will also be available in after analysis.   June 2023 Strava updates In addition to syncing your activities to Strava and using Strava routes with your Suunto watch, you can now also race Strava Live Segments with your Suunto. Learn how to chase Strava segments with your Suunto Get more out of your sports Voice guidance gives you stats while running Surfer: Count each wave surfed automatically. Each wave is also stored as laps in your surf session. Running economy: Follow the running economy with heartrate vs. pace. Running economy is illustrated with a beats/km value. Shoe Tester: Follow test protocol to test different shoes to see which are the fastest for you. Disc Golf: Keep track of each disc golf throw and see the distance thrown. Get ready for the outdoors Weather forecast sports app: Keep the forecasted weather on our wrist while doing the long ride or hike. ICE: Store your emergency information on your wrist. If you don’t move the watch, it will start an alert to draw attention to the info. Relief Maps: Gets Suunto connected with 3d maps and live data sharing for outdoor enthusiast. Join challenges with Uprace App Race in Virtual Races Tackitup app Suunto Weekend Adventure collections published in Komoot SuuntoPlus experience gets better Use two sport apps simultaneously during an activity. Add up to 100 sports ready to go in your watch. The sport modes now remember the previously used sport apps. Sport apps can be selected also during an activity, not only before the start. Sport apps can have settings that can be modified in Suunto app. New tools for daily life Flashlight function to help in the darkness. Weather forecast widget gives you the forecasted weather.   May 2023 Train, recover and progress with Suunto app’s Training Zone Training overview with weekly training load, volume and intensity distribution Training impacts for cardio & muscle with training model Recovery with Training stress balance, feeling and sleep stats Progress with Chronic training load (CTL)   Read more: Manage your training with Suunto app’s Training zone     Get feedback from Suunto coach in Suunto App New AI-based Suunto Coach in Suunto app. Learn more about the coach.   April 2023 Connect with new partner services ALPI Training: Endurance sports application offering individualized training programs based on AI Adae: A French workout community SaanSook: A health application, that will assist you in living a holistically healthy life by tracking your eating, exercising, sleeping, and relaxing activities. Sunday Fitness: The ultimate social fitness network for finding local exercise buddies. MyCols: A free app with all the information of your favourite cycle climbs, hills, or cols worldwide. Discover new climbs around you and start collecting them to earn jerseys.   February 2023 New training tools to push you! New SuuntoPlus sport apps to help you get most out of your next workout: Hill repeats: Get live results from each hill repeat with manually controlled efforts. Manual intervals: The manual interval sport app gives you a simple tool to follow your interval session on the fly. Intervals for ride: Control your intervals with cycling power. See each the results of each rep during recovery and keep track of your rep volume. Bleep test: Bleep test – or Beep test – is the most common fitness test used in the world especially popular in team sports to test your current fitness. Swim timer: Swim timer is designed to provide swimmers with a better understanding of their interval sessions showing interval counts, rest time etc.   Race season is coming! Get most out of your race with these new sport apps for your Suunto watch: Half Marathon: Half marathon estimator gives you an estimated finishing time based on your current pace, duration done and remaining distance. Marathon: Marathon estimator gives you an estimated finishing time based on your current pace, duration done and remaining distance. Ultra-race Time: When preparing for a long ultra race, it is motivating to see how this pace equals to the potential race time. Duathlon: Duathlon sport app is designed to automatically switch between run and ride views in hectic race scenarios to give you the right data. SwimRun: The swim run sport app gives you key stats for your swimrun race with automatic transitions from run to swim and back as many times as needed. Sail Race: Enables you to synchronize your start time to the official start time of the race to get a countdown on your watch.   Enjoy the outdoors! These SuuntoPlus sport apps help you to get most out of your outdoor experience. Sun: Provides you with information about the sunrise, sunset as well as time for dusk and dawn. Moon: Provides you with information about the moon phases. Co2e: Every step counts. Now you can follow how much Co2 you are saving by traveling by bike or on foot. Last km: In trail running, the pace can change drastically between uphills and downhills in, the last KM/mile app give you the live rolling kilometer/mile pace to follow. Big numbers: Shows you the key activity data using a larger font to make it more visible.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a helpful metric for endurance athletes. Read on to learn why there’s a buzz around it and how to use Suunto to track heart rate variability. First, it is good to understand what Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is. As an example, when your heart rate is 60 beats per minute, each interval is not exactly one second. There’s a slight variation in the duration between the beats. HRV is a quantitative measure of the variation in the time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. The interesting point with HRV is that it serves as an indicator of the balance within the autonomic nervous system and offers valuable insights into an individual's overall health and stress levels. More variation generally means the parasympathetic nervous system is doing its job as a regulator. Various factors, such as heavy training, mental stress, or the presence of an illness like the flu, can influence HRV readings. Suunto Race, Suunto Vertical and Suunto 9 Peak Pro GPS watches can track your HRV during your sleep. Nighttime measurement is a reliable and easy way to gather comparable HRV data. Continuous HRV monitoring allows for the calculation of the average Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD) value, a commonly employed metric for quantifying HRV. You can see the HRV data anytime as a mini widget in your watch and in the Suunto app’s Training zone.   Your recovery status is evaluated by comparing your 7-day average HRV with your normal range.   Interpreting HRV Data Heart rate variability is highly individual. As said, higher HRV values generally indicate better autonomic balance, although the assessment should always be contextualized within an individual's normal range. At Suunto, we define your normal range over a 60-day period and then compare your rolling seven-day average with that baseline. A minimum of 14 measurements needs to be gathered over the 60 days to define your normal range. For the seven-day average, a minimum of three measurements is needed. So, if you are new to measuring HRV with Suunto, you will have HRV data even after the first night, but the data will get more defined as more data is gathered. By comparing the long-term values with short-term trend, you will get an understanding of load and stress you are putting on your body. If your HRV values consistently fall below your normal range, it is an indication of a compromised recovery state. This could be caused by chronic stress, inadequate sleep, overtraining, or an underlying health condition. It is normal that after a very hard effort or a race, your HRV drops below the normal range for a day or two. If your HRV rises abnormally high (above a certain standard deviation) within a day or a few days, the app indicates with a yellow or red that you are likely experiencing abnormal amounts of recovery (parasympathetic nervous system activity). This is often in response to accumulated amounts of stress. Suunto app visually represents your HRV recovery status as a bar indicator, offering insights into your recovery.   How to use HRV in daily training with Suunto Suunto utilizes overnight measurements to capture HRV data. To obtain HRV measurements, it is necessary to wear the watch while sleeping and ensure that sleep-tracking functionality is activated. Sync your watch regularly with the Suunto app to see the latest data. Compare your HRV measurements with your training load. Look for patterns and relationships between your HRV values and the intensity or volume of your workouts. This can help identify how your body responds to different training stimuli. Compare your HRV values with your resting heart rate. Generally low resting heart rate and a high heart rate variability are good indicators of sufficient recovery. If your HRV readings indicate a decrease or significant deviation from your baseline, it may suggest a higher level of physiological stress or insufficient recovery. Consider modifying your training plan by reducing the intensity or volume of your workouts to allow for adequate recovery. Use HRV as a guide to schedule regular recovery days or lighter training sessions when your HRV values indicate a need for more rest.    Remember that HRV can vary between individuals, so it is essential to understand your own personal baseline and response to training. It's important to note that with HRV it's good to look at other factors that impact recovery state such as training stress balance, sleep volume and changes in feeling.    Heart rate variability measurement is available in Suunto Vertical, Suunto Race, Suunto Race S, Suunto Ocean and Suunto 9 Peak Pro GPS watches.  

Endurance training is a long-term endeavor, and progress may not always be linear or immediately noticeable.It requires patience, persistence, and a focus on gradual improvements over time. Tracking progress over longer periods and considering trends rather than short-term fluctuations is essential. Athletes may have varying interpretations of their progress, and subjective feelings of fatigue, effort, and perceived improvements may not always align with objective measurements. Athletes may experience periods of plateau where progress seems to stagnate despite consistent training efforts. This can occur due to the body's adaptation to training stimuli, requiring adjustments in training variables such as intensity, volume, and variety to continue progressing. Each athlete responds uniquely to training stimuli. Some individuals may experience rapid progress, while others may require longer periods to see noticeable improvements. Factors such as genetics, age, training history, and recovery capacity contribute to this individual variability in progress. Endurance training progress can be affected by various external factors, including work, personal life, and environmental stressors. Four ways to measure your progress Without objective metrics and measurements, tracking your progress in endurance training can be challenging. It is important to incorporate tools and methods to obtain quantifiable data for evaluating progress accurately. Here are four Suunto tools that help you objectively measure your progress.   Chronic Training Load (CTL) Chronic Training Load serves as an indicator of an athlete's fitness level, representing the accumulated training load sustained over an extended duration. You will find your CTL graph in the Suunto app Training Zone’s Progress section. Each activity adds load to the overall and impacts the chronic load. (To get reliable data, make sure your individual intensity zones are set correctly in your Suunto. Learn more here.) A consistent engagement in high-intensity or high-volume training leads to an increase in CTL, signifying an improvement in fitness. Conversely, reducing the training load or taking breaks from training results in a decrease in CTL, indicating a decline in fitness. It is important to note that CTL is not a direct measure of fitness. The CTL is indicating the long-term training load, which has a high correlation with fitness gains.   Chronic Training Load Ramp Rate The Chronic Training Load Ramp Rate measures the rate at which CTL increases over time. A higher ramp rate suggests rapid fitness gains due to an increasing training volume or intensity. You can find your current CTL ramp rate in the Suunto app Trainig Zone’s overview section as well as on your Suunto Race watch as a mini widget. However, a high ramp rate also raises the risk of overtraining or burnout if not properly managed. The ramp rate is a good tool to follow when preparing for a race or an event, while gradually increasing weekly training volume and intensity. Determining the ideal ramp rates for Chronic Training Load (CTL) can vary depending on several factors, including an individual's training history, fitness level, goals, and ability to recover. It is important to note that ramp rates should be personalized and gradually increased to avoid excessive stress and potential overtraining. For beginners or athletes returning from a break or an injury, it is advisable to start with conservative ramp rates. Aim for a weekly increase in CTL between 2–5 units to allow the body to adapt gradually without overwhelming stress. Athletes with moderate training experience and consistent training can aim for slightly higher ramp rates. A weekly increase of 5 units in CTL or 15–20 in a 6-week period may be appropriate to promote progressive adaptation and performance improvements while still allowing for adequate recovery. Experienced and highly trained athletes may tolerate higher ramp rates due to their well-developed aerobic capacity and training background. Remember, gradual and sustainable progress is key in training. It is generally safer to err on the side of caution and slightly underestimate ramp rates rather than risk excessive stress and potential setbacks. Regular monitoring, proper recovery, and paying attention to signs of overtraining are crucial to ensure a healthy and successful training progression.   Progress Follow-up with Testing Fitness tests are employed to measure and evaluate an individual's physical abilities and characteristics. These tests assess overall physical fitness while identifying specific strengths and weaknesses. Suunto offers various SuuntoPlus sport apps for testing purposes, such as the Functional Threshold Power Test, Anaerobic Running Test, Cooper Test, and the Beep Test. These assessments aid in monitoring progress and informing training adjustments based on objective performance metrics. (Learn more about testing your fitness with SuuntoPlus sport apps.)   Compare Similar Efforts Comparing similar workouts allows for the evaluation of performance changes and an understanding of current fitness levels. By performing workouts of comparable duration and intensity every week, athletes can track changes in heart rate, pace, and power. For instance, maintaining a steady heart rate during weekly long runs while observing a progressive increase in pace signifies improved aerobic fitness. Similarly, comparing the performance in threshold tempo runs or easy morning runs provides insights into an individual's anaerobic and aerobic conditioning, respectively. It is essential to consider heart rate and pace data alongside subjective fatigue sensations and overall workout and race performance. You can use the new summary tool in Suunto app’s Training Zone to compare efforts. For example, if you have been doing weekly long runs, it is easy to find these in the summary tool. The you can evaluate if your pace has been getting more efficient with the same intensity/heartrate. If you want to make it easy to find the workouts you wish to compare, you can also use tags in the Suunto app. Add a specific tag to your test workouts and you can easily find them all using the app’s search functionality.   Learn more Manage your training with Suunto app’s Training zone   Understand and manage your training load with Suunto How to use HRV to optimize your recovery Get feedback from the Suunto coach