Last week, Suunto users around the world came together for the Suunto Commuting Day in an effort to do good for the planet. Here’s a snapshot of what the global community achieved! Small, everyday choices are the beginning of change. One single commute may not seem like much, but over time, it all adds up. And when we look at the entire Suunto community, we can see that together we can make a bigger impact! The combined CO₂e savings for the participants on Thursday, October 24 were over 65,000 kg. This collective effort shows that even small changes in our daily routines can have a real impact. 65,000 kg of CO₂e is equal to about 260 one-way flights from Paris to Berlin, where each passenger's emissions are around 0.25 metric tons for the 1.5-hour trip. It is also similar to the CO₂ absorbed by around 1,300 trees over ten years (based on Tree-Nation’s Eden Reforestation Projects in Mozambique). 65,000 kg is also equal to the emissions of 5,500 Finland-made Suunto Ocean watches generate during their whole lifespan. Half on bikes, half on foot Our data revealed that 49% of participants chose to cycle, 31% to run, and 20% to walk their commutes — each step and pedal turn contributing to both personal health benefits and a greener future. Whether on wheels, on foot, or even other creative methods, our Suunto users took meaningful action to reduce their carbon footprint. Distances covered and time invested Cyclists typically commuted around 7.9 km per trip, spending 28 minutes on average. Runners tackled 6.1 km per commute, taking 40 minutes on average. Walkers covered 2.7 km on average, enjoying 35 minutes outdoors. The bike commute distances are distributed quite evenly over different distances: roughly a third is less than 5 km, a third is between 5–10 km, and a third is over 10 km. The longest commuting rides last Thursday were over 100 km. Top commuting champions by country Our Swiss users led in cycling distances with an impressive 10.3 km being the most typical commuting distance, while runners in China topped the charts, typically covering 7.5 km per commute. Globally, France took first place for the total distance covered by its participants, followed closely by Finland, Germany, Spain, and China. Suunto’s Commuting Day is a testament to what’s possible when people come together for a common goal. These statistics show that, collectively, we’re reducing emissions, embracing healthier lifestyles, and setting a precedent for sustainable commuting worldwide. Thank you everyone for participating in the Suunto Commuting Day and also the photo contest. Winners of the Suunto Wing open-ear headphones have been contacted directly. Please remember that our small everyday choices make a difference over a longer period of time and together with the community. Keep up the good work! Learn more about tracking human-powered commutes and your CO2e savings Learn more about Suunto sustainability work

A Technological Breakthrough from Tampere University MoniCardi, a medical technology and software company originating from Tampere University, has been diligently developing novel and heart rate variability (HRV) methods to decode the intricate phenomena of the human body. The MoniCardi team aims to unveil the various physiological characteristics influenced by the heart's behavior, opening new frontiers in health and performance measurement. The Foundation: Validation with Massive Datasets MoniCardi's groundbreaking research is rooted in statistical and time-series analysis methods originally developed in computational physics. These methods have surprising, yet highly impactful applications in electrocardiography, including HRV analysis. MoniCardi's novel methods and their usefulness have been validated in various scientific studies [1-9] and they have been featured in the leading conferences of cardiology such as the Scientific Sessions of American Heart Association. The studies include exploitation of massive datasets such as the extensive Finnish Cardiovascular Study (FINCAVAS), which contains comprehensive measurement data from 4386 participants of a clinical stress test. In a recent breakthrough study [1], it was found that MoniCardi's HRV analysis of a one-minute rest phase prior to the test predicts sudden cardiac death significantly better than the conventional analysis of the complete 20-minute stress test (hazard ratios of ~2.5 and ~1.5, respectively). The superiority of MoniCardi increases further when considering all the other risk factors in the analysis. Outside clinical studies, MoniCardi's patented methodology allows accurate estimation of metabolic thresholds in sport applications. This was confirmed in a ground-breaking study published by the team in the leading physiological journal in 2023 [2]. The study was featured in several national and international news sites, including a full-page article in the main Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (link below). The results are currently under validation in academic collaboration between Tampere University and the Finnish Institute of High-Performance Sport (KIHU). Through a partnership with Suunto launched in 2024, MoniCardi's novel technology is now entering in the use of professional athletes, sport enthusiasts and all the consumers interested in these novel features that push the HRV analysis into a completely new level and ensure practical and actionable results. Understanding Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Heart rate variability (HRV) measures the variation in the time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. By analyzing the fluctuations in these intervals, it is possible to gain insights into the body's state, particularly the autonomic nervous system's influence on the heart. Conventionally, HRV has been used to gauge recovery states during sleep through RMSSD (Root Mean Square of Successive Differences), which observes nightly changes in HRV to detect stress levels. At rest, the body shows significant variability between heartbeats, known as HRV. However, as the body encounters increased stress, the autonomic nervous system shifts into the fight-or-flight mode, resulting in minimal heart rate variability. This reduction in HRV can be used as an indicator to assess stress levels. Introducing DDFA: A Revolutionary Measurement Technology HRV methods are conventionally split into time-domain, frequency-domain and nonlinear methods. One of the most common nonlinear methods is Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) developed in the early 1990s. The key information provided by DFA is the overall long-term characteristics of HRV in terms of correlations, in particular, how changes in heartbeat intervals at some time affect the changes at another time. This information has powerful predictive value, but the practical usefulness of this information was unleashed only recently, when Dynamical DFA (DDFA) was developed [8,9] and further refined to assess changes in HRV correlations in a time-sensitive manner [10]. In brief, DDFA utilizes a multitude of "measure sticks" from 4 up to >50 consecutive heartbeats. At every instant of time, DDFA then gives a so-called scaling exponent - a characteristic feature of correlations in heartbeat intervals - for all these measure sticks simultaneously. This information can be precisely mapped to the physiological state during physical exercise. Real-Time Intensity Monitoring DDFA excels in assessing real-time changes in the heartbeat correlations during exercise. Training intensity directly correlates with time- and scale-dependent variations in the DDFA scaling exponent. Research indicates that increasing intensity in physical exercise decreases the scaling exponents. Eventually, at very high intensities, the beat-to-beat intervals may show so-called anticorrelations, where large and small beat-to-beat intervals alternate in a specific manner depending on the time scale. This information allows for precise monitoring of exercise intensity and physiological thresholds. Visualizing DDFA in Action A pivotal study, "Estimation of Physiological Exercise Thresholds Based on Dynamical Correlation Properties of Heart Rate Variability," published in Frontiers in Physiology in 2023 [2] illustrates DDFA's capabilities. The research paper presents an exercise scenario where intensity increases over time. The cyan lines denote the two metabolic thresholds: LT1 (aerobic threshold) and LT2 (anaerobic threshold), with the black dotted set on locations where these thresholds would be based blood lactate levels. This illustrates an ideal scenario where the DDFA-based analysis yields threshold levels nearly identical to those obtained using lactate-based threshold definitions. While this represents the optimal case, variations are expected in real applications. The DDFA analysis and lactate-based thresholds may differ from case to case, with heart rate measurements typically matching within +-5 beats per minute. There are also uncertainties inherent in lactate thresholds, which are subject to interpretation. Validity up to clinical accuracy MoniCardi methodology has been used to predict the overall cardiac risk and sudden cardiac death [1], and several cardiac diseases such as long QT syndrome [4,5], atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure [in preparation]. The methods have also been applied to estimate stress and sleep stages [6,7]. The prediction of sudden cardiac death [1] has gained traction and it was featured in all the big news sites in Finland (YLE, Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat, Aamulehti) and on several international news sites (list below). In medical technology, MoniCardi is currently collaborating with Cardiolex Medical, a Swedish MedTech company developing modern ECG devices and systems. MoniCardi is also seeking partners in wearable technologies to bring cardiac risk assessment to mass markets. References: [1] Jussi Hernesniemi, Teemu Pukkila, Matti Molkkari, Kjell Nikus, Leo-Pekka Lyytikäinen, Terho Lehtimäki, Jari Viik, Mika Kähönen, Esa Räsänen, Prediction of sudden cardiac death with ultra-short-term heart rate fluctuations, JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, 2024 [2] Matias Kanniainen, Teemu Pukkila, Joonas Kuisma, Matti Molkkari, Kimmo Lajunen, and Esa Räsänen, Estimation of Physiological Exercise Thresholds Based on Dynamical Correlation Properties of Heart Rate Variability, Front. Physiol. 14 (2023). [3] Teemu Pukkila, Matti Molkkari, Matias Kanniainen, Jussi Hernesniemi, Kjell Nikus, Leo- Pekka Lyytikäinen, Terho Lehtimäki, Jari Viik, Mika Kähönen, and Esa Räsänen, Effects of Beta Blocker Therapy on RR Interval Correlations During Exercise, Computing in Cardiology 50 (2023) 10.22489/CinC.2023.104 [4] Matias Kanniainen, Teemu Pukkila, Matti Molkkari, and Esa Räsänen, Effect of Diurnal Rhythm on RR Interval Correlations of Long QT Syndrome, Computing in Cardiology 50 (2023) 10.22489/CinC.2023.287           [5] T. Pukkila, M. Molkkari, J. Kim, and E. Räsänen, Reduced RR Interval Correlations of Long QT Syndrome Patients, Computing in Cardiology 49 (2022) 10.22489/CinC.2022.284 [6] Teemu Pukkila, Matti Molkkari and Esa Räsänen, Dynamical Heartbeat Correlations During Complex Tasks – A Case Study in Automobile Driving, Computing in Cardiology 48 (2021) 10.23919/CinC53138.2021.9662676 [7] M. Molkkari, M. Tenhunen, A. Tarniceriu, A. Vehkaoja, S.-L. Himanen, and E. Räsänen, Non-Linear Heart Rate Variability Measures in Sleep Stage Analysis with Photoplethysmography, Computing in Cardiology 46 (2019); 10.22489/cinc.2019.287 [8] M. Molkkari, G. Angelotti, T. Emig, and E. Räsänen, Dynamical Heartbeat Correlations During Running, Sci. Rep. 10, 13627 (2020) [9] M. Molkkari and E. Räsänen, Robust Estimation of the Scaling Exponent in Detrended Fluctuation Analysis of Beat Rate Variability, Computing in Cardiology 45 (2018); 10.22489/CinC.2018.219 [10] M. Molkkari and E. Räsänen, Inter-beat interval of heart for estimating condition of subject, Patent pending.   Latest news of MoniCardi International news:Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240613140808.htmScience Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/new-algorithm-can-predict-and-help- prevent-sudden-cardiac-deathMirage News: https://www.miragenews.com/tampere-university-researchers- predict-sudden-1255528/Medical XPress News: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-01-method-based-series-analysis-thresholds.html Finnish news: YLE: https://yle.fi/a/74-20093771Helsingin Sanomat: https://www.hs.fi/tiede/art-2000009847625.htmlIlta-Sanomat: https://www.is.fi/terveys/art-2000010505400.htmlAamulehti: https://www.aamulehti.fi/tiedejateknologia/art-2000010497986.html https://www.aamulehti.fi/tiedejateknologia/art-2000009863997.htmlSTT: https://www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/70082024/aikasarja-analyysiin-perustuva-uusi-menetelma-helpottaa-urheilun-kynnysarvojen- maarittamista?publisherId=69818730&lang=fi

Train Put in the hard work, understand your training load and the different stimuli you are putting on your body. Figure out your training zones Key components to improve your fitness are frequency, duration and intensity. Frequency and duration are easy to understand, but training intensity is a bit more tricky. How hard is hard? And why should I care? Read on to learn about intensity zones and about defining them. Read more Manage your training with Suunto app’s Training zone A progressive training load with adequate recovery and ways to follow progress will lead to a successful adventure or race. The new training toolset in Suunto app’s Training zone is vast. Read on and learn what’s available. We are sure you will find your new favorite dataset to analyze your training and follow your progress. Read more Understand and manage your training load with Suunto Suunto app’s long-term analysis view tracks your training load and helps you stay in balance – whether that means progress, maintaining your fitness or avoiding over-training. Here are four scenarios to help you understand the graphs. Read more Training with TSS and hrTSS What are TSS and hrTSS and how can these training metrics help? Read more View TSS and other power-based cycling metrics in real-time Normalized Power, Intensity Factor and Training Stress Score are key metrics for all cyclists who use power meters in their training. You can view these metrics in real-time on Suunto Vertical, Suunto Race, Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches. Read more Know your power source: the body’s three energy systems Understanding how your energy is produced can aid training and improve your quality of life. Suunto partner PerfectPace explains your main power sources. Read more Unlock your interval training and watch your running improve Follow Golden Trail World Series champion, Trail Running World Champion and running coach Stian Angermund’s advice and do interval training right to get results. Read more 3 interval sessions for trail runners Trail running world champion Stian Angermund explains three interval training drills to help you increase your speed and power. Read more Plan your interval workouts with Suunto app Build a workout in Suunto app and let your watch guide you through your session! Read more 8 Essential running form drills Improve your running technique with these essential running form drills – and follow them as a SuuntoPlus Guide on your watch! Read more Intro to distance running technique In this article we dig deep into the details of running technique with six key areas for you to focus on. Read on to learn more! Read more Improve your running with high-intensity hill repeats Hill repeats build your strength and improve your speed and coordination. This article presented by TrainingPeaks coach Steven Brandes highlights the importance of high-intensity hill repeats and how to do them successfully. Read more Boost your hill training with SuuntoPlus Climb Hill repeats are an essential part of an outdoor athlete’s workout repertoire. To make the hard work pay off, pacing is key. The new Climb SuuntoPlus™ feature does just that: it gives you real-time insights into your effort and motivates you to keep going. Read more Using the Track to Learn How to Properly Pace Your Run Using the track is a great way to improve your ability to pace yourself correctly. In this article presented by TrainingPeaks coach Todd Parker introduces a workout that helps you get in touch with the right pace for you. Read more 5 reasons why endurance athletes should do high-intensity strength training Boost your vertical speed and avoid injury by lifting heavy weights. To improve vertical speed and endurance, high-intensity resistance training should be an essential component of your training plan, says sports scientist, coach and athlete Susi Kraft. Read more 12 high-intensity strength training exercises for endurance athletes Follow our training video and SuuntoPlus Guide to get stronger. In this article, sports scientist, coach and ski mountaineer Susi Kraft explains and demonstrates how to perform 12 strength-building exercises correctly and safely. Read more Is the ultimate cross-training… breathing? Sports coaches worldwide talk about 'good fundamentals’ – you’ve got to own the basics before you can even begin to achieve mastery in a discipline. But former pro freediver Mike Maric takes that deeper than most, by addressing one of the most basic functions of life: breathing. The medically educated forensic scientist from Italy has taken what he’s learned from free diving and applied it to a multitude of other sports – with stunning success. Read more Control your core body temperature and get better performance results Your core body temperature can massively impact your performance. That’s why athletes pour water over themselves during races. They’re trying to cool down because they know once their core body temperature reaches a certain level, they’ll lose power and their performance will deteriorate. Like heart rate and power, core body temperature is a crucial metric for elite and recreational athletes alike. Read more   Recover There’s no one without the other: put in the hard work and rest to rise to the next level. Four ways to follow your recovery with Suunto Am I able to recover from my workouts? Is my mental recovery at the same level as physical? Do I ensure recovery with a good amount of sleep? Read on to learn how Suunto can help you in your recovery! Read more How to use HRV to optimize your recovery 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. Read more Learn how sleep can make you a better runner    Sleeping well should come naturally, right? Yet many of us feel tired most of the week. A sleep doctor gives six tips to help you improve your running and overall quality of life. Read more 4 tips to recover well for your best performance One often ignored component to keep your training steady is ensuring you are getting enough recovery time. It can seem like taking a break from running will disrupt your momentum, but oftentimes it does the exact opposite – it freshens you up and reinvigorates you. Read more   Progress Is your fitness having an upward trend? Understanding your progress is both motivating and helps you understand if your training has a positive impact. How to follow your progress with Suunto The essence of training is to improve physical performance. But how do you know if you are progressing? In this article, you will learn how Suunto can help you. Read more Test your fitness with Suunto Here are five SuuntoPlus sports apps that will help you find the right intensity zones for your training and track your progress. Read more  

Follow the latest updates and developments of your Suunto Vertical GPS watch and enjoy it to its full potential. On this page you can see in a timeline view how your Suunto Vertical has evolved since it was launched in June 2023. 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 sports 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 recoveryHow 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 A higher zoom level on the maps ‘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 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

Nordic Gravel Series team member, rider and coach Joonas Henttala gives his essential tips for a successful gravel race. Joonas Henttala, a coach and a Nordic Gravel Series team member, has more than 10 years of experience in the professional peloton. In 2023, after ending his road cycling career, he turned to coaching and gravel event organizing, took up trail running as his personal challenge while also riding gravel. We got in touch with Joonas to get some tips for a gravel race. Read on and be ready for a big, fun day out! Progressively build your fitness Gravel races are long and require a strong, aerobic base, which is built by spending quality time in zone 2 and later layering higher intensities and race spesific efforts on top. Joonas says that consistency and progressively adding training load are the keys to successful endurance training. “Riding one hour five times weekly is a better start than a five-hour smash-fest once a week. After your body starts to adapt, you can progressively add more training load. It does not make sense to do a huge hero ride way beyond your limits on the weekend and then recover from it the entire following week. The body simply can’t assimilate that and progress will be slow. The aerobic needs required in a long event or race need consistent stimulus over long periods of time.” The slower speeds and smaller groups make the power output on gravel slightly different from the road. “On the road there’s often more coasting and higher power peaks, while gravel riding is more grinding, keeping constant pressure on the pedals,” Joonas explains.  Get comfortable riding in a group. (Image: NGS/Falling Leaves Lahti) Practice your bike handling Solid bike handling skills are essential as gravel riding can get technical, almost like mountain biking. Especially if your background is in road cycling, practicing your bike handling can be very beneficial. “If you come from the road, you may assume there’s grip everywhere. But gravel is different. You must learn to find the grip on a surface that’s moving underneath you. Practice different kinds of turns on different surfaces.” Mountain bikers are comfortable with the varied terrain. For them, Joonas recommends getting comfortable riding in a big group. The first hour of a gravel race can be especially hectic. Still, you should be able to stay relaxed and not get intimidated by leaning on one another or touching handlebars with someone. “Joining a few group rides before taking part in a gravel race is definitely a good idea. After a few of them, you will start to feel more comfortable,” he promises. “Solid bike handling skills and experience from group riding help you save energy, too.” Get to know the course Knowing the course well is definitely beneficial. However, pre-riding the entire course is often not an option as the distances of gravel events are so long. That’s when the Suunto app comes in handy: Import the route GPX file to the Suunto app (or sync it from a compatible partner service, like Strava or Komoot) and study the course. Look at the altitude profile to identify the big climbs – and descents. “Try to save some energy for the big climbs. That’s where the strong riders will make their moves,” Joonas instructs. “That same applies to other parts of the course as well: Try to save energy when riding easy sections, like roads. When the riding gets more technical and the speeds slower, be prepared to hammer.” The map in the Suunto app is a great way to identify those key sections: Look at the roads, tracks and trails. How wide are they? When is it getting technical? If, for example, a road narrows to a single track, you don’t want to be in the back of the group and stuck in a traffic jam. Take your positions early. The fun is about to get real! (Image: NGS/Falling Leaves Lahti) Refuel early In a long endurance event, a steady pace would be optimal – but often far from reality in gravel races. If you want to stay in the front, the first hour is decisive: You must weigh whether you can afford to ride a little too fast in the beginning to stay with the group without bonking. Try to also conserve energy: Draft in the group and remember to start refueling already at the beginning of the long race. If you don’t refuel during the first hour, you will have to pay for the consequences later. “Riding should feel hard, but not so hard that after the first hour, you’ll start to question if you’ll be able to finish the race,” Joonas says. Having the necessary energy in the bottle for the first hour might be a good idea. This way you don’t need to mess with gels and bars in the heat of the early part of the race. Remember what’s important People take part in gravel events with quite different approaches: some are there to win, others to test their own limits. Some simply want to have a good time on the bike and make new friends. “Gravel races are quite different from road races. Even in the lead group people chat and have smiles on their faces. I certainly hope it stays this way,” says Joonas. Whatever your goal, ride hard but be polite and considerate of others.  “If you cross the finish line with emptly legs and a big muddy smile on your face, the day has been successful – whatever your goal!” Coach Henttala himself after Traka 360 in Girona in May 2024.   Learn more about the Nordic Gravel Series

Want to know what gears you use and monitor the battery on your electronic shifting? Read on and learn how – and why – to connect your Suunto with Shimano Di2 electronic shifting. The new Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app connects your Suunto sports watch with Shimano’s electronic shifting for real-time guidance and saves data for after-ride analysis. See the gears you are using and the status of your Di2 battery on your Suunto.   Through the Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app, developed in partnership with Shimano, you can monitor crucial data such as gear positions and Di2 battery status directly on your Suunto. You can view details of your shifting after your ride in Suunto app.  The SuuntoPlus sports app also saves Shimano Di2 data in Suunto app for later analyzes. It can be viewed in relation to power and speed, for example.   What gear I am on (and why should I care) Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app offers clear benefits both during and after the ride. During the ride, you will easily see how much battery you have left in your electronic shifting system and the gears you are on. The gears you use, are also saved as part of the activity in Suunto app. Taking a moment to study these, may give you some interesting insights. Firstly, you will learn what gears you mostly use. Did you mostly use the higher or the lower gears or was the use well in balance? This can lead to two findings: is your gearing right for the terrain and how’s your chainline. If you spend most of the time on the lower gears and hardly ever touch the higher ones, you may want to consider a smaller chainring. Or if you are a lot on the hardest gear and spinning out, a bigger chainring might be a good option. Another consideration is the chainline. The word ‘chainline’ refers to how straight your chain runs between the front chainring(s) and the rear sprockets. A straigt chainline is more effective and stresses the components less. So, spending more time on rear sprockets that offer a straight, “perfect” chainline is smart. This data can be collected with the Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app.   How to use SHIMANO Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app Sync the Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app to your watch from Suunto app’s SuuntoPlus Store. Select the Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app in the exercise settings before starting your workout. During activity, scroll with the middle button to view the SuuntoPlus screen. Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sport apps stores data for after analysis in Suunto app. Next time you start your ride with the same sport mode, your Shimano Di2 SuuntoPlus sports app is selected as default and connects with your Shimano Di2. Happy riding!   Lead image: Philipp Reiter / The Adventure Bakery