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Garmin Forerunner and Cadence

  • 01-09-2016 3:26pm
    #1
    PeterParker100
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35 ✭


    I recently bought a Garmin Forerunner 620 from ebay and I'm interested in the cadence readings. How does the watch manage to measure it? Is it from vibrations as your foot strikes the ground? Is it fairly accurate?

    I'm averaging around 164 steps per minute on easy runs and around 174 during harder efforts. Are other runners here similar, should I even care!?


Comments

  • #2
    Krusty_Clown
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,550 ✭✭✭✭Krusty_Clown


    PeterParker100 wrote: »
    I recently bought a Garmin Forerunner 620 from ebay and I'm interested in the cadence readings. How does the watch manage to measure it? Is it from vibrations as your foot strikes the ground? Is it fairly accurate?

    I'm averaging around 164 steps per minute on easy runs and around 174 during harder efforts. Are other runners here similar, should I even care!?
    The watch has a built-in accelerometer (similar but more advanced than a pedometer) that tracks cadence. If you pair it with a HR strap that features Run Dynamics, you will get some additional metrics.

    Should you care? Not a huge amount. Popular opinion suggests that a cadence of 180+ is more efficient, but the best way to build speed and efficiency is to train appropriately, rather than trying to improve your cadence. It should be pretty accurate, but you can always check it by counting your strides for a minute. Mine was 176 on an easy run today, 186 on a treadmill yesterday (hard), and 182 during a race last week. I suspect the treadmill forces a higher cadence because of the action of the belt.


  • #3
    ThisRegard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,833 ✭✭✭✭ThisRegard


    PeterParker100 wrote: »
    I'm averaging around 164 steps per minute on easy runs and around 174 during harder efforts. Are other runners here similar, should I even care!?

    If you take a look at your run on Garmin Connect it will show you what percentile you fit in to with regards to your cadence.


  • #4
    uvox
    Closed Accounts Posts: 975 ✭✭✭uvox


    It can measure cadence as one of the Run Dynamics metrics (avg, avg max, and stride length). Its usefulness depends, variability on other factors, your profile, where you run, etc. but watching out for it can help avoid other issues:

    http://www.active.com/running/articles/running-technique-the-importance-of-cadence-and-stride

    MyPOV: It it helps you more more comfortably and stay running, then sure, why not?


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