a few weeks in - musings of a moover

So, I've now had the Moov for a few weeks - life has been busy, and I haven't got out quite as much as I would have liked, however, I am already seeing some changes. I've been focussing mainly on the running efficiency program of the Moov - I generally find that my legs get sore when running, so decided that if I could make my style more efficient and less impactful, I would be able to train longer and harder, and the speed would come back. So, I have moved through the levels, and am definitely noticing a change in the way I run. LAst night, I decided to do a test.

A few weeks ago, just before I got the Moov, I'd done a 7.3km run - I was only just getting back into running, but it was a reasonable effort.... I did the same route last night - and here is the comparison

KM	9/9	28/9
1	4:53	4:37
2	5:04	4:51
3	5:09	4:55
4	5:11	4:49
5	5:32	5:08
6	5:22	5:00
7	5:10	4:54
0.3	5:54	5:07
total	38:23	35:59

Part of the gain here is just that I have been running mroe, so the fitness is coming back - but the interesting thing here for me is the consistency of pacing... in the second one, I have a much more flat pace, than what happens in the first, when I set off but then slow down quicker - theres more variation, as I fight against my leg tiredness. I think this is a Moov benefit. Will keep doing this session to track improvements once a month or so.

Get a Moov on

So, I've now had the Moov for almost a week... and I can safely say that it is helping motivate me to get out and about.

A couple of observations..

When running the app tends to shout out your performance vs the target, but then sometimes updates you if you're dropping below the target level. For example, the other day, I was doing the running efficiency workout..target cadence 180

"Your target cadence is 180, your average cadence is 183"

I was 2/3 of the way through the interval here, so reasonably comfortable... but then I had a little blip, and suddenly

" Your target cadence is 180 your average cadence is 174"

Now this occurred about 30 seconds after the previous message, so its clearly not the "average", but some sort of short term average that Moov uses as your "current" pace... the voice commands should acknowledge this, as there is a difference between just kicking your pace back to the target, or needing to go miles over to bring an average back up.

Running out...

So, I decided to test out the running part of the Moov today, as this was the main thing that I wanted it for. One of the things I think needs adding to the moov apps, is the ability to export the data to another app. In my case, I use strava to track my exercise, and it would be nice to be able to keep track and compare workouts.

I thought I'd be clever, and run Strava at the same time as Moov... big mistake... not sure if it was the HR monitor mucking things up, or strava itself intercepting BT packets, but my first attempt with the Moov run was not a success... just as often as I heard some useful coaching tips, I got "Moov disconnected" "press moov to reconnect and continue". Was really disappointed, but I stopped, turned off strava and removed my HRM, and started again, and the 2nd attempt was much better. I did the running efficiency program, and found it really useful in terms of changing my running style... I have always thought that I was guilty of overstriding, and that was definitely the case... I shortened my stride, upped the cadence, and found that my legs hurt a lot less at the end. I need to compare my pace to really see the difference though.

Having just done a 20 minute session on attempt one, and about 15 minutes on attempt 2, I decided that I had a bit of gas left to attempt another session. This time I had a go at sprint intervals, being nicely warmed up. I again had a few connection issues as I started, but once these were resolved, it worked seamlessly through the workout. One frustrating thing about this, is that I was just under target on one of the 5 intervals, but I didn't realise until afterwards. all my other intervals were to target, but I need to redo the session to get the level. Maybe a little bit more feedback during the interval would be good.

Anyway, lots of data to analyse, and things to think about - will have another go tomorrow - if of course, my calves have recovered - its interesting how the change in running style has manifested itself in a different part of my legs hurting.

Making a splash - swimming with the Moov

My main use for the Moov was originally to help with my running, so I always envisaged running as my first test, but we have some guests staying with us, so the only way I was getting to test the Moov yesterday, was with a lunchtime swim. I've not swum for a few months, so this was a gentle return to the water session.

The app is quite simple, you connect your move, then leave the phone in the locker, and go for a swim. The moov recognises when you start swimming, counts your strokes, your laps, and measures your turn times. When you finish, you return to the phone, and your session gets uploaded.

One thing to note here is that just after uploading my workout, the Swim app infomred me that it had a firmware update for my device, which took over the app for abotu 10 minutes while it downloaded. It would be nice if this could happen in the background, but its a small quibble, especially knowing that the company is pushing updates.

Anyway, the first thing you do is tell the app how long your pool is, and then you get a results page, showing highlights from your swim. these are some baseline data:

46 laps 26:15 1150m 393cal

stroke rate 1.97 secs/stroke
distance per stroke 2.13m

fastest 100m - 1.28 ( 2.17 average)

longest continuous swim 350m

what I had planned to swim was 4 sets of 250m with a short break in between... my lap counting is not great, but I was fairly sure I hadn't swum an extra 6 lengths without realising it....

I can check my lap details on the next screen:

this shows the blocks of exercise..

1: 250m freestyle 4:57... all good

rest 0:58
2: 275m freestyle 5:05.5 - something not right here, as I ended up at the same end of the pool, so theres something wrong...looking down at the individual laps - its clear that it got confused part way through, and split 1 lap into 2 - it would be really good to be able to edit this, but there doesn't currently seem to be a way to "fix" erroneous data.

my rest period now got a bit confused - I had about 2 minutes off, but again the small movements I made seem to have confused the Moov.., I've got 2 laps of " mixed stroke" here...

onto interval 3

3: 375m freestyle  6:26 - here I definitely did 2 extra lengths, but again, theres one length which has been split into 2

rest 2.00

4: 250m freestyle 5:13.5 - perfect  - 10 lengths with times.


So, in conclusion, there's lots of good data here, but a couple of glitches in the lap counting algorithm - I actually did 1050 metres, but I've been credited with 1150, which means alot of the derived data is probably out... Moov could probably do with adding in an editor to fix some of these things... as it would be easy to make those changes. Will contact them and see what the response is.

Mooving in - unboxing the moov

This blog is all about my experiences with the Moov exercise tracker. Its a small wearable device, designed to track movement in conjunction with a phone app. Unlike other wearbales, like fitbit and Jawbone, its not about daily movement, but about your workouts. Not only does it track what you do, but HOW you do it. The idea being, that you can get useful information. For example, the running app will measure stride length and cadence, and give you tips for improving as you run. It's waterproof too, so it can be used in the pool, and apparently will track strokes, laps, and things like stroke length.

Anyway, we'll slowly see how I get on with it - whether my times improve, and whether it drives me on to more and more exercise.

First off, the unboxing:

It arrives in a typically tech cardboard box, in a sleeve.

The Moov core itself is similar in size to an average mens watch. It has 2 bands, one for the wrist, and one for the ankle, and also comes with a charging cradle. (Note that version 2 - the Moov Now comes with different bands, is smaller, and uses a replaceable coin style batttery. Its lifetime is apparently 6 months, as opposed to the 10 exercise hours of the rechargeable version).

Charging takes about 40 minutes, although apparently a quick 15 minute burst will get you through a normal training session.

The core snaps into and out of the bands, and they fit snuggly and easily on the wrist/ankle. you wouldn't want to wear one all day, but its not designed for that, so not a problem. It does look a bit like you're out of jail on remand though, especially if you wear it round the ankle for a run!

Apps are available for Android and iPhone. I have an Android, so have downloaded the Swim and Walk/Run apps for now. In the pipeline is an integrated app that allows all the programs to be accessed without the need for multiple installations.