New Garmin Forerunner® 230, 235 and 630:

October 29, 2015Updated on October 29, 2015

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Garmin, the world leader in portable navigation solutions, presents its new models of sports watches with GPS. Three products that meet the needs of each type of broker: Forerunner® 230, Forerunner® 235 and Forerunner® 630.

Simplicity, versatility, intelligence or advanced tools are just some of the qualifiers that best define these new devices that, in addition to an attractive and current design, have innovative technologies that offer accurate, complete and very important data for each runner to comply with the objectives that are proposed.

GPS, accelerometer and daily activity monitor

In addition to integrating a GPS that calculates the distance and pace of the athlete, the new models of sports watches Forerunner® have an accelerometer that captures data relating to distance and rhythm when you exercise on an indoor track or on a treadmill. run, no need to add a pedometer.

In turn, they all have the function of activity monitor, since they count the steps and calories burned throughout the day and remind the user that he has to move after more than an hour of inactivity. It is only necessary to walk for a couple of minutes to reset the inactivity indicator of the product. Thanks to these tools, the user can evaluate the physical activity he does during the day and how it affects his workouts.

Connected and very smart

When paired with compatible phones, the new Garmin Forerunner® 230, 235 and 630 provide connection functions, such as automatic data uploading to the free Garmin Connect online community, where you can save, plan and share activities.

Once downloaded and linked with the smartphone, the device automatically transfers, and whenever it is in the range of the phone, the data previously stored in the sports watch.

In addition, thanks to its compatibility with the Garmin Connect Mobile application, there is no need to worry about taking your smartphone out of your pocket. With online functions, devices provide, once connected to a terminal, intelligent notifications that will be displayed on the watch screen: incoming calls, emails, text messages or social sharing. In addition, the LiveTrack tool makes it possible for family and friends to follow the tour in real time from anywhere in the world (only during training and races).

Likewise, it is possible to create advanced training sessions or download free training plans, as well as send them to the clock and receive instructions such as those that a coach would provide. All this with the facility to share with friends and family the weekly steps or the challenges of each race.

All of the above is completed with the compatibility with Connect IQ, which allows to download applications, widget, data fields and other clock screens to customize the device, as well as receive extra information. Among them, the weather conditions at each moment, the state of the bag or a special screen on the state of the battery.

Other functions more than necessary

At the time of training, having an ally to help by offering all the information that the body needs is vital and necessary. Therefore, these products are equipped with some of the tools that have turned their predecessors into authentic top sales of running.

This includes the VO2 max system, which estimates the maximum volume of oxygen (in milliliters) that can be consumed per minute and per kilogram of body weight in maximum performance. This indicator of aerobic capacity should increase as the physical condition improves (with the heart rate monitor). PRESS RELEASE

In the same way, its Virtual Racer ™ function makes it possible to compete against the best results or against the results of other activities loaded on the Garmin Connect ™ page. To do this, you can choose any previously stored race, whether or not that same course, and check if your distance, rhythm or beat parameters are adjusted to the same level as the previous one. And if you prefer, training can also be marked using the Virtual Partner® feature, in which case it is compared to the pre-established rhythm and that it is possible to adjust on the fly. When the athlete exceeds or does not meet the established limits, the device alerts him with warnings.

Forerunner® 230: much more than pace, distance and time

New Garmin Forerunner 230

The most basic member of the new family, although not the least complete, adds, to everything else, customized configurations to suit the user. To do this, and through Connect IQ ™, the user can search and download screens, widgets, applications and data fields for free.

Forerunner® 235: heart rate at the wrist

New Garmin Forerunner 235

This watch differs from its brothers in the integration of heart rate monitor, thanks to an advanced optical sensor that projects light on the skin and calculates the amount of light returned. Since there are slight changes while the blood pumps through the wrist, the sensor detects these changes and employs a sophisticated filtering process to determine the user's heart rate. Elevate ™ technology, which makes it possible to count pulsations directly from the wrist, has been developed by Garmin.

To calculate and provide information about the effort, Forerunner® 235 incorporates a different color indicator that determines the heart rate zone and the beats per minute in real time. In this way, the athlete can plan his training plan always having control over the area where he is and, at the same time, concentrate on the effort he needs to make.

Garmin Forerunner® 235 establishes the zones of each user based on an estimate of the maximum heart rate according to age and subtracting this data from 220. If necessary, it is also possible to adjust the zones on the watch or on Garmin Connect, which allows you to customize the device according to the particular needs of each user. To this is added the possibility of adjusting the zones according to the data recorded by the sensor and, in case of exceeding the maximum allowed heart rate, the device will ask if the user wishes to preserve that value and adapt the zones based on this new registry.

Forerunner® 630: extended physiological metrics

New Garmin Forerunner 630

The top-of-range device is the one for the most advanced runners that require extended functions and detailed data. Thus, in addition to being provided with a touch screen, it measures the cadence, the vertical oscillation and the contact time on the floor (always connected to a HRM-Run ™ monitor) or, also, the stride length.

On the other hand, and as an extended physiological metric, it is able to detect the lactate threshold through a guided test, something that can be applied to heart rate training to define the zones. Other conditioning factors, such as the total training load, sleep, nutrition and general stress, influence performance in a hard training session. And so, to get a better idea of the days that a hard training session should be held or when to set a recovery day, Forerunner® 630 indicates the level of stress based on heart rate.

Finally, the performance condition is another function that indicates how it will go in a training session. While the user is running, this function analyzes the rhythm, heart rate and heart rate variability to perform a real-time evaluation of the performance capability.