Long-distance triathlon glossary·HRM

Heart rate monitor chest strap

Load

Heart rate sensor worn on the chest, more accurate than wrist optical sensors during intense effort.

A chest strap monitors the heart's electrical activity (simplified ECG) and transmits via Bluetooth or ANT+ to your watch or bike computer. It is significantly more accurate than wrist optical sensors, especially during high-intensity efforts, climbing, or in cold conditions (low skin perfusion). Essential for reliable HR-zone training.

In TriPaced:

In TriPaced, the heart rate zones used in your sessions are calculated from your FCmax and resting HR. For best accuracy, use a chest strap (not optical) during threshold or VO2max sessions used to calibrate these zones.

Related terms

  • TSS : Training Stress Score
  • CTL : Chronic Training Load (fitness)
  • ATL : Acute Training Load (fatigue)
  • TSB : Training Stress Balance (freshness)
  • Sweet spot : the efficiency zone
  • Threshold : the upper sustainable limit