Polar Protrainer for 2 decades - what's next

[Underachiever]

Hubbers

 

Need your advice on the latest and greatest HRM data analysis tools after using the Polar Protrainer soffware since 2000....

 

I've been an advit Polar fan since 1995, and I"m currenty using the Polar RS800CX - but getting speed sensors and such like is getting more difficult.  So I need to make a jump to Garmin/Wahoo/other soon.

 

Thing is I have 20 years of HR and other data on the Polar Protrainer Software which still serves my purpose.

I don't do powermeters yet.

 

I've moved the data to Polar Flow, but Flow is far inferior in data analysis and setting up graphical reports vs Protrainer. 

 

So what are the alternatives with the following requirements.

- I don;t want to lose the data, so I want to be able to transfer my current Polar database,

-The tool needs to be freeware.  Not interested in spending money.

-The tool must be able to load data off a new device (Garmin, Wahoo, Polar) and keep the integrity of the database.

 

Thanks!!

 

[Vetplant]

Hubbers

 

Need your advice on the latest and greatest HRM data analysis tools after using the Polar Protrainer soffware since 2000....

 

I've been an advit Polar fan since 1995, and I"m currenty using the Polar RS800CX - but getting speed sensors and such like is getting more difficult.  So I need to make a jump to Garmin/Wahoo/other soon.

 

Thing is I have 20 years of HR and other data on the Polar Protrainer Software which still serves my purpose.

I don't do powermeters yet.

 

I've moved the data to Polar Flow, but Flow is far inferior in data analysis and setting up graphical reports vs Protrainer. 

 

So what are the alternatives with the following requirements.

- I don;t want to lose the data, so I want to be able to transfer my current Polar database,

-The tool needs to be freeware.  Not interested in spending money.

-The tool must be able to load data off a new device (Garmin, Wahoo, Polar) and keep the integrity of the database.

 

Thanks!!

Can you export the data to .fit files? That is the first step in whatever route you want to take.

 

From there, I would suggest that you put it on STRAVA, which can act as an online repository, it should be around for a while still. Mark your activities as Private if you want to. Yes the Free version is sufficient for what you want.

 

Then, use intervals.icu as your analysis tool. It reads the data from your Strava profile and does some cool analytics on it. Plus the tool is developed by DavidTinker, a local hubber.

[Frosty]

Hubbers

 

Need your advice on the latest and greatest HRM data analysis tools after using the Polar Protrainer soffware since 2000....

 

I've been an advit Polar fan since 1995, and I"m currenty using the Polar RS800CX - but getting speed sensors and such like is getting more difficult. So I need to make a jump to Garmin/Wahoo/other soon.

 

Thing is I have 20 years of HR and other data on the Polar Protrainer Software which still serves my purpose.

I don't do powermeters yet.

 

I've moved the data to Polar Flow, but Flow is far inferior in data analysis and setting up graphical reports vs Protrainer.

 

So what are the alternatives with the following requirements.

- I don;t want to lose the data, so I want to be able to transfer my current Polar database,

-The tool needs to be freeware. Not interested in spending money.

-The tool must be able to load data off a new device (Garmin, Wahoo, Polar) and keep the integrity of the database.

 

Thanks!!

How about a ride together some day and a post ride coffee/gelato/beer, and I show you what is available.

[shaper]

Golden Cheetah, will do all you need and then some, if you take the time to learn how to use it

 

Edit: Oh and it's free!!

Edited August 14, 2019 by shaper

[Underachiever]

Can you export the data to .fit files? That is the first step in whatever route you want to take.

 

From there, I would suggest that you put it on STRAVA, which can act as an online repository, it should be around for a while still. Mark your activities as Private if you want to. Yes the Free version is sufficient for what you want.

 

Then, use intervals.icu as your analysis tool. It reads the data from your Strava profile and does some cool analytics on it. Plus the tool is developed by DavidTinker, a local hubber.

I like the way you think, but I don't know if the Polar .hrm and .pdd files can be transferred to  a .fit file. Seems Shaper's idea of Golden Cheetah migh work :-)

 

Thx

[Underachiever]

How about a ride together some day and a post ride coffee/gelato/beer, and I show you what is available.

Thx Frosty.  Sounds like a fab plan :-)

[Vetplant]

I like the way you think, but I don't know if the Polar .hrm and .pdd files can be transferred to  a .fit file. Seems Shaper's idea of Golden Cheetah migh work :-)

 

Thx

Yep:

 

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918127-Polar-and-Strava

Activities that will not transfer to Strava

• Manually added activities.
• Training sessions that have been synced with Polar group solutions or from third party applications or services, for example, Polar Club or MyFitnessPal.
• Training sessions that have been transferred to Polar Flow from polarpersonaltrainer.com or from Polar ProTrainer 5.
• Training sessions that have been synced to Polar Flow before connecting Polar Flow to Strava. These training sessions can be transferred to Strava with Polar Flow’s export function. 
• For more information, please refer to Polar's online instructions.

[Underachiever]

I like the way you think, but I don't know if the Polar .hrm and .pdd files can be transferred to  a .fit file. Seems Shaper's idea of Golden Cheetah migh work :-)

 

Thx

So, installed GC last night and imported my Polar HRM data.  Data such at weight was lost since it is contained in another (.ppd) file that cannot be imported into GC.

 

Now to figure out how to get my graphs back...

 

Then to add Strava data...

[Vetplant]

(Disclaimer: This will not be helpful in any way.)

 

May I ask, why do you need all of your data of the past 20 years at hand?

 

I understand having data from 1 or 2 seasons ago, but in 20 years our bodies surely change a great deal?

 

Might be useful to summarize the key metrics like MAX HR and Lactate Threshold HR in Excel Spreadsheets per month or year that you can refer back to when needed. Instead of doing all this effort to have very detailed data logs.

 

It is like my parents who kept all my old school books... I've never really understood why. The end-of-term report cards give a very good reflection of what I was up to during those times, why keep the books? It's not like they EVER look at them.

[SwissVan]

(Disclaimer: This will not be helpful in any way.)

 

May I ask, why do you need all of your data of the past 20 years at hand?

 

I understand having data from 1 or 2 seasons ago, but in 20 years our bodies surely change a great deal?

 

Might be useful to summarize the key metrics like MAX HR and Lactate Threshold HR in Excel Spreadsheets per month or year that you can refer back to when needed. Instead of doing all this effort to have very detailed data logs.

 

It is like my parents who kept all my old school books... I've never really understood why. The end-of-term report cards give a very good reflection of what I was up to during those times, why keep the books? It's not like they EVER look at them.

Hubbers

 

Need your advice on the latest and greatest HRM data analysis tools after using the Polar Protrainer soffware since 2000....

 

I've been an advit Polar fan since 1995, and I"m currenty using the Polar RS800CX - but getting speed sensors and such like is getting more difficult.  So I need to make a jump to Garmin/Wahoo/other soon.

 

Thing is I have 20 years of HR and other data on the Polar Protrainer Software which still serves my purpose.

I don't do powermeters yet.

 

I've moved the data to Polar Flow, but Flow is far inferior in data analysis and setting up graphical reports vs Protrainer. 

 

So what are the alternatives with the following requirements.

- I don;t want to lose the data, so I want to be able to transfer my current Polar database,

-The tool needs to be freeware.  Not interested in spending money.

-The tool must be able to load data off a new device (Garmin, Wahoo, Polar) and keep the integrity of the database.

 

Thanks!!

What kind of data and reports do you need, that cannot be provided by flow?

[Underachiever]

(Disclaimer: This will not be helpful in any way.)

 

May I ask, why do you need all of your data of the past 20 years at hand?

 

I understand having data from 1 or 2 seasons ago, but in 20 years our bodies surely change a great deal?

 

Might be useful to summarize the key metrics like MAX HR and Lactate Threshold HR in Excel Spreadsheets per month or year that you can refer back to when needed. Instead of doing all this effort to have very detailed data logs.

 

It is like my parents who kept all my old school books... I've never really understood why. The end-of-term report cards give a very good reflection of what I was up to during those times, why keep the books? It's not like they EVER look at them.

I'm probably old enough to be your dad - so yes, that how I roll.

 

Seriously, you are right I only look back about 4 years.  Point is that Protainer does what I want it to do.

[Underachiever]

What kind of data and reports do you need, that cannot be provided by flow?

In Protrainer you can set up 15 "reports" (graphs) that is completely customisable.  In Flow you can't save those settings to give me the 15 graphs I look at 

[Vetplant]

I'm probably old enough to be your dad - so yes, that how I roll. VERY POSSIBLE  

 

Seriously, you are right I only look back about 4 years.  Point is that Protainer does what I want it to do.

Was the data for the last 4 years also captured exclusively on Protrainer or was it originally captured via Flow? Because the data captured originally on Flow can be very easily imported to Strava.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Golden Cheetah keeps all the data on your PC and thus you are more susceptible to losing said data when your PC eventually crashes. Something like Strava keeps it online, which means you can access it as long as you have a data connection.

[Underachiever]

Was the data for the last 4 years also captured exclusively on Protrainer or was it originally captured via Flow? Because the data captured originally on Flow can be very easily imported to Strava.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Golden Cheetah keeps all the data on your PC and thus you are more susceptible to losing said data when your PC eventually crashes. Something like Strava keeps it online, which means you can access it as long as you have a data connection.

All captured on Protrainer since 2000.  I've imported into Flow when I started looking at alternatives.  For the past numbers of years I run a parallel system in Strava (sans HR).

 

Yep, GC on your PC - which I was surprised about, I thought it would be online. 

 

Good catch - I wasn't aware that you can transfer from Flow to Strava. 

[shaper]

All captured on Protrainer since 2000.  I've imported into Flow when I started looking at alternatives.  For the past numbers of years I run a parallel system in Strava (sans HR).

 

Yep, GC on your PC - which I was surprised about, I thought it would be online. 

 

Good catch - I wasn't aware that you can transfer from Flow to Strava. 

You can set up GC to have your data stored in the cloud.  I store mine on dropbox and set my athletes library and settings to the dropbox folder.

 

I run GC on my work computer and also on my laptop when travelling/at home/away for races. Both PC and laptop are configured to my dropbox data location, so can access whenever/wherever and upload accordingly.

 

With the inclusion of R charts and now Python charts, there are many charts already configured (look at the download chart tab), else if you have a bit of programming knowledge you can create your own.  All my charts are adaptations of what GC provides and customised to my needs.

 

My data is also stored on Garmin Connect and on Strava, so will never loose it and can use tapriik to mass download/transfer to another platform should i need.

[Underachiever]

You can set up GC to have your data stored in the cloud.  I store mine on dropbox and set my athletes library and settings to the dropbox folder.

 

I run GC on my work computer and also on my laptop when travelling/at home/away for races. Both PC and laptop are configured to my dropbox data location, so can access whenever/wherever and upload accordingly.

 

With the inclusion of R charts and now Python charts, there are many charts already configured (look at the download chart tab), else if you have a bit of programming knowledge you can create your own.  All my charts are adaptations of what GC provides and customised to my needs.

 

My data is also stored on Garmin Connect and on Strava, so will never loose it and can use tapriik to mass download/transfer to another platform should i need.

Question...

 

Due to the old age of my home laptop I installed the 32bit GC version.  Got info off Google on how to sync with Strava, but my GC menus excluded those options.

 

Ideas??