Using Your Apple Watch As A Heart Rate Monitor With NordicTrack S22i
If you’re anything like me in that you check your Activity Rings more than you check the time each day — you’re probably also exceptionally dissatisfied in Apple Watch’s inability to be used as a viable heart rate monitor with any gym equipment (excluding Peloton Bike + cycling workouts using GymKit). So, when I purchased my NordicTrack s22i, I set out on a mission to avoid having to buy a totally new wearable device & having to run a totally separate workout on the watch while doing my ride.
After considerable research (Reddit + Quora) and conducting dedicated focus groups (asking family + friends), I think I’ve found one — ECHO heart rate app. Developed by a mobile phone/Apple Watch tech company called PK Fitness, ECHO’s technology bypasses the bike/watch connectivity limitations by using your iPhone’s bluetooth to broadcast your heart rate from your watch to your bike screen.
The app is completely free for 20 minute sessions and is $14.99 for unlimited minutes. Compared to how much I’ve paid in the past for heart rate straps and arm bands — this cost was definitely worth it. The connection process is super easy as well — I’ve outlined each step for you below!
HOW TO CONNECT:
- Download ECHO on your phone and watch. Make sure you enable Health & Bluetooth permissions when prompted.
- Select the iFit workout you’d like to do on your NordicTrack screen. When you finish the warmup (or skip past it), select ‘Tap to start’ on ECHO (heart rate cannot be read during the warmup). The app should read, ‘Waiting to connect’ which signals it’s broadcasting a bluetooth signal for the NordicTrack to pick up.
- After a few seconds (can take up to 40 according to their FAQ), you’ll see your heart rate pop up on your phone, watch and broadcasted onto the iFit screen — aka connection success!
P.S. They recently added zones in ECHO that correspond to the NordicTrack zone colors, so make sure to set your max heart rate in ECHO to match the max heart rate set on your NordicTrack and enable ‘HR Zones’ in Settings. Enjoy!
