Feature: Stress and recovery measurements using the Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 device

Sports Cloud is compatible with the Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter desktop application. It allows users to record raw RR, Acceleration ACC and ECG data using a Bodyguard 3 device (BG3) and download the data to a folder on the user's computer.

Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter compatibility allows uploading BG3 data to Sports Cloud for stress and recovery analysis*.

You need:

1. Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter (desktop application). It can be used for downloading data from BG3 devices to a local computer folder via a USB connection.

2. One or more BG3 device(s). Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter only works with BG3 devices marked to be used with the Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter application.

3. *Access to the stress & recovery analysis feature on your customer account, which is a Premium/Premium+ feature. Please contact sports@firstbeat.com if you need more information.

Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter tool.

BG3 device configuration for Firstbeat Sports stress and recovery analysis

In device settings, select RR and ACC data. You need both for the analysis to work. Leave out the ECG data because it increases the file size a lot and it is not needed in the analysis.

Downloading data from BG3 to your computer

After downloading data from the device you get a set of files on your download directory.

One file always contains one measurement and there are several files depending on what data sources you have selected (RR, ACC, ECG). In case several measurements were downloaded, there are several measurement files saved. You can distinguish the measurements e.g. by the time stamp included in the filename.

Important!

You only need upload one file to Sports Cloud per athlete. The file you need has extension .gz For example, BG30001037_Joe-Athlete-20220203T235439-parsed.json.gz

Example file listing for the download folder. Only files with a .gz extension are uploaded to Sports Cloud.

Uploading BG3 data to Sports Cloud

Select Upload from Bodyguard 3 on the top-right menu on Sports Cloud.

Note: If you can’t see the menu you don’t have the stress and recovery feature enabled. Please contact sports@firstbeat.com for further information.

A dialog for uploading a Bodyguard 3 file opens.

1. First, select the athlete to whom you are uploading the stress and recovery data. You can upload data to one athlete at a time.

2. Then, select the file you have saved to your local folder using the Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter application. You can upload one measurement at a time.

3. Finally, click upload to send the file to the Sports Cloud.

Note: Depending on the file size and your internet connection, it might take a moment for the file to be uploaded.

After the upload, it takes a moment for the analysis process on the Sports Cloud to complete. Finally, the stress and recovery report is available and data is visible on the dashboard.

Frequently asked questions

Is it possible to use the same device with several athletes?

Yes. The device is not athlete specific. If several athletes are using the same device, you need to be organized and careful in taking notes on what device was used by whom since the recorded data does not include any user names. If you wish to perform measurements at the same time, you need more than one device.

How is the process different between BG2 and BG3?

The process for uploading data to Sports Cloud is different between BG2 and BG3. Instead of uploading data via browser plug-in (BG2), files downloaded to a local folder are then uploaded to Sports Cloud (BG3). In other words, you need to first download the data from the BG3 device to a folder on your computer and then upload the data to Sports Cloud.

Is it possible for athletes to use the BG3 device?

There are no technical limitations on the Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter (desktop application) for athlete usage. However, this requires that athletes are trained on the whole process of data collection and how the application is used.

Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 Exporter does not include any features for sharing the data with coaches but the exported files can be sent e.g. via e-mail or synced using file-sharing apps.

It’s possible for athletes to upload the Bodyguard 3 files on Sports Cloud.