Setting up your Stryd footpod

Once you’ve received your footpod, follow the setup instructions in the box.

The Polar setup instructions are also on the Stryd website.

Once you’ve finished setting up your footpod, you should have:

  • created a login to Stryd PowerCenter
  • installed the Stryd mobile app on your phone (and paired your footpod to the mobile app)
  • connected the Polar app to the Stryd app
  • paired your Stryd as a sensor to your Polar watch
  • added power to your Polar data screen using Polar Flow

Height & weight settings

As explained in the Settings for all Watches/Power Meters book chapter, it’s important to ‘set and forget’ your height and weight.

Instructions for setting your height and weight are on the Stryd website.

Height and Weight are entered in the Stryd mobile app (for iOS or Android).

Auto-lap, Auto-pause, Auto-calibrate, Recording Frequency

These settings are explained in the Settings for all Watches/Power Meters book chapter. They are made on your watch, or via Polar Flow.

Auto-lap

Auto-lap is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), each of them requires Auto-lap to be changed.

Enabling/disabling Auto-lap is described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.

Auto-pause

Auto-pause is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), each of them requires Auto-pause to be changed.

Enabling/disabling Auto-pause is described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.

Auto-calibrate

Calibration is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), each of them requires calibration to be changed.

The process is described in the Polar Setup page on the Stryd website.

Recording Frequency

Recording Frequency can be set to High, Medium or Low accuracy, as described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.

For accurate metrics, record data with High accuracy.

Adjusting what's displayed on your watch

Polar watches allow users to customize which metrics are displayed during activities. Each activity type (run, walk) can have different settings.

How to adjust activity settings is described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.

Because Power is natively available on Polar watches, there’s no need to use an additional app – just choose the layout you want to use, and add the metrics you want to see.

Power Averaging

Power averaging is explained in the Settings for all Watches/Power Meters book chapter.

Polar watches offer real-time and lap power. They do not offer smoothed power.

Displaying power, pace and heart rate

Some of the activities in the book ask you to display power, pace and HR on your watch so that you can keep track of changes in those metrics as you begin to experience running with power.

To do this, choose a layout showing at least three metrics, and include real-time power, pace and heart rate as displayed metrics.

Moving to the next lap

To move to the next lap, press the middle right button (labelled OK).

Additional Stryd metrics

The Stryd footpod offers a number of additional metrics that can be viewed (and analysed) in Stryd PowerCenter, such as Air Power, Form Power, Leg Spring Stiffness, and Impact Loading Rate – see Stryd’s website for more information.

These metrics are not recorded in your workout file. Instead they are recorded in the footpod, and can be uploaded using an offline sync, as described on the Stryd website.

Using structured workouts

To create structured workouts, you can use the Polar Flow app, where you’ll be creating a workout with phases. Each phase can have a different duration and target intensity, and you’ll need to plan each workout step (warm-up, work, recovery, cool-down) including multiple steps for repeating intervals.

You can also use a paid subscription to TrainingPeaks to create structured workouts, which can then be downloaded to your watch, as described in Using Polar Flow with TrainingPeaks on the Polar website.

Uploading completed workouts

Completed workouts will be uploaded to Stryd PowerCenter once you’ve connected the Polar app to the Stryd app (when Setting up your Stryd footpod).

I'd like to give feedback ...

If you have feedback – perhaps something that’s missing/incorrect, or something that would improve the content of Part 3, please let me know in the from1runner2another Facebook group.

Updated:

17-Jun-2025