HONOR Band 5 Sport: Your Own Personal Running Coach

As I said in my previous review, The HONOR Band 5 Sport is great at monitoring and analyzing basketball-related data, but it also makes the perfect running companion, thanks to its ability to capture detailed running data.

For such an affordable wearable, the HONOR Band 5 Sport has a lot of impressive features: you can attach it to your sneakers for in-depth data tracking, it has a long battery life, and it supports fast charging.

I'd like to show you how effectively it tracks running data. Like basketball performance tracking, you need to use it in Foot mood to track your runs. First, you mount the device onto the shoe buckle, then tie it to your sneaker, and select Running mode (the shoe icon). After a 3-second countdown, you can start running.

Once you've finished your workout, press and hold the touch key on the band to stop tracking. Open Huawei Health on your phone, and you can see the route you've just run. Touch the band icon next to the distance to see more detailed data.

On screen, you can see all of your workout data, including duration, distance, calories burned, average pace, average speed, average step frequency and length, and step count.

In addition to the usual data, the HONOR Band 5 Sport tracks your running form and presents data in the form of useful metrics which I'll explain in more detail below.

The first is ground contact time, which is the period of time your foot remains on the ground during your stride. This data is analyzed, and you can see how your performance compares to that of professional athletes. You'll also get training suggestions so you can focus on improving your form.

The second is landing impact, which is the impact caused by your feet hitting the ground. This impact can cause serious injury if it isn't controlled. It's measured in terms of impact acceleration, and usually increases with speed. It typically stays between 6–20 g (g is the acceleration of gravity). My landing impact is 20 g, which is right at the edge of the upper limit, so I need to work on my form to make sure I stay comfortably within that range.

Eversion excursion refers to the inward rotation of the foot between touchdown and push-off. The rotation angle is usually between 5°–25°. Any more or less than this and you risk injury. Paying attention to this data can help you avoid hurting yourself.

Swing angle measures the degree your calves bend towards your thighs when you run: the higher the value, the more your legs bend. Bending your legs helps reduce the swing radius of the leg, accelerates the swing of the leg, and improves the hanging efficiency of the leg. The value is usually around 70°–140°. The higher the value, the faster the speed, and the longer the step.

Foot strike pattern refers to the way that the foot makes contact with the ground. If there's a problem with your foot strike pattern, it can affect your running speed and increase your risk of injury. For some people, the forefoot is the first part to make contact with the ground, for others it may be the heel, and others still it could be the whole foot. Most experts believe the forefoot or outer forefoot should hit the ground first, as this creates more of a buffer when you land. Based on my data, it seems I need to focus on improving my landing.

Your running data will also appear in a chart, giving you a comprehensive view of your running form.

You can even share your activities with friends by creating images showing your HUAWEI ID nickname, the device you used, your time and distance, and your calories burned, all against a cool background.

All of this data can help you improve your running form, so you can boost your performance and prevent injury.

Give the HONOR Band 5 Sport a try and find out what a good running coach it can be. If you're into basketball as well, you'll get even more out of it thanks to the unique Basketball performance tracking function.