The first time you exercise or navigate with GPS, wait for the watch to acquire a GPS fix before starting. This may take 30 seconds or more depending on conditions.
Your watch keeps track of your overall activity level throughout the day. This is an important factor whether you just aim to be fit and healthy or you are training for an upcoming competition. It is good to be active, but when training hard, you need to have proper rest days with low activity.
The activity counter automatically resets at midnight every day. At the end of the week, the watch provides a summary of your activity.
From the watch face display, press the lower right button to see your total steps for the day.
Your watch counts steps using an accelerometer. The total step count accumulates 24/7, also while recording training sessions and other activities. However, with some specific sports, such as swimming and cycling, steps are not counted.
In addition to steps, you can press the upper left button to see estimated calories for the day.
The large number in the center of the display is the estimated amount of active calories you have burned so far during the day. Below this you see the total calories burned. The total includes both active calories and your Basal Metabolic Rate (see below).
The ring in both displays indicates how close you are to your daily activity goals. These targets can be adjusted to your personal preferences (see below).
You can also check your steps over the last seven days by pressing the middle button. Press the middle button again to see the calories.
You can adjust your daily goals for both steps and calories. While in the activity display, keep the middle button pressed to open the activity goal settings.
When setting your steps goal, you define the total number of steps for the day.
The total calories you burn per day is based on two factors: your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and your physical activity.
Your BMR is the amount of calories your body burns while at rest. These are the calories your body needs to stay warm and perform basic function like blink your eyes or beat your heart. This number is based on your personal profile, including factors such as age and gender.
When you set a calorie goal, you define how many calories you want to burn in addition to your BMR. These are your so-called active calories. The ring around the activity display advances according to how many active calories you burn during the day compared to your goal.
The instant heart rate (HR) display provides a quick snapshot of your heart rate.
From the watch face view, press the lower right button to scroll to the HR display.
Press the upper button to exit the display and return to the watch face view.
The daily HR display provides a 12-hour view of your heart rate. This is a helpful source of information about, for example, your recovery after a hard training session.
The display shows your heart rate over 12 hours as a graph. The graph is plotted using your average heart rate based on 24-minute time slots. In addition, by pressing the lower right button, you get an estimation of your average hourly calorie consumption rate and your lowest heart rate during the 12- hour period.
Your minimum heart rate from the last 12 hours is a good indicator of your recovery state. If it is higher than normal, you probably are not yet fully recovered from your last training session.
If you record an exercise, the daily HR values reflect the elevated heart rate and calorie consumption from your training. But keep in mind that the graph and consumption rates are averages. If your heart rate peaks at 200 bpm while exercising, the graph does not show that maximum value, but rather the average from the 24 minutes during which you hit that peak rate.
Before you can see the daily HR display, you need to activate the daily HR feature. You can toggle the feature on or off from the settings under Activity . If you are in the daily HR display, you can also access the activity settings by keeping the middle button pressed.
With the daily HR feature on, your watch activates the optical heart rate sensor on a regular basis to check your heart rate. This slightly increases battery power consumption.
Once activated, your watch needs 24 minutes before it can start display daily HR information.
NOTE:
After a period of inactivity, such as when you are not wearing the watch or sleeping soundly, the watch goes into hibernation mode and turns off the optical heart rate sensor. If you want to get heart rate tracking during the night, activate Do Not Disturb mode (see Do Not Disturb mode ).
Training insight
Your watch provides an overview of your training activity.
Press the lower right button to scroll to the training insight view

Press the middle button twice to see a graph with all your activities for the last 3 weeks and the average duration. Press the upper left button to toggle between the different activities you have done for the last 3 weeks.

From the totals view you can press the upper left button to toggle between your top three sports.
Press the lower right button to see the summary for the current week. The summary includes total time, distance and calories for the sport chosen in the totals view. Pressing the lower right button when a specific activity is chosen will show details of that activity.

Adaptive training guidance
Your Suunto 5 Peak automatically generates a 7-day training plan to help you maintain, improve, or boost your aerobic fitness. The weekly training loads and workout intensities are different in the three training programs.
Select your fitness goal:

Select the “maintain” option if you are already fairly fit and want to maintain your current fitness level. This option can also be useful for people just getting started with regular exercise. Once you get going, you can always change the program you follow to a more demanding one.
The “improve” option is targeted at improving your aerobic fitness with a moderate progress curve. If you want to improve your fitness more quickly, choose the “boost” program. This will bring you harder workouts and faster results.
The training plan consist of planned exercises with a target duration and intensity. Each exercise is planned with the goal of helping you maintain and improve your fitness gradually without over-stressing your body. If you miss an exercise, or do a little more than planned, Suunto 5 Peak automatically adapts your training plan accordingly.
When you start a planned exercise, your watch will guide you with visual and audio indicators to help you stay at the right intensity and keep track of your progress.
The HR zones settings (see Heart rate zones ) affect the adaptive training plan. The upcoming activities in the training plan include intensity. If your HR zones are not set correctly, the intensity guidance during a planned exercise may not correlate to the real intensity of your exercise.
To see your next planned training sessions:
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From the watch face, press the lower right button to scroll to the training insight view.

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Press the middle button to view your plan for the current week.

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Press the lower right button to see additional information; training day, duration and intensity level (based on the heart rate zones, see Intensity zones .

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Press the lower left button to exit the planned exercise views and return to the time display.
NOTE:
Today's planned activity is also visible when pressing the middle button in the watch face view.
NOTE:
Adaptive training guidance has the goals of maintaining, improving, or boosting your fitness. If you are already very fit and exercise frequently, the 7-day plan may not suite your existing routine.
CAUTION:
If you have been ill, the training plan may not adjust enough when you start exercising again. Be extra cautious and exercise easy after an illness.
WARNING:
The watch cannot tell if you have an injury. Follow the recommendations of your doctor to recover from the injury before following the training plan in your watch.
To disable your personalized training plan:
- Under the settings menu, go to Training .
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Toggle the Guidance to off.

If you don't want the adaptive guidance but would like an exercise goal, you can define a target number of hours as your weekly goal from the settings under Training .
- Disable Guidance .
- Select Weekly goal . by pressing the middle button.
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Select your new Weekly goal by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

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Confirm by pressing the middle button.
Real-time guidance
If you have a planned exercise scheduled for the current day, that activity appears as the first option in the sport mode list when you enter the exercise view to start an exercise recording. If you want real-time guidance, start the recommended exercise as you would a normal recording, see Recording an exercise .
NOTE:
Today's planned activity is also visible when pressing the middle button in the watch face view.
When exercising according to a planned exercise, you will see a green progress bar and percentage of your progress. The goal is estimated based on planned intensity and duration. When you exercise within the planned intensity (based on your heart rate), you should reach the goal around the planned duration. Higher exercise intensity will get you to the goal faster. Similarly a lower intensity will take longer.
Recovery
Recovery time is an estimate in hours of how long your body needs to recuperate after training. The time is based on the duration and intensity of the training session, as well as your overall fatigue.
Recovery time accumulates from all types of exercise. In other words, you accumulate recovery time on long, low intensity training session as well as at high intensity.
The time is cumulative across training sessions, so if you train again before the time has expired, the newly accumulated time is added to the remainder from your previous training session.
To view your recovery time, from the watch face, press the lower right button until you see the recovery display.

Because recovery time is an estimation only, the accumulated hours count down steadily regardless of your fitness level or other individual factors. If you are very fit, you may recover faster than estimated. On the other hand, if you have the flu, for example, your recovery may be slower than estimated.
Sleep tracking
A good night's sleep is important for a healthy mind and body. You can use your watch to track your sleep and follow how much sleep you are getting on average.
When you wear your watch to bed, Suunto 5 Peak tracks your sleep based on accelerometer data.
To track sleep:
- Go to your watch settings, scroll down to Sleep and press the middle button.
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Toggle on Sleep tracking .

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Set the times for going to bed and waking up according to your normal sleep schedule.
After you have defined your bedtime, you can choose to have your watch in Do Not Disturb mode during your sleeping hours.
Step 3 above, defines your bedtime. Your watch uses that period to determine when you are sleeping (during your bedtime) and reporting all sleep as one session. If you get up for a drink of water during the night, for example, your watch still counts any sleep after that as the same session.
NOTE:
If you go to bed before your bedtime and also wake up after your bedtime, your watch does not count that as a sleep session. You should set your bedtime according to the earliest you may go to bed and the latest you may wake up.
Once you have enabled sleep tracking, you can also set your sleep target. A typical adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per day, though your ideal amount of sleep may vary from the norms.
Sleep trends
When you wake up, you are greeted with a summary of your sleep. The summary includes, for example, the total duration of your sleep, as well as the estimated time you were awake (moving around) and the time you were in deep sleep (no movement).
In addition to the sleep summary, you can follow your overall sleep trend with the sleep insight. From the watch face, press the lower right button until you see the Sleep display. The first view shows your last sleep compared to your sleep target.

While in the sleep display you can press the middle button to see your average sleep over the last seven days. Press the lower right button to see your actual sleeping hours for the last seven days.
While in the average sleep display you can press the middle button to see a graph over your average HR values for the last seven days.

Press the lower right button to see the actual HR values for the last seven days.
NOTE:
From the Sleep display, you can keep the middle button pressed to access sleep tracking settings.
NOTE:
All sleep measurements are based on movement only, so they are estimates that may not reflect your actual sleep habits.
Sleep quality
In addition to duration, your watch can also assess sleep quality by following your heart rate variability during sleep. The variation is an indication of how well your sleep is helping you rest and recover. Sleep quality is shown on scale from 0 to 100 in the sleep summary, with 100 being the best quality.
Measuring heart rate while sleeping
If you wear your watch during the night, you can get additional feedback on your heart rate while sleeping. To keep the optical heart rate on during the night, ensure that Daily HR is enabled (see Daily HR ).
Automatic Do Not Disturb mode
You can use the auto Do Not Disturb setting to automatically enable Do Not Distrub mode while you sleep.
Stress and recovery
Your resources are a good indication of your body's energy levels and translate into your ability to handle stress and cope with the day's challenges.
Stress and physical activity deplete your resources, while rest and recovery restore them. Good sleep is an essential part of ensuring your body has the resources it needs.
When your resource levels are high, you will likely feel fresh and energetic. Going for a run when your resources are high means you'll probably have a great run, because your body has the energy it needs to adapt and improve as a result.
Being able to track your resources can help you manage and use them wisely. You can also use your resource levels as a guide to identify stress factors, personally effective recovery boosting strategies, and the impact of good nutrition.
Stress and recovery uses optical heart sensor readings and to get those during the day, daily HR must be enabled, see Daily HR .
It is important that your Max HR and Rest HR are set to match your heart rate to ensure that you get the most accurate readings. By default, the Rest HR is set to 60 bpm and the Max HR is based on your age.
These HR values can easily be changed in the settings under GENERAL -> PERSONAL .
TIP:
Use the lowest heart rate reading measured during your sleep as your Rest HR.
Press the lower right button to scroll to the stress and recovery display.

The gauge around this display indicates your overall resource level. If it is green, it means you are recovering. The status and time indicator tell you your current state (active, inactive, recovering or stressed) and for how long you have been in that state. In this screenshot, for example, you have been recovering for the last four hours.
Press the middle button to see a bar chart of your resources over the last 16 hours.

The green bars indicate periods where you have been recovering. The percentage value is an estimate of your current resource level.
Fitness level
Good aerobic fitness is important for your overall health, well-being and sports performance.
Your aerobic fitness level is defined as VO2max (maximal oxygen consumption), a widely recognized measure of aerobic endurance capacity. In other words, VO2max shows how well your body can use oxygen. The higher your VO2max, the better you can use oxygen.
The estimation of your fitness level is based on detecting your heart rate response during each recorded running or walking workout. To get your fitness level estimated, record a run or walk with a duration for at least 15 minutes while wearing your Suunto 5 Peak .
Your watch is able to provide an estimation of your fitness level for all running and walking workouts.
Your current estimated fitness level is shown in the fitness level display. From the watch face, press the lower right button to scroll to the fitness level display.

NOTE:
If the watch hasn't estimated your fitness level yet, the fitness level display will instruct you further.
Historical data, from recorded running and walking workouts, plays a role in ensuring the accuracy of your VO2max estimate. The more activities you record with your Suunto 5 Peak , the more accurate your VO2max estimate becomes.
There are eight fitness levels, from low to high: Very poor, Poor, Fair, Average, Good, Very good, Excellent and Superior. The value is dependent of your age and gender and the higher value you have, the better your fitness level is.
Press the upper left button to view your estimated fitness age. Fitness age is a metric value that reinterprets your VO2max value in terms of age. Regularly engaging in the right types of physical activity will help you boost your VO2max value and reduce your fitness age.

Improvement of VO2max is highly individual and it depends on factors such as age, gender, genetics and training background. If you are already very fit, increasing your fitness level will be slower. If you are just starting to exercise regularly, you may see a quick increase in fitness.
Chest heart rate sensor
You can use a Bluetooth® Smart compatible heart rate sensor, such as the Suunto Smart Sensor, with your Suunto 5 Peak to get accurate information about your exercise intensity.
If you use the Suunto Smart Sensor, you also have the added advantage of heart rate memory. The sensor memory function buffers data if the connection to your watch is interrupted, for example, when swimming (no transmission under water).
It also means you can even leave your watch behind after starting a recording. For more information, please refer to the Suunto Smart Sensor User Guide.
Refer to the user guide for Suunto Smart Sensor or other BluetoothⓇ Smart compatible heart rate sensor for additional information.
See Pairing PODs and sensors for instructions on how to pair an HR sensor with your watch.
Pairing PODs and sensors
Pair your watch with Bluetooth Smart PODs and sensors to collect additional information, such as cycling power, when recording an exercise.
Suunto 5 Peak supports the following types of PODs and sensors:
- Heart rate
- Bike
- Power
- Foot
NOTE:
You cannot pair anything if airplane mode is on. Turn off airplane mode before pairing. See Airplane mode .
To pair a POD or sensor:
- Go to your watch settings and select Connectivity .
- Select Pair sensor to get the list of sensor types.
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Press the lower right button to scroll through the list and select the sensor type with the middle button.

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Follow the instructions in the watch to complete pairing (refer to sensor or POD manual if needed), pressing the middle button to advance to the next step.

If the POD has required settings, such as crank length for a power POD, you are prompted to enter a value during the pairing process.
Once the POD or sensor is paired, your watch searches for it as soon as you select a sport mode that uses that sensor type.
You can see the full list of paired devices in your watch from the settings under Connectivity » Paired devices .
From this list, you can remove (unpair) the device if needed. Select the device you want to remove, and tap Forget .
Calibrating bike POD
For bike PODs, you need to set the wheel circumference in your watch. The circumference shall be in millimeters and it is done as a step in the calibration. If you change the wheels (with new circumference) of your bike, the wheel circumference setting in the watch must also be changed.
To change the wheel circumference:
- In settings, go to Connectivity » Paired devices .
- Select Bike POD .
- Select the new wheel circumference.
Calibrating foot POD
When you pair a foot POD, your watch automatically calibrates the POD using GPS. We recommend using the automatic calibration, but you can disable it if needed from the POD settings under Connectivity » Paired devices .
For the first calibration with GPS, you should select a sport mode where the foot POD is used and the GPS accuracy is set to Best . Start the recording and run at a steady pace on a level surface, if possible, for at least 15 minutes.
Run at your normal average pace for the initial calibration, and then stop the exercise recording. The next time you use the foot POD, the calibration is ready.
Your watch automatically re-calibrates the foot POD as needed whenever GPS speed is available.
Calibrating power POD
For power PODs (power meters), you need to initiate the calibration from the sport mode options in your watch.
To calibrate a power POD:
- Pair a power POD with your watch if you have not done so already.
- Select a sport mode that uses a power POD and then open the mode options.
- Select Calibrate power POD and follow the instructions in the watch.
You should re-calibrate the power POD from time to time.
Timers
Your watch includes a stopwatch and countdown timer for basic time measurement. From the watch face, open the launcher and scroll up until you see the timer icon. Press the middle button to open the timer display.

When you first enter the display, it shows the stopwatch. After that, it remembers whatever you used last, stopwatch or countdown timer.
Press the lower right button to open the Set timer shortcuts menu where you can change the timer settings.
Stopwatch
Start the stopwatch by pressing the middle button.

Stop the stopwatch by pressing the middle button. You can resume by pressing the middle button again. Reset by pressing the lower button.

Exit the timer by keeping the middle button pressed.
Countdown timer
In the timer display, press the lower button to open the shortcuts menu. From there you can select a pre-defined countdown time or create custom countdown time.

Stop and reset as needed with the middle and lower right buttons.
Exit the timer by keeping the middle button pressed.
Intensity zones
Using intensity zones for exercising helps guide your fitness development. Each intensity zone stresses your body in different ways, leading to different effects on your physical fitness. There are five different zones, numbered 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), defined as percentage ranges based on your maximum heart rate (max HR), pace or power.
It is important to train with intensity in mind and understand how that intensity should feel. And don't forget, regardless of your planned training, that you should always take time to warm up before an exercise.
The five different intensity zones used in Suunto 5 Peak are:
Zone 1: Easy
Exercising in zone 1 is relatively easy on your body. When it comes to fitness training, intensity this low is significant mainly in restorative training and improving your basic fitness when you are just beginning to exercise, or after a long break. Everyday exercise – walking, climbing stairs, cycling to work, etc. – is usually performed within this intensity zone.
Zone 2: Moderate
Exercising at zone 2 improves your basic fitness level effectively. Exercising at this intensity feels easy, but workouts with a long duration can have a very high training effect. The majority of cardiovascular conditioning training should be performed within this zone. Improving basic fitness builds a foundation for other exercise and prepares your system for more energetic activity. Long duration workouts at this zone consume a lot of energy, especially from your body’s stored fat.
Zone 3: Hard
Exercising at zone 3 begins to be quite energetic and feels like pretty hard going. It will improve your ability to move quickly and economically. In this zone, lactic acid begins to form in your system, but your body is still able to completely flush it out. You should train at this intensity at most a couple of times per week, as it puts your body under a lot of stress.
Zone 4: Very hard
Exercising at zone 4 will prepare your system for competition type events and high speeds. Workouts in this zone can be performed either at constant speed or as interval training (combinations of shorter training phases with intermittent breaks). High-intensity training develops your fitness level quickly and effectively, but done too often or at too high intensity may lead to overtraining, which may force you to take a long break from your training program.
Zone 5: Maximal
When your heart rate during a workout reaches zone 5, the training will feel extremely hard. Lactic acid will build up in your system much faster than it can be removed, and you will be forced to stop after a few minutes at most. Athletes include these maximum-intensity workouts in their training program in a very controlled manner, fitness enthusiasts do not require them at all.
Heart rate zones
Heart rate zones are defined as percentage ranges based on your maximum heart rate (max HR).
By default, your max HR is calculated using the standard equation: 220 - your age. If you know your exact max HR, you should adjust the default value accordingly.
Suunto 5 Peak has default and activity-specific HR zones. The default zones can be used for all activities, but for more advanced training, you can use specific HR zones for running and cycling activities.
Set max HR
Set your maximum HR from the settings under Training » Intensity zones » Default zones .
- Select the max HR (highest value, bpm) and press the middle button.
- Select your new max HR by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

- Press the middle button to select the new max HR.
- Keep the middle button pressed to exit the HR zones view.
NOTE:
You can also set your maximum HR from the settings under General » Personal .
Set default HR zones
Set your default HR zones from the settings under Training » Intensity zones » Default zones .
- Scroll up/down by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons and press the middle button when the HR zone you want to change is highlighted.
- Select your new HR zone by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

- Press the middle button to select the new HR value.
- Keep the middle button pressed to exit the HR zones view.
NOTE:
Selecting Reset in the HR zones view will reset the HR zones to the default value.
Set activity specific HR zones
Set your activity specific HR zones from the settings under Training » Intensity zones » Advanced zones .
- Choose the activity (running or cycling) that you want to edit (by pressing upper right or lower right buttons) and press the middle button when the activity is highlighted.
- Press the middle button to toggle the HR zones on.
- Scroll up/down by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons and press the middle button when the HR zone you want to change is highlighted.
- Select your new HR zone by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

- Press the middle button to select the new HR value.
- Keep the middle button pressed to exit the HR zones view.
Using HR zones when exercising
When you record an exercise (see Recording an exercise ), and have selected heart rate as an intensity target (see Using targets when exercising ), an HR zone gauge, divided into five sections, is shown around the outer edge of the sport mode display (for all sport modes that support HR). The gauge indicates in which HR zone you are currently training by lighting up the corresponding section. The small arrow in the gauge indicates where you are within the zone range.

Your watch alerts you when you hit your selected target zone. During your exercise the watch will prompt you to speed up or slow down, if your heart rate is outside the selected target zone.

In the exercise summary, you get a breakdown of how much time you have spent in each zone.
Pace zones
Pace zones work just like HR zones but the intensity of your training is based on your pace instead of your heart rate. The pace zones are shown either as metric or imperial value depending on your settings.
Suunto 5 Peak has five default pace zones that you can use or you can define your own.
Pace zones are available for running.
Set pace zones
Set your activity specific pace zones from the settings under Training » Intensity zones » Advanced zones .
- Select Running by pressing the middle button.
- Press the lower right button and select pace zones.
- Press the upper right or lower right buttons to scroll and press the middle button when the pace zone you want to change is highlighted.
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Select your new pace zone by pressing the upper or lower buttons.

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Press the middle button to select the new pace zone value.
- Press and hold the middle button to exit the pace zones view.
Using pace zones when exercising
When you record an exercise (see Recording an exercise ), and have selected pace as an intensity target (see Using targets when exercising ) a pace zone gauge, divided into five sections, is viewed. These five sections are shown around the outer edge of the sport mode display. The gauge indicates the pace zone you have chosen as an intensity target by lighting up the corresponding section. The small arrow in the gauge indicates where you are within the zone range.

Your watch alerts you when you hit your selected target zone. During your exercise the watch will prompt you to speed up or slow down, if your pace is outside the selected target zone.

In the exercise summary, you get a breakdown of how much time you have spent in each zone.
Power zones
Power meter measures the amount of physical effort needed to perform a certain activity. The effort is measured in watts. The main advantage gained with a power meter is precision. The power meter reveals exactly how hard you really work and how much power you produce. It is also easy to see your progress when analyzing the watts.
Power zones can help you train with the correct power output.
Suunto 5 Peak has five default power zones that you can use or you can define your own.
Power zones are available in all default sport modes for cycling, indoor cycling and mountain biking. For running and trail running, you need to use the specific “Power” sport modes to get power zones. If you are using custom sport modes, make sure your mode uses a power POD so that you also get power zones.
Set activity specific power zones
Set your activity specific power zones from the settings under Training » Intensity zones » Advanced zones .
- Select the activity ( Running or Cycling ) that you want to edit or press the middle button when the activity is highlighted.
- Press the lower right button and select power zones.
- Press the upper right or lower right buttons and select the power zone you want to edit.
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Select your new power zone by pressing the upper or lower buttons.

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Press the middle button to select the new power value.
- Press and hold the middle button to exit the power zones view.
Using power zones when exercising
You need to have a power pod paired with your watch to be able to use power zones when exercising, see Pairing PODs and sensors .
When you record an exercise (see Recording an exercise ), and have selected power as an intensity target (see Using targets when exercising ) a power zone gauge, divided into five sections, is viewed. These five sections are shown around the outer edge of the sport mode display. The gauge indicates the power zone you have chosen as an intensity target by lighting up the corresponding section. The small arrow in the gauge indicates where you are within the zone range.

Your watch alerts you when you hit your selected target zone. During your exercise the watch will prompt you to speed up or slow down, if your power is outside the selected target zone.

In the exercise summary, you get a breakdown of how much time you have spent in each zone.
FusedSpeed™
FusedSpeed™ is a unique combination of GPS and wrist acceleration sensor readings for measuring your running speed more accurately. The GPS signal is adaptively filtered based on wrist acceleration, giving more accurate readings at steady running speeds and a quicker responses to changes in speed.

FusedSpeed benefits you the most when you need highly reactive speed readings during training, for example, when running on uneven terrain or during interval training. If you temporarily lose the GPS signal, for example, Suunto 5 Peak is able to continue showing accurate speed readings with the help of the GPS calibrated accelerometer.

TIP:
To get the most accurate readings with FusedSpeed, only glance shortly at the watch when needed. Holding the watch in front of you without moving it reduces the accuracy.
FusedSpeed is automatically enabled for running and other similar types of activities, such as orienteering, floor ball and football (soccer).