HERMAN FAQ

WHY THE HERMAN NAME?
The system gets its name from our desire to personalize a hi-tech device that acts as a personal training tool. A personal training tool needs a fun, personal name, so we called it Herman after our favorite real life training partner.

HOW DID HERMAN COME TO LIFE?
Herman evolved from our desire to overcome the boredom of training by creating an interactive partner that prompts workouts, measures performance, keeps score, and provides immediate, objective feedback.  We wanted a trainer with us at all times.

WHAT MEASURES THE POWER?
We use the same devices used in cars to trigger air bags to measure the impact on a target. Each sensor includes 2 high impact Motorola accelerometers that cover all 3 axes so we can accurately measure every technique and attach the sensor anywhere at any angle.

WHY PORTABLE RATHER THAN BUILT IN?
We want you to spend as little as possible to use Herman so we made them flexible. By attaching our sensors, we turn the millions of existing dumb targets into smart ones. Suddenly, older freestanding, hanging, or hand-held targets become new training tools.  Even on our HITS training stands, we provide plastic inserts so you can use the same sensors on different targets.

WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO ATTACH THE SENSORS?
We believe Velcro hooks & loops work best. Velcro permits users to attach one sensor to multiple targets, or place one sensor on multiple spots on one target. Of course, we still recommend limiting sensor movement so the hooks and loops retain their adhesiveness.

We include a 6” strip of 2” industrial strength hook and a 5” strip of 1” loop. To attach the sensor, follow these instructions.

1. Horizontally apply the included 6” rough (hook) strip to the target:
   On freestanding bags, place the strip on top or on the back, 8 to 10” from the top.
   On hanging bags, place the strip on top. Secure the hanging wire with additional Velcro.
   For BOB, place the strip on the back base of his neck.
   For Body Shields and most hand held targets, place the Velcro in the center of the back.
   For Focus Targets, place the strip on the top of the target 6” from the front edge.
2. Attach the sensor to the target with the soft (loop) side against the rough target side.
3. Firmly affix the included 5” soft strip to the top of the sensor and attach the Velcro ends to the target strip. This will secure the sensor for all impacts.
4. To place your sensor on another target, slowly detach the sensor, and attach it to another Velcro strip on the other target in the same manner.

HOW DURABLE ARE THE SENSORS?
Our sensors are extremely durable, but, because they're sensitive electronics, we want to avoid direct hits on the sensors. To provide some protection, we enclosed the wired sensor electronics in a heat shrunk clear plastic cover which allows a view of the green power light illuminated in the Run mode. Our plastic shield also surrounds the jack should additional sensors be desired.

The wireless sensor enclosure is extremely solid and durable.  Still, we provide a protective case that  can attach to the target, glove, or body part to minimize the risk of damage.

IS ONE SENSOR ENOUGH?
After extensive testing, we decided that using one sensor worked very well in almost every situation. But, Herman works with up to 3 sensors so we offer two secondary sensors that expand the targets or target areas. Herman displays the best score of the multiple sensors, while the HERMAN GRAPHICS program shows the score of each sensor as well as the best score for each impact.

WHAT'S THE SENSOR THRESHOLD?
The accelerometer measures every movement of the target, but, like in cars, we utilize a minimum threshold before Herman recognizes and counts a hit. To accommodate different target types and stabilities, and different athlete power levels, we include 7 threshold levels. Put the threshold as high as possible to make sure the readings are true without eliminating worthy strikes. We recommend starting with 8g for adults and 3g for kids and adjusting up or down from there.  With My Herman, the default sensor setting is a score of 20 (10g's).

HOW LONG IS THE SENSOR CABLE?
We believe the 8' cable provides a good distance for you to place it on the ground away from the target or for an instructor to hold Herman. You can connect an additional 10' audio extension without any loss of data accuracy or speed. For longer distances, go wireless.

WHAT'S THE ADVANTAGE OF WIRELESS?
Our wireless sensor set eliminates the cable and increases the communication range. It opens Herman to many more uses - especially in the sports world.  You can place our wireless sensor on a free-standing, hanging, or portable target and read the scores many feet away.  We've reached 100 feet in our testing when there's a clear line of site.  You can also attach the wireless sensor to the body or gear of the striker or to normal sports gear like boxing gloves, baseball gloves, shoulder pads, and lacrosse sticks.

Because the sensor and Herman have to be synched to communicate, it's not as quick to move from target to target with the wireless unless you have a wired secondary sensor attached to the wireless primary.  The wireless sets are more expensive because the sensor needs it own power source and both the sensor and Herman need rf communication modules.  Because of this cost issue, we suggest wired sensors when using the head and body targets of our HITS stand.  But we strongly recommend the wireless when using our sports target so you can see the impacts of the throws, passes, or kicks a great distance from the point of contact.  The wireless Herman controller  works with both wired and wireless connections.

WHY 4 OPERATING KEYS?
We want to keep it simple, so we provide just 4 operational keys, with only 3 used in most functions. One key sets up the big picture, the other changes selections, and the third puts it all into operation.

• MENU
  Everything starts with the MENU key. Through this key you can run one of your pre-set programs, review your scores from prior workouts, and change the parameters of your workout and your target.
• GO
  Aside from turning on the power, GO starts the interval in the Run mode, stops the interval before it's complete, displays historical scores in the Review mode, and advances to the next set of parameters in the Setup mode. It also advances Herman from the home screen to the automatic operation and the Run mode of the first technique of the Last or First workout.
  
• SELECT
  This key moves you from one choice to the next within the selected menu display. You can move to the next program, the next technique, or the next setting.
• SET
  This key clears your results after your desire to lose the scores is confirmed. It also works with SELECT to power off Herman.  During a workout, SET will take you directly to threshold setting so you can quickly make a change.
  

WHAT DOES THE LCD DISPLAY?
In Hits mode, the LCD displays the remaining number of hits for the interval, the strength of the current strike, a graphic representation of the strike, the building scores of the current interval, and the scores from either the previous or best performance for that technique or workout.

In Seconds mode, the LCD displays the time remaining in the interval, the number of strikes recorded, the strength of the current strike, a graphic representation of the strike, the building scores of the current interval, and the scores from either the previous or best performance for that technique.

When an interval is complete, the feedback percentage change & text appears. Because we're limited to 16 horizontal spots in our text and numbers, we abbreviate some terminology and round some numbers.

WHAT'S WITH THE RUBBER BOOT?
The rubber boot provides important protection for Herman from abuse and hard drops. We provide a boot with each wireless Herman set, and offer red, black, and blue colors.

WHAT POWERS HERMAN?
The sensor requires a lot of power, so our design team worked hard to make it all work with 2AA batteries. We've built a couple of power saving features into Herman: 1) the sensors are powered only when Herman is in the Run mode; and 2) Herman shuts off after 5 minutes of inactivity unless he's in the middle of a workout interval.  You can disable this automatic shut-off in the Setup Menu which is most helpful if you're using Herman with the My Herman program and creating or reviewing workouts.

Herman's batteries should last several months with normal personal usage and a month or more for class usage. The battery level indicators warn when it's time to change the batteries. Replacing the batteries does not impact the memory.

The original Hermans sold by Century still expend energy even when powered off, so we recommend removing the batteries during down time of a week or more.  We corrected this problem in 2008, so there are no problems with Hermans purchased directly from Garri Productions.

HOW COMPLEX IS HERMAN?
Herman's very easy to operate. With the automatic operation, you can go through an entire workout without ever hitting a button after the initial GO. The My Herman program is also automatic.

Herman has three different modes of operation to be used before, during, and after workouts.

SET UP
This is where you can choose between Seconds or Hits for your training intervals, adjust the target threshold, select the feedback type, and clear all results.

RUN
This is the workout mode. Herman prompts you through Best Shot, Speed Shot, or all the techniques in your workouts, powers the sensor, records your score, and provides feedback on your score.

REVIEW
This is the “how I have done?” mode. You can review all your saved scores from every technique in every workout.

Herman gives you choices as to how you want to train and what workout you want to do. You can keep it simple or load in more involved workouts – it's up to you.  Even more choices are available in My Herman.

IS THERE AUDIO?
Herman makes an audio sound every second of its countdown in the SECONDS mode increasing to two a second the last five seconds to warn that the interval is about to end. Herman also makes an audio sound every strike in HITS mode. The buzzer also sounds at the end of each interval whether it's ended prematurely or has run its course. In Speed Shot, an additional buzzer indicates it's time to hit.

My Herman provides a number of audio options - it's all up to you.  There are verbal countdowns to the beginning and end of a technique interval, sounds with each impact, and verbal feedback after each technique and each workout.  You can choose how much audio you want.

WHAT DO THE SCORES MEAN?
The score numbers represent twice the measured g force. By doubling the force, we achieve higher raw numbers and reduce the number of ties caused by rounding.  C represents the current score.

• HITS - Herman counts the number of times your strikes exceed the threshold during the training interval.
• MAX - Herman keeps track of your strongest strike during the training interval.
• AVG - The total power of your hits divided by the number of hits during the training interval.
• SCORE - Herman multiplies the number of hits by the average score. This is the best representation of your overall performance during the training interval and is the basis of the text feedback.

You can compete to see who hits the most, who hits the hardest, who's the most consistently powerful, and who has the best overall score. You can compete against others or against yourself. Herman keeps the scores until you delete them.  My Herman provides automatic comparisons, tracking, and rankings.

WHEN DOES AN INTERVAL START?
Herman powers the Sensors as soon as he enters the operational Run mode. But he does not start the interval until the first impact. This gives you time to move from the Herman to the target, and allows instructors to give last second reminders. Herman then translates the information from the sensor and displays the scores in real time. In Hits mode, more time can be taken with each strike – Herman advances only after each impact.

HOW MUCH MEMORY DOES HERMAN HAVE?
We want to eliminate the need to write down scores, so we pumped up Herman's memory capacity. Herman retains over 500 interval scores and 64 Best Shot/Speed Shot scores that can be viewed anytime in the REVIEW Mode. You can go months without having to erase your workout scores. Best Shot/Speed Shot can be separately cleared and should be on a regular basis. We also made sure that no data is lost unless you want it lost. So power loss does not impact the stored data, and to prevent accidental deletions, there's an extra verification step before results can be cleared.

WHAT'S THE HITS OR TIME CHOICE?
Herman provides the flexibility to complete an interval by time or by number of hits. If you want to see how many hits you can get in during the designated time period or you want a cardio-vascular workout, select the SECONDS option. If you want to work on technique or want feedback solely determined by power, select the HITS option.  With My Herman you can determine the type of interval for each technique and create a workout with a mix of Hits and Seconds intervals.

DO YOU HAVE TO TRAIN WITH HERMAN WORKOUTS?
No. Every Herman includes workouts, the Best Shot program that measures the power of a single shot or a 10 second interval, and the Speed Shot programs that calculates the score by dividing the power of the strike by the reaction time speed for 1 or 5 strikes.

The included workouts take from just several minutes to 20 or more minutes to complete, depending on the selected skill level and program. You may want to warm up with a low level program and then go all out with an elevated program. 

With the My Herman program you can create your own workouts for My Herman or the Herman Trainer.

CAN WE CUSTOMIZE WORKOUT PROGRAMS?
Aside from offering two dozen workout packages, we offer the My Herman program which gives you the ability to customize workouts. You have complete flexibility in programming the number of techniques, the name of techniques, order of techniques, number of hits or number of seconds for each technique, and the length of the rest period between techniques.

HOW DO I GET UPDATES & CHANGES?
You can always update your Herman with the latest operating system and change your workout programs by using the Herman Programmer. The Programmer is free and can be downloaded from this web site.

Herman contains a mini-USB port for easy computer connection. The same mini-USB cable used to import photos from a digital camera connects Herman to a pc. Unfortunately for Mac owners, our software only works with pc's.