Hey everone, i wasnt sure on where to stick this post. I wanted to know if anyone uses heart rate monitors. If you do, have you found them to be usefull. Also which brand/model do you use?
-Andrew
-Andrew
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Heart Rate Monitor? Do you use one? If so which one and how do you like it?
- Thread starter JourneyThroughFitness
- Start date
I have a Polar F7 HRM.
I got it about a year and a half ago and it has been very useful- I had been trying to make sure I kept to a rough guildline each day I worked out and had used the machines to find I was burning 1000kcals. Now I knew this was in correct, but I didn't realise just how incorrect! The first day I wore the HRM, 1000kcals on the machines = 550 on the HRM. Gutting in a way even though I knew it was an overestimation in the first place.
I do think though, its a mixed blessing. I keep to a 1000kcal on the HRM guideline (which I still believe is exaggerated) but feel worried if I had a bad day where I feel I cannot get that far. I still feel I have to and it just takes me longer and feels more gruelling. 1000kcals can take me 1 hr 30 mins or it can take me 2hrs and 20 mins, depending on how I feel and there are even times I have to stop off halfway to get some energy back, (though press pause on the HRM to do so). Its an obsession and I am not sure if its helpful as much as something which sort of rules my life.
All in all though, I like the HRM I have, its comfortable, the straps have gone a bit yellow but otherwise it looks good, it looks pretty and its pretty bash/drop resistant The only hassel I have is with the chest straps which wear out after a year (and I have 4 I rotate), these are pretty pricey to replace and I find it annoying that they don't last as long as I need them to.
I also like the idea of being able to log stuff online which Polar is supposed to offer. I cannot do this as there is an error with my computers' audio card but it looks like a great idea.
The HRM I have has a few features which I find useful
Primarily heart rate level. I can see how hard I am working out- how much my heart is pumping blood/oxygen to my muscles for them to work via the Heart rate. I can also set my own ranges, low, medium and high as well as min and max.
I can then after a workout see how much of my workout was in my selected range and this helps me see improvements.
I also get a calorie amount. It takes into consideration my age and weight to give me this. I can see a graph for the past 16 sessions to see how the calories varied per day as well as the duration per day. The only irritation I have with this is that if I vary within 100kcals or within say 15 mins it really doesn't show up on the graph. If for example I do 5 days where the calories were 1000, 1090, 950, 1050, 1111, the graph really wont show any real distinction between the amonts which can feel a bit demoralising. (I like to look at graphs and feel I have some power over their structure!)
At the end of the week (sunday midnight) the watch tells me what I have burnt over the week and what my heart rate levels were (eg how much time spent in each level). I can then compare over the past 16 weeks.
If I were to have money as no object, I'd chose a Garmain HRM, purely for the label and the gimmicks, but lets face it, I will never win the lottery so when my current HRM runs dry I will be replacing it with another Polar HRM. They work well, are reliable, have lots of features and look normal to wear.
I got it about a year and a half ago and it has been very useful- I had been trying to make sure I kept to a rough guildline each day I worked out and had used the machines to find I was burning 1000kcals. Now I knew this was in correct, but I didn't realise just how incorrect! The first day I wore the HRM, 1000kcals on the machines = 550 on the HRM. Gutting in a way even though I knew it was an overestimation in the first place.
I do think though, its a mixed blessing. I keep to a 1000kcal on the HRM guideline (which I still believe is exaggerated) but feel worried if I had a bad day where I feel I cannot get that far. I still feel I have to and it just takes me longer and feels more gruelling. 1000kcals can take me 1 hr 30 mins or it can take me 2hrs and 20 mins, depending on how I feel and there are even times I have to stop off halfway to get some energy back, (though press pause on the HRM to do so). Its an obsession and I am not sure if its helpful as much as something which sort of rules my life.
All in all though, I like the HRM I have, its comfortable, the straps have gone a bit yellow but otherwise it looks good, it looks pretty and its pretty bash/drop resistant The only hassel I have is with the chest straps which wear out after a year (and I have 4 I rotate), these are pretty pricey to replace and I find it annoying that they don't last as long as I need them to.
I also like the idea of being able to log stuff online which Polar is supposed to offer. I cannot do this as there is an error with my computers' audio card but it looks like a great idea.
The HRM I have has a few features which I find useful
Primarily heart rate level. I can see how hard I am working out- how much my heart is pumping blood/oxygen to my muscles for them to work via the Heart rate. I can also set my own ranges, low, medium and high as well as min and max.
I can then after a workout see how much of my workout was in my selected range and this helps me see improvements.
I also get a calorie amount. It takes into consideration my age and weight to give me this. I can see a graph for the past 16 sessions to see how the calories varied per day as well as the duration per day. The only irritation I have with this is that if I vary within 100kcals or within say 15 mins it really doesn't show up on the graph. If for example I do 5 days where the calories were 1000, 1090, 950, 1050, 1111, the graph really wont show any real distinction between the amonts which can feel a bit demoralising. (I like to look at graphs and feel I have some power over their structure!)
At the end of the week (sunday midnight) the watch tells me what I have burnt over the week and what my heart rate levels were (eg how much time spent in each level). I can then compare over the past 16 weeks.
If I were to have money as no object, I'd chose a Garmain HRM, purely for the label and the gimmicks, but lets face it, I will never win the lottery so when my current HRM runs dry I will be replacing it with another Polar HRM. They work well, are reliable, have lots of features and look normal to wear.
I use a cheap Reebok one, it cost me £10, and does the job fine. All I need to know is which heart rate zone I'm in when running (but it does a lot more than that). It also gives a progress report when you finish, so you can compare to how good/bad you did on a previous run! It's the cheapest most useful bit of training kit I think I've ever bought!
After years of counting HR the old-fashioned way (3 times at different intervals - for accuracy), once I became certified for personal training, I found this method too cumbersome with clients. The old-fashioned method works, but I couldn't always trust the clients' counts, 3 counts was time-consuming, etc.
I bought the Sportline Solo 960 heart rate monitor/watch- it's WONDERFUL! I wanted something handy and reliable - with NO chest straps - and was assured this one absolutely would be accurate. It suits my needs just fine and every time I've "checked" it (by counting the old-fashioned way), it's been DEAD-ON. It has SO MANY FEATURES I'll prob'ly never use (all kinds of speed/distance/calorie trackers/monitors/alarms), but I've surprised myself in the past with gadgetry - also wasn't quite sure just what features I might need in the future with clients, so wanted to be sure I was "covered." My training is not gym-oriented and I don't use machines (it's mostly outdoors - trails, beach, forest, parks), which I LOVE, but it doesn't give me the benefit of all the info so readily available on most gym equipment with electronic monitors - another reason I bought a model with lots of features.
I use my Solo 960 when I'm training myself, and have my clients wear it when I'm training them. I've only had it for a few months, but it's hard to imagine life without it now - it's easy and accurate.
I don't care so much about looks, but since I don't have another watch, it was a bonus to realize that it's "pretty" enough to wear in many "normal" settings. The face is not huge, the band is a light blue, and one feature is particularly handy at night (one button lights up the whole face, so I can not only see the time, but use all the other features, as well).
It works for me.
I bought the Sportline Solo 960 heart rate monitor/watch- it's WONDERFUL! I wanted something handy and reliable - with NO chest straps - and was assured this one absolutely would be accurate. It suits my needs just fine and every time I've "checked" it (by counting the old-fashioned way), it's been DEAD-ON. It has SO MANY FEATURES I'll prob'ly never use (all kinds of speed/distance/calorie trackers/monitors/alarms), but I've surprised myself in the past with gadgetry - also wasn't quite sure just what features I might need in the future with clients, so wanted to be sure I was "covered." My training is not gym-oriented and I don't use machines (it's mostly outdoors - trails, beach, forest, parks), which I LOVE, but it doesn't give me the benefit of all the info so readily available on most gym equipment with electronic monitors - another reason I bought a model with lots of features.
I use my Solo 960 when I'm training myself, and have my clients wear it when I'm training them. I've only had it for a few months, but it's hard to imagine life without it now - it's easy and accurate.
I don't care so much about looks, but since I don't have another watch, it was a bonus to realize that it's "pretty" enough to wear in many "normal" settings. The face is not huge, the band is a light blue, and one feature is particularly handy at night (one button lights up the whole face, so I can not only see the time, but use all the other features, as well).
It works for me.