When this forum becomes busy someone might be able to advice me on a good heart rate monitor and possibly where i can get same. Also if they have used 1 and do they find it usefull.

Hi.
I have owned 2 of POLAR heartrate monitors and i can only give them a top rewiew!
They have a big serie of monitors, from a simpel one just to measure the heart rate (wich is what most pepole needs) to advansed modells that do, fitnesstests, vo2max, ownzone (setts your heart rate limits for the day depending on your fitnesslevel of the day, to do that it measures the heart frekvens), and much more.
If you do a lot of cyckling i can recomend the S610 (http://www.polarusa.com/Products/consumer/s610.asp), i have this one and you can uppload all the information that the klock measures to your computer, and it will show you grafs of heartrate, burnd calories, puls zones.... everything exept vo2max.
Polar have made their watches so you can program them with lenght,weight, sex,vo2max and max heartrate, for the two last if you dont know them, the clock will calculat it for you from the walues that you put in...
You can get much more info from http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/default.asp

I hope that this has helped you a little on you way to your first aha experience with a heart rate monitor!!

When this forum becomes busy someone might be able to advice me on a good heart rate monitor and possibly where i can get same. Also if they have used 1 and do they find it usefull.

Irish,

A lot of it depends on what you want to accomplish with it. I bought a Polar A5 last summer and its really nice. In the grand scheme of things, I could have gone with an A1 or A3 and still got all of the functions that I needed.

I'm assuming you are getting this for HIIT HR tracking. Wen I first started doing hiit, the alarms were very handy. After a good six months of it, I know where I am at just by my speed, the feel of my body and my breathing. Not that I can tell you my exact heartrate, but I'd say within 5% of current rate.

I bought mine from Drugstore.com when they a special running. It was on sale and it came with a tshirt. You can probably get close to the same price from other sports stores like Dunhams, sports authority, etc.

How much are we talking here?

When this forum becomes busy someone might be able to advice me on a good heart rate monitor and possibly where i can get same. Also if they have used 1 and do they find it usefull.


I use a Nike Triax C8. It has the features that you'd expect, including programable zones, average HR, etc. One feature that I thought was neat is that it works with the Cybex treadmills at my gym. So, while wearing the monitor, you can get feedback from the treadmill. Which is helpful if you like the idea of seeing a graphic (peaks and valleys) represenatation during your HIIT. Around $90 at Sunglass Hut.

-jm

If you're new to the scene - and you want to start training using a heart rate monitor - there are lots of places where you can rent one for a day or two. Polar has a "rent first" policy, in which you rent a monitor for about a buck a day to try it out before you commit to buying one.

I got myself a Polar A5. It's not the fanciest of things, but it incorporates the most basic functions - as well as a few extras. Be sure to get one which has a regular clock in it as well!

bump on the polar.

I'm not sure which model mine is but its the base model. It cost me only 39bux at sports authority i believe. It gives your hr and thats about it. Its very accurate and picks up easily even on someone like me who still has quite a bit of abdominal and chest fat(last place to go grrr)

Its not really neccessary, but I really like using it to keep me motivated. The REALLY cool thing is many treadmills have a polar receiver built into them(like at my gym on the nordic treadmills) and you can see your hr on the panel without even wearing the watch. I still wear the watch tho because it always seems to be a bit more accurate. I tried a Reebok one I bought from Target and it was CRAP! wouldnt even pick up my hr but sporadically

Hello,

I've tried a few heart monitors. My absolute favorite is the Cateye PL-6000. I've been using it for a couple of years. The monitor sensor gently attaches to one of your earlobes. The monitor display can be strapped to your cardio device or to your wrist. The one programmable feature I use is setting the min rate/max rate levels during workouts to keep you disciplined to the heart range you desire.

The Cateye is somewhat expensive, but it's very accurate, programmable, durable, and easy to wear/use...

How much are we talking here?

I got mine at walmart for $39 it's just a basic heartrate moniter (no fancy functions), but it's done exactly what I want it to do. If you go to a Gym, you'd be suprised howmany machines pickup the signal.

It's also been nice to see how my heart rate changes while I'm lifting weights. :db:

eBay is a great place to look. I bought mine off there a few months ago.

is there any that you can wear for like X amount of hours and you upload the results to your computer and you can see actually when your heart rate goes up? I would love to see when my heart rate goes up at work from stress and actual work...?

is there any that you can wear for like X amount of hours and you upload the results to your computer and you can see actually when your heart rate goes up? I would love to see when my heart rate goes up at work from stress and actual work...?


Yup - no problem.
Just get one of the fancier models which hooks up to your computer.

Maybe this will sound dumb but... if I were to get a heart monitor, how would I know what 100% heart rate is? Is there a chart I should be looking at or do I just run as hard as I can until I collapse and measure it?

Maybe this will sound dumb but... if I were to get a heart monitor, how would I know what 100% heart rate is? Is there a chart I should be looking at or do I just run as hard as I can until I collapse and measure it?

(220 - Age = MHR) is a good ballpark formula for computing your maximum heart rate. Keep in mind that this is just a close approximation: according to that formula my MHR is 185, but it has actually gone to 192 when I'm doing HIIT. I use a Polar A1 HR monitor, BTW. Simple and it works.

There are also a couple of other ways to measure your MHR - My local gym charges about $10 for a more accurate measurement. This involves (I'm told) having someone coaching you through a medium-to-highintensity workout. You won't be going all out, but the measurement is pretty accurate.

Well, I went out and bought one. Quite the discount on it too. Normal price is $130 but got it for $49 at Big 5 Sporting Goods. I don't know how wide spread the franchise is but there are quite a few in California. Anyway, It claims to have 17 different functions but some of the functions really aren't. I don't think I would include water proofness as a specific function. It has target alarms and a few other bells and whistles. Tried it out this afternoon for a hike through the local hills. Went 1:36 hr/min with an ave heart rate of 132 over the duration. Topped out at 167 beats/min for a bit. Additionally, the package has a mount for cycling, and bf% calipers. I like it for the price.

If you have a Big 5 near you just go to the website and print out the coupon for the discount. Go to the store and purchase it. Easy as pie.

http://www.big5sportinggoods.com/specials.htm

I have a A3 from polar(Thanks John for costing me money, Had to have one after reading your page!) , and it seems to work fine. From what I've been reading, to get your Max Heart rate(MHR), it's 220-age x75 (fat loss zone).

for me thats 220-30 x .75 = 143 This is where I'm suppose to keep my Heart Rate (HR) at for 20 minutes to burn fat. My problem is I run 3 to 4 miles every other day(soon to be every day), and my HR gets up to 185-190 before I stop and let my HR fall back down to the low 160's before I start runnig again.

How much fat does a person burn running at 85 to 95% of their Max heart rate(MHR)? is this even good for you? I can't see runing 3 to 4 miles and only keeping my HR at 143. Thats a fast walk for me, and doesn't seem like it would do much. :mad:

Having a monitor helps motivate me, so it was a great buy, even at $80. :claplow:

any ideas?

I have a A3 from polar(Thanks John for costing me money, Had to have one after reading your page!) , and it seems to work fine. From what I've been reading, to get your Max Heart rate(MHR), it's 220-age x75 (fat loss zone).

for me thats 220-30 x .75 = 143 This is where I'm suppose to keep my Heart Rate (HR) at for 20 minutes to burn fat. My problem is I run 3 to 4 miles every other day(soon to be every day), and my HR gets up to 185-190 before I stop and let my HR fall back down to the low 160's before I start runnig again.

How much fat does a person burn running at 85 to 95% of their Max heart rate(MHR)? is this even good for you? I can't see runing 3 to 4 miles and only keeping my HR at 143. Thats a fast walk for me, and doesn't seem like it would do much. :mad:

Having a monitor helps moitvate me, so it was a great buy, even at $80. :claplow:

any ideas?Since you are trying to do aerobic-level cardio, you should not let your heart rate get that high. Doing so will burn lean mass. Slow down. :)

I have a A3 from polar(Thanks John for costing me money, Had to have one after reading your page!) , and it seems to work fine. From what I've been reading, to get your Max Heart rate(MHR), it's 220-age x75 (fat loss zone).

for me thats 220-30 x .75 = 143 This is where I'm suppose to keep my Heart Rate (HR) at for 20 minutes to burn fat. My problem is I run 3 to 4 miles every other day(soon to be every day), and my HR gets up to 185-190 before I stop and let my HR fall back down to the low 160's before I start runnig again.

How much fat does a person burn running at 85 to 95% of their Max heart rate(MHR)? is this even good for you? I can't see runing 3 to 4 miles and only keeping my HR at 143. Thats a fast walk for me, and doesn't seem like it would do much. :mad:

Having a monitor helps motivate me, so it was a great buy, even at $80. :claplow:

any ideas?

Hi, James.

I have read a lot about cardio training and hartrate zones. We can classify the zones into four levels. It seems like you are exercising at way to high hartrate for burning fat.

Level 1) 50-65% of max ht. Fat burning and restitution(only trained people)
Level 2) 65-75%
Level 3) 75-85%
Level 4) 85-90% (experienced and contest training only)

Unexperienced and not trained people should spend most of their time at L1 and L2.

Example when max ht is 190
L1) 95 - 124 (190 * 0.5 = 95, 190 * 0.65 = 124)
L2) 120 - 143
L3) 143 - 152

If you want to burn fat you should be at level 1 for more than 20 minutes. Less than this and your body will not start burning fat only carbs. Level one is where you burn most fat. This is probably walking for the untrained, but for a trained person this is probably light jogging.

Even experienced cardio runners and athlets train mostly at lower levels. Level 1 is often used by these people for rebuilding ther strength or restitution. Level 2 is the level they spend most of their time. To much time running at L3 will suffer in overtraining(i.e. 3 times a week at L3). You could devide training into hard weeks and lighter weeks. For unexperiensed it is very important to take it slow in the beginning, get used to running and this could take some time. Start with walking and compliment it with running in between waling for each session. www.coolrunning.com has nice programs to follow like couch to 5K in 9 weeks(5k 3 times pr week) :tucool:

The (#1) 220-age is not to bad, but I have also seen (#2) 200-(age/2). This two gives almost the same. Example for person at age 30.

1) 220 - 30 = 190
2) 200 - (30/3) = 200 - 15 = 185

Anyway the best way to find max ht is to try. There is many ways to do this, like running uphill, cyckling uphill, stepmachine, running in stairs, etc. Usually done twice, the first not as hard as the next one, and always warm up before start. Each session could be 3 minutes. Search the net and find a way that suits you :nod:

-Avec

Hey guys,

I was looking at getting a heart monitor for use with HIIT training, but i cant decide which to buy.

I want one which obviously tells me my current heart rate, and ay other useful functions,

but the one thing i am looking for which i couldnt find was one which could be linked to a pc via usb or another port such as firewire.

Anyone know any which do,or have one which does?

Thanks
Mark

Hmm i know im posting again, but after thinking about it and checking polar heart monitors ones which can communicate with a PC seem very expensive i think i shall just get a basic Polar A1, anyone got any reasons why not to get an A1?

Mark

I just picked up an A1 on ebay, I choose the A1 just because I don't think I will need any more than the basic heart rate read out. It will keep excercise time, heart rate, and average heart rate for a workout.

When this forum becomes busy someone might be able to advice me on a good heart rate monitor and possibly where i can get same. Also if they have used 1 and do they find it usefull.

Hi Irish,
Got the Polar b-1 at Wal-Mart for 40 bucks. It's a basic with the wrist watch and chest strap. Does what I need. Got the idea from reading on the forums. So stay on track with the forums and you'll get lots of ideas. Just decide how much you want to spend and what all you will use it for. If it's just heart rate, go to Wal-Mart. Good Luck!

but I wanted a timex for some reason (escapes me now). I bought one from walmart .com since my local walmart didnt carry the $40 one I was looking for. It works fine and all but I had a bit of an issue with the band. I'm had a really tough time betting the pin back in on the band given the way the band attaches to the watch. I had 3 others try it and someone finally got it. After all that I decided I really didn't want it and luckily I could return it to the store. I then bought another one that will arrive on thursday. its http://www.timex.com/bin/detail.tmx?item=048148584914 and I paid $70 (including shipping). crossing my fingers the "band issue" on the first one won't happen again.

Just some more info about the heartrate zone's.
First the 220 - age is for men.
For women you haveto take 226 - age.
And as you all have said ofcourse the best thing to do is to try what your maximum heart rate is!
But to do this for exampel in Spinning (cykling) when you have a controlled enviroment you always need a medic expert a nurse or something like that!
Coz pushing yourself to 100 % of your hear capacity is NEVER a good thing. But it's important to be abel to calculate your trainings levels.

We use a more personalised method to find your heartrate levels.
I mean we all have different heartrates when we are in rest, relaxed.

Take me for an exampel. 32 years old.
The standard 220-32*65%=122 beats per minute
And for 85 % it's 160 beats per minute

But if you use your working heart rate area.
My heart rate in rest is 42 beats/min.
My Max is 195
So 65 % is...
195 - 42 * .65 + 42 = 141 beats/min (19 strokes more)
85 %
195 - 42 * .85 + 42 = 172 beats/min (12 strokes more)

This depence ofcorse of my 7 strokes higher max heart rate but the big differens is that i have my resting heart rate in the calculations!!!!

Measure your resting heart rate 5 days in a row before you get up from bed in the morning and take your average heart rate from that!

This post is getting long...

Just one thing more.. I think i have read that Mr John do hiit training, remember that when you go for 100% max for 1 min, it's effort not max heart rate, and thats a BIG DIFFERENS!
Generarlly speaking when the average people goes over 85 % of maximum heart rate the lactoacid starts pumping out in your body.
For EVERY one who'm is not an elite athet this is a marker (85%) you should stay under.
Cylist often never exeeds more than 3% of their total training over 85 %.
Well time to stop writing, i have to prepare for todays cykling session.
Train hard but use your brain to set the correct gold and KEEP them!

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK JOHN YOU ARE A BIG INSPIRE!! :tucool:
Regards
Christer
Sweden

Does anybody know anything about the Polar F1 monitor?

I like Polar the best. They were first, they have the most different models, and they work with a lot of commercial health club equipment. The cheapest ones are about $40, they have some that interface with your computer and will costs several hundred $.

Another thing to consider is if you work out with someone who also has a Polar monitor, get one with a "coded Transmitter" so there will be no crosstalk interference. In other words, your monitor won't pick up the signal from someone else's transmitter and add it to yours, and you suddenly see a reading of 220 when it should be only half that.
Trainiac!
www.clintphillips.com

well i ended up ebaying at a local ebay store for 35 total after shipping
OMRON HR100 BODY LOGIC EXERCISE HEART RATE MONITOR what do you think good ?

When this forum becomes busy someone might be able to advice me on a good heart rate monitor and possibly where i can get same. Also if they have used 1 and do they find it usefull.


http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=87756&catid=13822&trx=GFI-0-SRCHFI&trxp1=13822&trxp2=87756&trxp3=1&trxp4=1&btrx=BUY-GFI-0-SRCHFI