Monitor Watches

Admin says:

There are heart rate monitors You can wear like a wristwatch for way less than that. And there’s no such thing as an accurate calorie counter, because the amount burned varies from person to person. There are aLOT of factors

Admin says:

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Admin says:

There are some things that allow you to place your finger on a monitor, for example, but they’re not as accurate nor do they usually provide nonstop readings.

The chest strap is pretty much the only consistent and reliable way to do it. If you get a decent one, you do generally adapt to them more readily than you might think.

Things like the Reebok monitor generally require you come to a standstill and hold a button for several seconds to get a reading. That might be okay if you’re wearing it primarily as a watch and sitting on the couch, but if you’re out running or something comparable it’s not really helpful.

Admin says:

Most heart rate monitors should come with software that can be uploaded onto your computer. the best way to get it online is by using the trainingpeaks program. it is a coaching program used by most of the cycling community. go to http://www.trainingpeaks.com for more info.

as for a good heart rate monitor i’d say go with a polar, but if you’re looking to add a power meter later look at the cyclops power tap, because it has both heart rate and a power meter built in. training with a power meter and heart rate is the ideal way to train these-a-days.

Admin says:

The heart rate monitor gives you a gauge of when you are in certain “zones”, ie weight loss, anerobic, endurance, etc… That is why they are useful for running or sustained exercises. I do not believe they would be as effective for intermittent exercises but I admittedly have never tried.

Admin says:

First of all, you got a crappy friend. Why would a friend rip you off like that? Your friend should have told you.

Anyway… email customer.service.usa@polar.com. Tell them exactly what watch you have (ex. FT4, FT7, FT40) and they will tell you which transmitter you should get that will sync with that wrist unit.

I suggest you buy both the belt and transmitter new and not used (when you buy a new transmitter they come together). A used strap is just gross but a used transmitter often has problems, either from being hit or dropped or poor contact with the snaps. With the first one, I got about 750 hours of use out of it (over about 9 months) before it started getting glitchy and not reading the signal well, so I used conductive gel with it and it helped with picking up the signal but I still got glitch errors such as it suddenly reading a rate of 220 (always 220) for about 10 seconds. I took perfect care of it, and from what I’ve read, this seems to be normal with that level of use.

Also, you should know that some transmitters can be synced to your phone (and watch at the same time) if that is something you are interested in. There are various apps that can link with it but which transmitter you get also depends on what phone you have. If you are interested in linking to your phone too make sure you tell polar in the email the watch you have AND what make and model phone you have.

(On a side note based on the other answerer’s reply, almost all of polar’s equipment now has user friendly maintenance. The battery in both the watch and transmitter can be changed by you, and it is advertised at such, all you need is a coin to put in the notch provided and turn it to open. As for the chest strap, they don’t have that crappy hard strap anymore, it’s nothing but an elastic band that sits basically where your bra band is. The part that reads the signal is in the front, it’s about 12 inches of a plastic type of material glued to the inside of the strap. It does still require you to wet it (the plastic part against your skin) a bit to get a good consistent signal. There is no need to wear anything extra to keep it in place, the tension on the strap alone is sufficient and it should feel about at tight as your bra.)

Admin says:

Every heart rate monitor that actually works uses s chest strap. That’s just the way they work. Anyone that doesn’t is just giving you an estimate. I have a Polar CS3000, it’s fantastic. You’ll get used to strap, it freaked me out at first to.

Admin says:

Danny Dreyer, author of Chi-Running is about the only running guru I know of that is against Heart Rate Monitors. He thinks it’s best to just listen to your body. That by paying attention to your body and not a bunch of gadgets you can tell more about your body than any gadget can. People have off days and if you paid attention only to a HRM you might over do it by trying to keep your Heart Rate in the right zone, as opposed to just running at a pace that feels good.

However, I have a HRM and I’m really happy with it. My main concern is that when I’m running and daydreaming I have a tendency to slow down. I also wanted to make sure I would push myself but not over do it.

So the basic Heart Rate Monitor has a watch part and a strap that goes around your chest. The watch part is a pretty good sports watch but it also displays your heart rate.

I’m simplifying things, but the idea is that we can determine our Maximum Heart Rate, and that we can benefit by running in certain zones. For instance, it is generally understood that running at 65% of the max is really good for weight loss and that running at 85% is anaerobic.

Most HRM watches have a way of inputting your max HR and then can display what % you are at.

Good HRMs will till you at the end of your workout what your Max HR was, what your average was, and some will even show you how many minutes you were in each Zone.

Really Good HRMs will have interval timers, and alarms. So you could set it to beep after 5 minutes to let you know when your warm up is over. Or you could set it to beep if your heart rate goes too high or too low.

The best HRMs will have some kind of computer interface and will automatically log your runs and graph them. Also computer interfaces are the best way to program complicated interval training programs.

When you start looking at the best HRMs you will find they have GPS built in. It turns out that having a GPS HRM watch gives you the most flexibility in programming runs and looking at computer graphs and displays.

Mostly you will find runners with GPS HRMs. In gym the GPS is useless. But the HRM is still very useful. On the treadmill and elliptical a HRM watch means you can let go of the handles and swing your arms. Plus you get a log of your activity.

I’ve tried low end Polars and Timexes. They are both adequate. The Timex “Trainer” line is about $100. I like them because they have good interval timer features.
I ended up getting a Garmin 305. The 305 has a lot of features and doesn’t cost as much as the newer models.

There is a blog called DC Rainmaker where a guy talks about HRMS and GPSs. He has compared a lot of the models and it’s worth checking out.

Admin says:

The watch can not measure your heart rate beat itself, usually a heart rate monitor watch is coming with a chest strap, with frequency from 110khz, 5.3khz to 2.4G coded, 2.4G frequency is more stable but much expensive, well i have my 5.3khz heart rate monitor watch from Amazon, here is it:http://www.amazon.com/Monitor-Calories-Pedometer-Distance-Stopwatch/dp/B00GD6VHOS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386571777&sr=8-2&keywords=dreamsport

Admin says:

Here are some exterior views http://www.bloodpressuremonitor.bz/omron_hem629_blood_pressure_monitor.asp

I doubt you will find a picture of the chip for that.

The sensors are usually IR photo detectors or small thermistors that respond to the heat of the blood pulse.

Admin says:

I swear by my Garmin, I got a 301 model on Amazon, cheap and though there are newer versions, they don’t have anything this model had. Will give you your heart rate, you can set an alarm to go off if you go over or under a certain number of beats per minute, has GPS so it will tell you how far you’ve run, at what rate per mile or km, your average heart rate, how many calories burned, your time, has a training assistant that will let you know if you are ahead or behind of apace you have set for yourself, will time intervals letting you know how fast you have done them and when it is time to do another one. I could go on. O, you did say watch. Timex has one.

Admin says:

If you want an accurate heart rate monitor, you’re going to have to go with a chest strap. That’s just the way it is.

And calories are going to be pretty consistent for you based on your weight and distance. You don’t really need that ability built-in to a device, and there’s software after-the-fact (like SportTracks) that can readily calculate calories for you too.

I’d look into the Garmins, but maybe look at things like the 305 (or 310XT) as well.

Admin says:

The Polar F6 is the better heart rate monitor. For example, it can keep up to 12 daily files (diaries) of your training, whereas the F4 can’t do that. With daily files, you can review what you did during your previous sessions. Both Polar F4 and F6 count calories, but the Polar F6 goes one step further: it tells you the percentage of calories due to fat burnt. This is very useful information for people wanting to lose weight!

The page listed below has lots more information about the Polar F6, including comparisons between F4 and F6. That should help you make up your mind.

Admin says:

There are a ton of options. I’ve personally used both Garmin and Polar and both brands are pretty solid. I’ve also heard good things about Omron and Mio, though. In terms of pricing, what models to get, etc, I’d recommend checking out Heart Rate Monitors USA. That’s where I’ve gotten both my monitors. Their prices are good and they let you shop by feature and price range.

http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/

All in all, if I had to pick one type of HRM to recommend for a runner, it would probably be the Garmin Forerunner series. They’re comfortable, offer great monitoring ability, and they’re well-priced.

Admin says:

According to my doctor, a resting heart rate should be between 60-80. Your resting heart rate is perfectly within the normal range. What matters is your heart rate during exercise but since you sound extremely healthy, you probably have a healthy heart rate during exercise. How are you checking your resting heart rate? If you use a heart monitor watch, you have to keep you arm at a rested level to get an accurate result.

Admin says:

I think the actual technology in determining your heart rate is pretty standard. The fluctuation in pricing that you see has to do with the materials the watch is made of and the features of the watch.

The more expensive ones will actually plan your workout for you (amongst other features) while the simpler ones will just tell the time and give you your heart rate.

I bought a timex made out of rubber and it works for me just fine! Leather or other fabric based straps would eventually fall apart because of the constant chlorine exposure.

Admin says:

It seems to be a problem with the particular model you have. Check out this review which claims that “the syncing was occasionally hit and miss.”: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/gadgets/heart-rate-monitors/product/se300-10-36961

“Gadgets” of this sort often don’t preform as well as we expect and have designs which are marginal at best. I had a fairly simple heart rate watch/monitor which gave erratic readings when trying to measure on the fly. I would have to stop walking/running to take a measurement simply because the motion made the contact between metal and skin unstable.

I think you’re probably just stuck with your monitor’s idiosyncrasies but you can always try returning it to the manufacturer and see what happens.

Good luck!

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