recommend a heart rate monitor

jon1981

hey,

can anyone recommend a heart rate monitor from experience? whats a good make? im looking to spend about 100-150 euro. Also are they worth it?

Huggles

I use a nike one and have had no problems in the last year.

They are on the nike site or available in Arnotts.

Anthony_1980

polar , bbb , cateye

tunney

GAH BBB???? Cateye??? and polar in the same sentence???

Come on - its Polar all the way. A bike specific model that can be worn as a watch (S625x, S725x) or slightly cheaper are the CS models that are speedos only.

Anthony_1980

my old man sells em all

g'em

I know *nothing* about these fancy fandangled heart rate monitor thingys so can you indulge me and tell me why one brand is better than the other? It's sheer curiosity tbh! And which athletes use them and who benefits most from them?

Merci buckets and excuse my ignorance

shanksmare

i have a garmin forerunner 305.
Its a bit more than 150 (i think i got it for around 250).

But aswell as a HRM it has GPS on it and is a great training tool if you are exercising outdoors. Gives you distance covered (bike/running), pace etc. Can be used for fartleks etc.

If you are just getting one for the gym then no point going to the expense but just thought i'd mention it..

justdoit

I looked at the Polar range, but in the end bought a Sigma PC15. Sigma is a German brand, but I got it on EBay from the US. My gym was selling the lower spec Sigma Fit Watch for €80, and the PC15 was retailing at c€115. Inclusive of p&p it cost me c€60 from an online bike store.

G'em, I used to train quite a bit for triathlon, and it's great for maximising your efficicency in training, knowing when to push a little harder etc. I'm far from an expert, but found it interesting and useful. I know a basic stop watch can also measure your splits and lap times, but TBH, that's probably what I used it for most...

tunney

Timex: Nice displays, good functionality, slightly counter-intuitive. With higher end models you can upload data to computers. Timex software is very poor. Very little functionality, analysis of data difficult. Their more complex systems (e.g. bodylink) are hacked together and you end up feeling like a borg with a GPS unit, watch, HRM strap, data recorder.......

Polar: Nice displays, more features and functionality than the Timex. HR straps more comfortable and less prone to interference. Very intutive operation. Defintion of HR zones very easy, multiple exercise profiles etc etc. Higher end models can also upload to computers. Polar software is excellent, allows detailed analysis of sessions and trends. Can't overstate the quality of the software. Customer service is excellent. On the down sides the batteries can't be user changed. Comprehensive range of products - one suitable for everyone.

York/BBB other generic brands: Feature poor, interference from surroundings and other HRMs quite high. No data upload (in general) sofware poor.

Polar were the pioneers of HRMs and their experience shows.

AudioMove

I was looking at the polar ones myself, but not sure which one to go for, their so many :-)

I'm looking for one that I will probably only use in the gym. It should measure my HR obviously and if it can tell my calorie loss would be great also.

Can someone recommend one of the polar products for this?

gabgab

Hi G'em,

Here is a very good description,

http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/fitness/hrm.asp

OP, I have this one, and find it very good, I found and do find it very helpful to measure how hard or soft I am pressing,

http://www.shoppolar.com/_polarelectrostore/cgi-bin/pd.cgi?frompage=category&page=product_detail&fromcategory=Wellbeing:+General+Fitness&category=Wellbeing:+General+Fitness&pid=F2222B7269WHXYK68Y4

jon1981

cheers for all the replies, they were very useful, i think i made up my mind and will go with the polars, i was looking at the suunto but they are really expensive.

Roper

Not to throw a spanner right in the works but I bought one in Lidl for 20 bills and it is perfect inasmuch as it tells me my heart rate, I can set my upper and lower limits, tells the time, round time, has a stopwatch and a few other things I haven't bothered to experiment with. It comes with a bike attachment aswell but my son now thinks thats his watch.

I have no complaints about it, but I use it during my high training intensity periods which are comparatively rare- maybe 5-6 times per year. If you were an endurance athlete you'd probably use it a lot more and its hard to say whether my one will last as long as a Polar for example.

Colm_OReilly

Now to further spanner it up.

Heart rates are a correlate of intensity, but you can measure intensity directly by montioring power (how much weight moved what distance in what time).

Even when I was doing triathlon training, I remember reading an informative piece on HRs and how they can vary based on hydration levels, temperature (in the environment) and some other factors which basically amounted to - hey, just run, bike and swim faster.

If youre training for an event, make sure your times/weights/scores improve each workout by as much as you can while maintaing form and avoiding injury. Actually, do the same in the gym as well.

rubadub

Roper wrote: »

Not to throw a spanner right in the works but I bought one in Lidl for 20 bills and it is perfect inasmuch as it tells me my heart rate,

Yeah, I got mine in argos and it did the job. I really just used it for motivation. You can get ones that go inline with your mp3 player so you hear beeps if it slows down.

Only use I would have now is resting heart rate, I could leave it on in bed and wake up to get a full rested heart rate.

tunney

A Lidl one will tell you your heart rate, but may not be accurate and probably doesn't have the features and endurance athlete wants. My first HRM was one from York, did me about 6 months and then I switched to a mid range Polar after I found it lacking in features.

With regards power being a better measure - definitely. If you can measure power thats the metric to use. Not really possible for alot of endurance sports but where it is possible those that use it over HRM get substantial benefits.

Roper

You get what you pay for alright. The OP didn't mention what he'd be using it for so I just thought I'd mention that.