Heart Monitors

Does anyone have one or Know anything about these or recommend one Help!

Heart rate monitors take the guessing game out of how much you are exerting during exercise.  If you are supposed to stay in a certain level of exertion, you don't have to go by feel.  If you know that your max HR is 200 and you need to stay at 80%, you know that you have to stay around 160.  Without the monitor, you are guessing at how hard you are working.  I can't recommend one as I don't have one.  I can say that I have a Garmin GPS that is awesome.  The next model up from mine is the Forerunner 305 and it has a HRM with it.  People that I know love it.

I've never used one, but they are highly recommended by lots of trainers I know.  I think the ones that go around your body are supposed to be better than the ones you put around your arm.  From what I hear, they are very good for training, and if you want an accurate picture of the calories burned there isn't anything better. Most good running or biking shops should have them, as well as a lot of gyms.  If not, they can point you in the right direction.  If you are a member at a gym, ask one of the trainers for a recommendation.  Usually a short conversation like that won't cost anything. Sorry I can't help you more,  Linn

Polar and Garmin both make heart monitors.  Most units have a chest strap that keeps track of your heart rate.  Most of the units will also guage your distance, calories burned, etc.  Polar has a few new units that are jus****ch-based.  I use the Polar for most of my indoor workouts, and the Garmin (with GPS) for everything outdoors.  I also use the Nike+ with my ipod.  Sometimes I think there are just too many gadgets.

I use a Polar F11 - cost about $150 I think, has a chest strap and a watch/monitor.  It tracks my daily and weekly workouts (number of sessions, calories burned, time in "zones", etc.), plus it has a fitness test that approximates a V02 test.  (Gives you an idea of your overall cardiovascular fitness for your age/sex.)  I'm a data junkie, so I like having all this information.  The other thing I like is that it calculates the calories burned based on my own personal data (age, weight, height, etc.), which is much more accurate than the calories burned from the various cardio machines.   I used to have a Polar F4, which costs about $80, but it has much simpler functionality.  Great if you just want to know your heart rate while you are exercising, but it does not do the daily and weekly tracking, nor does it offer a fitness test.  It was a good product though, and I'd still be using it if I hadn't lost it at the gym a few months ago.  When I replaced it, I upgraded to the F11 model.   You can buy an F4 off the rack at Dick's Sporting Goods.  I had to order my F11 online, as many of the stores don't carry the higher-end monitors.   Hope this information was helpful -  Kellie

I use polar. It's one of the few you can swim in. My running and biking is also monitored by polar. HR training is USELESS unless you get tested for your vo2 max, lactic threshold, etc. If you do the 22-age and then the % it's NOT accurate for most people. Mine was 30 beats off!