heart rate monitors?

[accguy]

Thought about digging up the livestron thread, but didn't know if anyone would find this.

Here we go: joined a new gym a few months ago. Everywhere I turn in this place, they are pushing heart rate monitors. I understand they're trying to make cash, but I'm intrigued at least a little. Has anybody on here used one? Did it help your results in terms of losing weight and the like.

It seems as if it would be a good tool to ensure that you are working out at an acceptable level. I don't know about anybody else, but I have no luck with the monitors biult into machines. I can be busting my ass and it will say my HOUR is 47 or it will jump from 112 to 153 in one second and back.

Thoughts?

 

[dixiehack]

Why is there a cell phone next to your post?

 

[Lamar Mundane]

You don't need a heart rate monitor. You need to do at least 30 minutes of cardio at a pace at between a brisk walk and loss of bodily function fast. The key is consistency. Boost your length and intensity of your workout gradually. If you eat right, obey your parents and say your prayers you'll soon be a Hulkamaniac! BROTHER!!

 

[Perry White]

Why is there a cell phone next to your post?

That's what I want to know! Moddy, anyone know?

 

[poindexter]

That cell phone is cool. Did you have to pay extra for it?

 

[Pancamo]

I clicked on the cell phone which opens an adverstisement that took me to a site for chemotherapy. I guess the implication is use your cell phone, get cancer.

 

[leo1]

You don't need a heart rate monitor. You need to do at least 30 minutes of cardio at a pace at between a brisk walk and loss of bodily function fast. The key is consistency. Boost your length and intensity of your workout gradually. If you eat right, obey your parents and say your prayers you'll soon be a Hulkamaniac! BROTHER!!

what he said. unless you're training for a triathlon or marathon or so un-self-motivated that you need to shoot for a particular number on the monitor, you should know when you're working hard enough, too hard, not hard enough, etc.

 

[The Big Ragu]

I wear a heart rate monitor during most workouts, and I have owned two Polar monitors over the years, which I recommend highly--don't go with any other brand, if you get one. You don't need one of the crazy model that has ridiculous bells and whistles built into it. You basically want something that gives you a reading on your heart rate, keeps time and records the results from your workouts.

Yes, you can run or bike or do other cardio work without a heart rate monitor, but if you get serious about the kinds of workouts you do and want to introduce variety to challenge your body and get better results, a HR monitor is a great tool. It's pretty much a necessity for endurance and interval running and biking. It has helped me pace myself and vary workouts from day to day to allow myself to keep at it, while occasionally giving my body the time it needs to recover.

If your goal is losing weight, which I gather from your post, a HR monitor is a simple way to make sure you get your heart rate into a good, steady zone. It takes guesswork out of the equation. Just try for somewhere around 60 to 70 percent of your target rate for a half hour or 45 minutes a day. That way you start working yourself into shape, without making your workouts so miserable that you quit before you get started.

Your target rate is based on age and weight, but don't go entirely by the chart. This is where a HR monitor helps you learn yourself and steady your workouts based on how you have performed in the past. I can sustain a higher heart rate for longer periods than my age and weight would suggest, so I calculate the percentage I am aiming for off a higher base than the chart tells me I should. Everyone is a little different.

For endurance runs, it really helps me pace myself. When I was younger, I was a fairly fast runner, but never an endurance runner. My base instinct is still to go too fast, even when I should be pacing myself so I will be able to go farther. I can't tell you how many times I have lost myself and put myself on pace to burn out. You just don't realize it in the moment--without your heart rate reading telling you to ratchet it down--and by the time you do, you are done. When I am paying attention to tempo, it helps keep me at a steady pace. And even though I don't do as much interval work as I should, it can be a great tool to make sure you go hard enough and then give yourself enough recovery time. My HR monitor has even told me when when I am dehydrating and I need to drink up or when I haven't eaten enough before working out, by ruling out the possibility that I am pushing myself harder than I normally could handle. It takes guesswork out.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about monitors or how you can integrate one into whatever you are doing. I'm not a fitness expert, but I do have some experience using one and have found it a great help and a good motivational tool in some ways.

 

[Idaho]

I, too, wear a heart rate monitor at the gym and on bike rides.

For me, they provide a guage to my workout level. I try to maintain a heart rate in a specific zone for the duration of the workout, with the exception of brief recovery zones. If I'm in the spinning studio on the bike, I try to keep the HR between 170-180. That means if I'm riding uphill or with high resistance, I need to maintain a certain cadence to stay at 175. If I'm on a flat road or on low resistance, I need to increase the cadence considerably. That rate, of course, is for a hard work out.

The HR being displayed also reminds me to keep my oxygen intake regular and not to end up sucking air rapidly when I am working really hard.

When I am doing base training or on a light workout, I'll try to keep the HR around 150.

Talk to a personal trainer before trying to use one. If all you're doing is jogging a little bit, playing hoops/raquetball or lifting weights, an HRM probably isn't necessary.

You can tell you are

 

[murciélago]

Just wanted to add that my heart-rate monitor strap went p00p about a month ago. My workouts haven't been as fun since. I don't use the watch; I let the machines pick up the signal. So I was always watching my HR on the screen and I'm pissed that I can't.

I'm headed to a large city for bowl coverage soon. I'm hoping to get a new strap there.

Me = happy with HR monitors.