I am wondering about people's experiences with heart rate monitors. I am considering getting one because, after starting spinning classes back up again and being exposed to that heavy exercise, I see how much I had been slacking on my other workouts. I would like to see how hard I am actually working; I am not too confident with the ones on the machines because I was getting readings when I was not even touching the machine!

For people that have them, what have you found valuable about them? Has anyone felt like it was a waste of money? Any recommendations for a good monitor?

I would also like any info on this.

I love my Garmin Forerunner - I can't imagine working out when I was actively losing and not knowing about how many calories I was burning!

I recently did a whole blog post on mine - you can check it out directly here:

http://jenhudsonmosher.blogspot.com/...orerunner.html

Thank you so much for the blog post. It is helpful.




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I have a lot of experience with HRM's... I've owned several Polar's over the years, I've had 2 Garmin's but I always found the touch bezel a little bit annoying and buggey... So I switched to Suunto which I'm much happier with...

Not sure what your needs are, so you may or may not need GPS... But you can still get HRM's that track speed and distance without it that are very accurate...

It really just depends on what you plan on using it for... If you just want to keep track of your HR and calories burned then a basic fitness model would be a good bet...

Agreed, if you can afford a suunto you'd be nutty to go for anything else.

Stupid question....so the gps is like a car gps? there is a map? I don't think I need it because I don't jog outdoors except at the city park....but a gps might come in handy when i go hiking in the metroparks because I have gotten lost doing that!




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The HRM watches that I use that have GPS don't have a "map" so they're not like a car GPS, but they do make handheld GPS units that are about the size of a cell phone that are well suited for hiking and camping... But the HRM's that have GPS just look like a sport watch and use the GPS to keep track of speed and distance... But you can track that with a HRM that comes with foot pod (small sensor) that attaches to one of your sneakers...

I hope this helps...

I have a Polar. LOVE it! http://www.heartratemonitors.com/pol...hannelid=FROOG

Got mine a year ago, and it uses your age, weight, and heart rate to calculate your calories burned. It seems pricey, but worth it.

I have two heart rate monitors (I know. I'm so Type A). I have Garmin Forerunner 405 and a basic Polar one that basically just counts calories.

I loooove my Garmin for race training. It's the best. It's easy to use, gives you great stats and is quite accurate. It's heavy duty though, and while I loved it for race training I didn't need something that high tech for the gym...

So I got a cheapie Polar FT4 off of eBay. My first HRM ever was a polar and it was fantastic. It's what really got me losing weight. The calorie count is definitely more accurate than a cardio machine and it's a motivational tool, I find. It gives you another ways to set goals for the week. Also, it allows you to see when an exercise is getting too easy or when a workout isn't as hard as you think it is. It keeps you focused.

If you're looking for nothing fancy and want versatility I recommend the Polar.

Thanks guys....found a brand new/never opened Polar F6 on ebay for $26....I have just been playing with at home, but I think it is gonna be awesome. I just want it to make sure I am exercising in my cardio range and estimate calorie burn (and compare the calorie burn in my spinning vs zumba vs other workouts). If I like using the monitor in my workouts, I will upgrade!

Excited! I used the monitor during exercise today. I am experimenting right now to compare all my different exercises....I need to play with this more though because I did not start the session correctly to save my stats, so I never saw the average heart rate or overall calorie burn. By glancing at my heart rate throughout the class, I confirmed that I don't really get my heart rate high in Zumba (at least with this particular teacher); it was hanging out in the mid 120's with some brief spikes into the 140's and dips into the 110's. (I am 32 so I really should be in the 150's for cardio.) It really wasn't much more beneficial (cardio-wise) than doing the weight lifting circuit I did afterwards. I think my other Zumba instructor will be better though, and spinning is going to be awesome. Thanks for the info on the monitors! It will definitely help me change up my workout