I feel naked without my heart rate monitor. I don’t know how people train without one! I see so many people sweating it out on an elliptical thinking they’re doing awesome, when in reality, they probably aren’t even in their aerobic zone. And honestly being in the aerobic zone doesn’t mean that much anyway. I often wonder what they are doing on those machines because their bodies size never really changes. Ok, I admit, in the past year I probably used those machines 5 times BUT only because I wanted to read a book- not really for exercise. The only way you are going to burn more calories is if you actually challenge your body in different ways REGULARLY (intervals, tempo runs, easy runs, hill runs, long runs, change= calories burned). Your heart rate monitor and your internal gage (how I feel at the moment) are what tells you how your are doing. I am going to be your nag and tell you, that you need one. Here are a few reasons why:
1. A good heart rate monitor will be able to calculate how many calories you burned during a workout. For my runs, it ranges from a mere 200-1100! And, depending on how much muscle mass you have, you have the opportunity to burn more throughout the day.
2. A HR monitor will help you determine your fitness level. (subjective people) For example, one year ago in my hour long spin class my HR would get in the 170’s within 15 minutes and it would stay that high throughout the workout- maybe even maxing out to over 192 in the final sprint. Now, it takes me 20 minutes to even get to 150 and I rarely get it over 170. That’s just how my fitness has improved over time.
3. A discussion about zones. We each have a zone in which to workout (1-10). 10 being you are going to puke and you can’t go any harder and 1 you are walking the dog. A general rule of thumb; 5 aerobic and 7-9 interval training. A heart rate monitor can help you determine those zones. For me on a run, a 5 aerobic is like 160 and intervals are 170. Race days for 5km’s I function in the 180’s on a GOOD DAY.
4. To see if you are under trained or over trained. There are some days when I’m out there that I know I’ve gone too hard on too many consecutive days and my HR will tell me to “bag it”. Just recently on a “easy ride” to the bike shop I was in the 180’s within 4 minutes of leaving the house. BAD SIGN, should have gone home.
5. Gage your level at the time of exertion. Another example is if it’s supposed to be an interval day and after one interval, your HR is spiking too high, then you need to change your plan.
6. To say to yourself “OH CRAP******!better slow down”. In my last bike race, I was ON FIRE! But, I didn’t have time to look down at my watch, because I was ON FIRE (left my brain on the starting line- nervous energy). Too bad on was ON FIRE in the first lap and not the last lap, could have won some money.
So, what kind of HR monitor should you buy? My three must haves for a HR monitor is calories burned, stop watch function, and your heart rate. I prefer the ones with a chest strap because I think they are more accurate (although can be problematic with some jog bras). A bare bones Polar monitor will run you $59 for this one. Or you can buy this one for $89 that comes with the stop watch, calories and monitor. I’m a geek, so, I just bought this one for $300 (got it on sale for $164). But, I can’t live without it now! Shows my pace per mile and how many miles I ran plus my heart rate and calories burned plus I can download it to the computer to track my fitness.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Fitarella // Jun 8, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I get it, i get it…I hear you loud and clear Rach
2 Rachel // Jun 8, 2008 at 7:25 pm
You know I have your best interests at heart, honey.
3 Cindy // Jun 8, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I like to use my 10 sec. pulse HR check and exertion levels. I find HR Monitors vary so much from person to person and they get many mixed reviews.
I think if people would really listen to their bodies and understood how their target heart rate helped them increase and improve their fitness and health, then self checks would be sufficient.
Of course, I can see the importance of a HR Monitors on a competitive level, because you become accostumed to it’s readings as they relate to you and diligently track your progress.
4 Playful Professional // Jun 8, 2008 at 11:57 pm
I was really hoping that you’d be giving one away at the end of this post
I know that that a HR monitor is a great investment, but I’d better start getting back into an exercise routine before I put any more money into anything. Maybe that’ll be my reward for working out this month.
5 John B // Apr 12, 2009 at 4:45 pm
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6 Head in the game | Fitarella ~ Food*Fitness*Family // Jul 4, 2009 at 2:23 pm
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