Phone apps and HR zones

amayitux

I usually work out to endomondo (on Android) and I own a Polar H7 HRM.
Most phone apps charge extra for the HR zone info, so my question is:
Is it worth it to pay?
Or can I use a trustworthy online calculator to learn my HR zones?
Thanks for any pointers

DesertGunR

That is a question, I guess only you can answer. HRM's are a good gauge of cardio fitness. If you are trying to maintain your training in a specific zone (endurance, moderate, tempo, threshold, anaerobic) than the answer might be yes. In activities like running, walking or biking HRM can help you gauge your effort and to some extent a fairly accurate gauge of calorie burn.

I don't have experience with endomondo or Polar. I use a Garmin 810 cyclometer with HRM. The Garmin Connect for both Android and laptop track my HR, cadence, speed, power, distance, temperature, track as well as elevation gain/loss without extra cost.

The online calculators will probably work too, since they pretty much all use the same algorithm which starts at max HR of 220 minus your age then divides the remainder of the available range into various percentage amounts that will define the specific HR zones.

Hope that helps and Good Luck!

kcjchang

See http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/11/quick-guide-to-setting-zones.html on how to determine your LTHR and corresponding training zones. Note LTHR and maximum heart rate are not the same and most applications do not make a distinction (including Endomondo). Depending on your fitness, the difference can be significant especially if HIIT (the real training regiment such as Peter Coe, Tabata, and Gibala; not the slightly higher intensity interval that most people like to refer as HIIT) is part of the training routine.

HR zone? Are you referring to the anaytics? And NO unless you need or want the analytics. Try Golden Cheetah. Although it is structured for analyzing performance base on power data, I believe you can get by with just HR. It's free and provides a wealth of information (time in zone, training stress, etc). You can export the workout in tcx format from Endomondo and import to Golden Cheetah for the analysis. If you pay for one, make sure the app allows for export of your data.

Or display during workout? There are three customizable readouts on Endomondo and you can select HR as one of the readout display but no zone. I use IpBike (sorry only for android) which tracks many more matrices than Endomondo can and has a customizable display. Cycling, walking, and running are supported. The virtual power is nice but subject to errors if your ride has lots of elevation changes or is windy. Don't matter much for walking or running.

amayitux

Thanks, very valuable info, I realized I need to investigate further, as I still know too little about all this.

CSARdiver

I purchased the additional features for the Polar app via Droid, but I love the analytics. The mypolar has several of the same features, but a nice convenience having it on the smartphone.

MeanderingMammal

I think there are two points here. Is it worth getting Endomondo premium, and is HR zone training of value to you. The answer to the former is "it depends what training you do" and to the answer to the latter is "unlikely, particularly as you're asking the question".

HR zone training has some value to well conditioned athletes aiming for performance improvements. So if you run a decently long distance with any regularity, or cycle, or row then you can get value from training in the various zones. If you're wanting to be in the fat burning zone, then forget it, you get more benefit from working longer and harder.

I use Endomondo premium as it gives me dynamic running training plans, currently a week away from my next half marathon. In that sense it's worth the annual subscription.