heart rate monitors--how do they help??

de1amo

i have got to the goal weight but i am considering getting a HRM because they 'seem' to be highly recommended--How would they help me in my fitness quest--i am aiming now to gain more muscle than lose weight with excessive cardio.--can anyone tell me which model of polar would be suitable for my aims?

timbotina

WOW...I LOVE MY HRM!!! It gives you exact calorie and fat burn....everyones intensity is different....some work harder than others so there is no way calorie burn is the same.....The one I purchased is a Bowflex....came with the watch, chest strap (which when I researched them, everyone said to get the one with the chest strap)...and a little adapter if you wish to use it on a bike or something....anyway....mine tells you your average heart rate during the workout, how long you heartrate was in-below-and above zone.....it is really motivation.....a great investment.....just hope this helps!!:happy:

P.S. the only thing is I am a girly-girl and the watch is black....not to feminine, HA!!! (should be great for you though)

Chenoachem

It really depends on the type of cardio workouts you are doing. In general the HRM are not just good for helping with the calories burned but also used for monitoring the intensity of your workouts. I had purchased the Polar FT60 since it had a fitness program built into it. I input my personal information, and setup a program for increasing fitness. It gave me recommendation that in one week how much zone 1,2, and 3 I should workout in to achieve that goal.

Now if you have a fitness regiment that you are happy with and contains a lot of weight lifting, then the Polar RS series or the FT80 are both better designed for that. They (and the FT60) can work with a GPS if you do a bunch of running or cycling.

If you you have a fitness program you like to run, bike, and/or swim, the Garmin triathlete series is really good. The battery is rechargable, it is a gps and HRM. You can download the information directly to your computer (as long as you have a supported operating system) and track the rise and fall of your HR, overall intensities, speed, and it will download your info to a map.

So I found it a valuable tool to keep from overtraining. The type will really depend on your cardio method. If you are just doing indoor equipment, a Polar F6 or F7 might be the right thing. You can track your average HR, max HR and time duration and it will won't the bells and whistles you don't need.

Good Luck.

jrich1

I love mine just to get an accurate picture of what I am really burning, when you are deciding how much you have burned and eaten etc. IF you use the gym equip your cals burned from my experience arent accurate which makes it that much harder to get accurate numbers. I would recommend one!

de1amo

i was offered a ft11 for a price that i thought was too much for my requirements--120 dollars new--i live outside the uk and usa so things arent as readily available or cheap as those markets.--i liked the look of the watch and if it tells the time a decent watch here can cost a big percentage of 120 dollars!!! -be interesting to know from anyone what functions a ft11 offers--i know the higher the number the more gadgets but i am not a gadget fan as i never use things to full advantage. the seller is a gym assistant so i get support

timbotina

i was offered a ft11 for a price that i thought was too much for my requirements--120 dollars new--i live outside the uk and usa so things arent as readily available or cheap as those markets.--i liked the look of the watch and if it tells the time a decent watch here can cost a big percentage of 120 dollars!!! -be interesting to know from anyone what functions a ft11 offers--i know the higher the number the more gadgets but i am not a gadget fan as i never use things to full advantage. the seller is a gym assistant so i get support

Just friendly FYI,..,..my Bowflex came from Ebay (from a store, not a person), new in box...I think it must have been last years model, but great for me....only cost 24.99 (US dollars) free S&H....it has been great and compared to a lot of the features offered by those 120-150 models!!! Hope this helps....(I think you get Ebay there??)

Chenoachem

Polar has a F11 but not an FT11. It sells for about $149 in the states so $120 sounds reasonable. It offerers:

Memory files in F11 store up to 12 exercise sessions.
Keeps U Fit™ exercise program offers personalized feedback on your training sessions
WearLink™ transmitter with fabric mount is coded, eliminating interference from other heart rate monitors (machine washable)
OwnZone® Advanced feature takes the guesswork out of finding your personalized target zone.
OwnIndex® measures your fitness level and tracks improvements
OwnCal® feature counts calories and fat burned based on your own effort level.
OwnCode® eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors
Zone pointer displays current position in target zone
Fitness bullets feature displays a bullet for every 10 minutes spent in your target heart rate zone
Backlight lets you view monitor in low-light conditions
Watch functions include clock, stop watch, daily alarm and date
Batteries included.