Keeping HRM connection in pool

Aeriel

I just did my first "water" exercise session, an aquasize class and some lap swimming. I have a Polar FT-7 HRM with a chest strap and I had it done up very snug. If I was just standing in the water doing the movements, it was fine and reading well, but as soon as I submerged, I would lose the HR reading. Stand up and it was back, sometimes immediately and sometimes after a few minutes. Has anyone else encountered this and if so, how did you get around it?

ddoohaluk

You may not have much luck. The pool is one of the places where a HRM does not work very well. The presence of the water between the monitor and watch causes interference and does not allow a consistent reading. I work for a coaching company that trains our triathletes using HR for the bike and run but we have yet to find a monitor that gets consistent readings in the pool and with several 100 athletes, we have tried just about all of the monitors out there. The polar is you best bet as you can still sometimes get readings but it is unlikely that it will be consistent. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Aeriel

Thanks for the response. Frustrating, as they market them as a water usable model.

finchase

I also have a Polar FT7, and while I don't use it in the pool, I do have a considerable amount of trouble keeping a connection. It will drop to 0 with little or no warning even when I'm moving pretty smoothly on the elliptical. And if I run where there's more jostling motion, it almost always loses connection now. I'm not a consistent runner but if I was I'd really be furious because the HRM would be useless. As it is, I'm pretty frustrated with it. have the strap pulled as tight as it will go, but it does start loosening up with exercise. I replaced the transmitter battery a few weeks ago when this problem started becoming regular. I was considerably larger when I originally started wearing the chest strap. Perhaps I should look at buying a new strap because maybe it's stretched and doesn't stay tight enough?

Is anyone else having this problem, and if so, what do you do about it?

pyroxian

Not a cheap solution, but if your primary use is to record your exercise (as opposed to using it as feedback DURING your exercise) you could switch to something like the Suunto Memory Belt which is an HRM chest strap with built-in memory. Do your exercise, and then dock the chest strap into a USB connector on your computer to retrieve the HR data. If you want/need the feedback on current HR during other non-water exercise (for example), the Suunto HRM watches will also communicate with this as a replacement for the chest strap that comes with them.
One side benefit is that this is a system that logs each heartbeat (or what is known as an R-R interval logging) which _can_ lead to more accurate estimations of caloric expenditure if you use the right software to do the analysis.
As I said not cheap, I think I got into mine for about $150 for the chest strap and the dock.

Aeriel

I also have a Polar FT7, and while I don't use it in the pool, I do have a considerable amount of trouble keeping a connection. It will drop to 0 with little or no warning even when I'm moving pretty smoothly on the elliptical. And if I run where there's more jostling motion, it almost always loses connection now. I'm not a consistent runner but if I was I'd really be furious because the HRM would be useless. As it is, I'm pretty frustrated with it. have the strap pulled as tight as it will go, but it does start loosening up with exercise. I replaced the transmitter battery a few weeks ago when this problem started becoming regular. I was considerably larger when I originally started wearing the chest strap. Perhaps I should look at buying a new strap because maybe it's stretched and doesn't stay tight enough?

Is anyone else having this problem, and if so, what do you do about it?

When mine started doing this for normal exercising, I did 2 things. First was to wash it in my laundry as instructed in the care manual and secondly, I started soaking it in a bowl of water before putting it on instead of just wetting it under a tap. Seemed to help and I rarely lose connections now, even with 90 minute bike rides or treadmill runs. I am also trying to find a conductive gel to use with it, as I think that it is not getting a good connection, since I have very little fat around my ribcage anymore. I too was significantly larger and had a higher BF% when I started using mine.

Aeriel

Not a cheap solution, but if your primary use is to record your exercise (as opposed to using it as feedback DURING your exercise) you could switch to something like the Suunto Memory Belt which is an HRM chest strap with built-in memory. Do your exercise, and then dock the chest strap into a USB connector on your computer to retrieve the HR data. If you want/need the feedback on current HR during other non-water exercise (for example), the Suunto HRM watches will also communicate with this as a replacement for the chest strap that comes with them.
One side benefit is that this is a system that logs each heartbeat (or what is known as an R-R interval logging) which _can_ lead to more accurate estimations of caloric expenditure if you use the right software to do the analysis.
As I said not cheap, I think I got into mine for about $150 for the chest strap and the dock.

I have never heard of this model. Is it usable in water?

pyroxian

"Works in water" = continues to record your HR, yes - I'm a whitewater kayaker & it's been fantastic in that environment through normal paddling and also when I've unintentionally ended up swimming...

"Works in water" = keeps a connection to the wristwatch display unit in water, I can't speak from experience (I don't have a suunto watch, just the memory belt) but the manufacturer says "not reliably".

http://www.suunto.com/us/en/products/pods-belts/suunto-memory-belt#Story

(No I don't have any affiliation with the company, I just have and like the product)

Not a cheap solution, but if your primary use is to record your exercise (as opposed to using it as feedback DURING your exercise) you could switch to something like the Suunto Memory Belt which is an HRM chest strap with built-in memory. Do your exercise, and then dock the chest strap into a USB connector on your computer to retrieve the HR data. If you want/need the feedback on current HR during other non-water exercise (for example), the Suunto HRM watches will also communicate with this as a replacement for the chest strap that comes with them.
One side benefit is that this is a system that logs each heartbeat (or what is known as an R-R interval logging) which _can_ lead to more accurate estimations of caloric expenditure if you use the right software to do the analysis.
As I said not cheap, I think I got into mine for about $150 for the chest strap and the dock.

I have never heard of this model. Is it usable in water?