Need HRM for Running and Gym Use

jillybeanruns

I know that people ask 43245 questions a day about heart-rate monitors. And I've been searching and reading posts but now I'm just confused.

I've never had a heart-rate monitor before, but don't want to start with one of the cheap ones and then have to upgrade. Price is obviously not the most important factor for me, but it needs to be reasonable for what it offers.

As of right now, I got to the gym 4-5 times a week and dance (Irish) once a week. I am going to start running again and training for 5ks, 5 milers and 10ks once the New England weather allows for it. I do want something that measures distance fairly accurately and does a good job at calculating calories burned. I've been looking into Polars and have been intrigued by the RS200sd (with foot pod) but am not sure if it's good for general fitness or if it's mostly for runners.

So basically, I'm looking for an all-around good HRM for running and all-around fitness.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

savvystephy

Polar F6 is amazing! I love mine.

starcrossed

I agree - you should stick with the Polars. They have stood the test of time and fitness wear and tear. Nothing will be 100% accurate but it will definately get you in the right ball park!

lt_mrcook

Actually any of them will work. The calories burned, distance travelled, etc are just nice features to have. If you are worried about not knowing distances you run, plan your trip before. * www.mapmyride.com * It uses are mapquest style feature where you tell it the route you want to run/bike/walk, and it calculates the distance. then you can log your workouts on that route, and see your average pace & speed. Very handy. For calories burned doing other exercises, you can use this sites numbers or google and find one of hundreds of calculators to input your activities. Get something within your budget, and use the free tools around you to get the same bells and whistles. Good luck!

jillybeanruns

The Polar F6 doesn't measure distance, unfortunately. I've heard great things about it, but I'm out of luck!

Well, to be honest, I don't want to have to use my computer or use the inaccurate calories burned counters on MFP and other sites. I want the freedom to be on a run, see my distance and decide where I want to go from there. I've used mapmyrun.com before and it is a good thing to have, but I want to be able to know the distance on a whim mid-run and not have to use my blackberry or computer. Like I said, I don't mind spending the money, I just want to make sure I get a good product that is useful and can stand all on its own.

Thanks for the help

jillybeanruns

Bump