Heart Rate Monitor- soooo worth it! (Polar Heart Rate Monitor)

Member Name: I-tried-this

Product:	Polar Heart Rate Monitor
Date:	03/08/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can be your best friend

Disadvantages: Can be your worst enemy

Polar Heart Rate Monitor.

OK, just a warning- this is a LONG review- the Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) Has taught me so much and is also a very useful tool. I wanted to give it a decent review for what it is.


This was what I spent my last Dooyoo miles on (- and half the reason I no longer have time to log all my purchases on here also!).

OK, Bought from Amazon (obviously: dooyoo miles= Amazon vouchers!) this was £72 at the time. As you may already know, Amazons prices bounce around a bit so you may find this HRM higher or lower- keep your eye on it if you're thinking of getting one.

What is a Heart Rate Monitor?
Well, essentially it's a way to measure your heart rate via a strap which attaches round your chest (and a battery which clips on- quite discreet- unless you are a bloke in skin tight lycra, it wont show).

Why would you want to measure your heart rate?
Well, those who like to know exactly how hard they are working, are training to improve fitness, activity level or simply to make sure you don't start to find things too easy or get too bored- it adds a new dimension to your workout.

Basically, the rule is, the higher the heart rate, the more calories you burn. There are some ideas on getting your heart rate to a certain level- between 50% and 65% of your maximum, to burn fat rather then muscle. Personally I find it easier to believe if the more calories you burn, the more your body will start to use extra fat as a source for the required energy rather then using carbohydrate storage, so I tend to go for the maximum with the knowledge that the higher my heart rate, the more calories I burn BUT the harder I work out, the faster I fatigue (get tiered) and have to call it a day. Its a fine balance. Everyone has their own workout system, that's mine!
Also, a heart rate monitor is a good way to make sure you're not taking it easy- and exercising at a level which is not working very hard at all- the gym can be quite dull, its easy to get into a slower mentality or think your working hard when actually your heart rate is not working hard at all and your body is taking an easy ride-the more you do an exercise, the easier your body finds it and the more you need to add something: time, weight, speed, an incline...The last thing you want is for your time there to be spent not doing alot at all! A HRM is a best friend and worst enemy all rolled into one.

Using the HRM, you are requested to add in your details. Your age, sex, weight and maximum heart rate are all required to give the machine info on how you are doing. Weather it's your heart rate you are watching, or your calorie burn. Giving the correct information will give the HRM the ability to give you precise results. Its all a bit like texting- you press one of several buttons and select information then confirm information. Following the booklet supplied is easy and there is not too much information to add. Holding your finger on buttons can change which details you see whilst your running, for me, I can see the time I have worked out, the heart rate I am at and the calories burnt so far. You can alter it so you see any of those alone, together or even your heart rate percentage rather then rate- minutes of fun anyway!!

To work out your highest heart rate, there are several options. (You don't really need to read this, its added information). The HRM does have instructions on how to do this and there is a set function for just this purpose. But there are several other methods. Skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't want the details on methods as to how- I just added it in case it makes the whole HRM idea easier to understand. One being to run for 3 minutes, as fast as you can, and then walk for 1 minute. Do this three times, making sure your running as fast as you can, without holding onto anything!! (I see people sadly running whilst holding onto the treadmill bars would you believe) and speed up if you need to. At the end of the third run, your heart rate should be at its max. A third way and more average way are to use sums. The general formula is 220 minus your age, but this does not take into consideration your age. A more precise way is to follow formulas placed on websites like runners world. For example I use the formula: 209 + (0.9xage) which is the formula for women. I still want to work out my rates on the HRM as I believe there can never be one rule for all, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. My max remains an average. It's well worth noting that as you improve, your max heart rate will go up. Which proves the formulas above really isn't the best way to work things out. Everyone is special.

Since using the HRM I have discovered that machines in the gym will assume a calorie level of anything from 20% up to 100% more then they actually are- in fact no gym machine is accurate when it comes to working out calories!- even though most (not all) will even give you the correct heart rate!) When wearing the strap- without the strap, very few if any will give a correct reading.

I know many people who will jump off a machine saying "look, I just burnt 150 calories" but what they don't know is that the gym machine, although it has your heart rate gathered though your hands- or even your strap for those that only buy the strap to use, will be grossly overestimated. Amazingly so! What they have actually most likely done is 90 kcals if they have used a stepper, 100 kcals if they have used a treadmill or cross trainer, and 75 kcals if they have used the bike or side stepper. It's quite gutting really. But it makes sense to get the exact amount if you're really focused on exercise for weight-muscle gain or weight loss.

So, how do we know the HRM is right? -as oppose to the cardio machines? Well, simply because they take into account much more of you then simply your weight and age- which some machines don't even do. They look at your sex, maximum heart rate. Cardio machines do not do this. Polar swear by their monitor results, they spend alot of time researching and this is their speciality. Personally, I trust them over a gym machine that guesses and does not require the same degree of information about me. Polar are so confident hey give an estimated 5% error (last time I looked on the website) and are well researched. People who join the website boards either say the results are under or over, but none heavily disagree unless there is an error with their monitor which can happen but it's quite obvious to see f there is one! No HRM brand will ever be able to give you guaranteed exact results, but Polar come pretty recommended by professionals when comparing across the brands. Hence my reason for choosing them myself.

I have also found out that as I repeat an exercise over time, it gets easier- not just noticeably to me, but also to my HRM. The heart rate I use to complete an exercise will drop. So in turn I will burn fewer calories and need to add more intensity if I want to carry on improving my fitness and burning the calories. Its a bit like an invisible kick up the ....!

I like the way when I use this, that I can watch my heart rate on the gym machine- I have to ignore the hyped up calorie levels, but it means I don't have to keep looking at my wrist.

I also like the way I can compare all my results- the monitor will keep details for up to 16 weekly logs (the machine will combine a weeks worth of exercise). You are able to log as many exercises per day as you want, and you can again, compare against 16 previous single episodes as well. I like when I get to midnight Sunday/Monday and the monitor will request I consolidate all my work for the week- it does this itself, you don't need to set it up like that (could be quite annoying if you don't want Sunday as your end of week day though). It's a nice feeling to see all my hard work and also nice to compare it week to week to see any improvement. I can view my heart rate levels- low, moderate and high, my times and my calories. Various buttons will change what I see and in what order I see it. The HRM really does do a lot. And its also very interesting to see improvements and even (if your a women) monthly cycles- I can see on mine my heart rate levels have a wave over a month, each month, so its nice to be able to remind myself when at the end of a very hard workout, that just because I haven't been able to achieve what I achieved the week before, its not all my fault- its part of a pattern, part of a cycle.

This tool has been a great motivator when the daily episodes at a 4-walled gym can seem so dull and depressing. It can be enough to not make you go back, and for many who don't have any sort of a social circle at the gym, the gym can be a once only and ever trip. Which can be unfortunate if you have a gym membership! Deciding on a goal and working towards it, being able to flick about with the monitor after a rubbish day when your waiting for a bus, to see your improvement and witness what you have done, can all really make a difference.

Like I said; best friend and worst enemy at the same time- but something that really can make a difference. Well worth it!

Summary: Like an invisible kick up the ....!