I'm an ICT teacher in working in Lincs, living in Notts. I tend to have phases on Ciao where I writ...
I'm an ICT teacher in working in Lincs, living in Notts. I tend to have phases on Ciao where I write a lot, then go quiet for a while. I enjoy horror / thriller movies, kickboxing, walking my dog, surfing the net / website design, and reading.
Why Would You Want a Heart Rate Monitor? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you asked me a few months ago I might have wondered the same thing. If you are interested in improving your personal fitness then one of the best indicators to see if you are reaching your goals is your heart. Depending on your reasons for undertaking exercise, the level of exercise you do in order to reach your goal will vary - for example someone aiming just to lose some weight will not undertake such intense exercise as someone wanting to excel at their athletic performance.
Using a
heart rate monitor allows you to become accustomed to how your heart reacts to exercise and lets you know if you are exercising at the right pace. In Polar's words: "A Polar heart rate monitor will act as your ideal training partner, giving you feedback every time you exercise, and motivating you to keep going".
The HRM's themselves come in the form of a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is an elasticated belt that you wear just underneath the chest muscles (just under your bra if you're a woman). The receiver looks like a watch and is worn as such.
The M51 ~~~~~~~~ The HRM I have recently started to use is the M51 (for info - this has exactly the same features as the M52 only has a different looking watch, which is blue as opposed to grey). This is a fairly middle of the range HRM for someone who does exercise of some form on a regular basis (for example going to the gym 3 or more times a week).
The watch itself is very comfortable to wear. It's waterproof to 30m therefore is made of a plastic material. The strap is very soft and doesn't dig in your wrist like some plastic watch straps. The display is fairly large, but not awkward looking - it's easy to read, and the buttons on the watch which are used to navigate through the various functions are easy to get the hang of once you've read through the instruction leaflet once or twice.
During exercise the watch constantly displays your current heart rate in beats per minute (bpm). In addition you can chose whether you want it to show the time, the length of time you've been exercising or the calories you've used.
This HRM offers the function of an OwnZone - it works out what the intensity to exercise at should be (in terms of your heart rate) based on the level of exercise you want to do and monitors how long you spend in your OwnZone whilst exercising. Another feature is the OwnCal - this calculates how many calories you use during your exercise and additionally the estimated fat consumption %.
The HRM can carry out a fitness test on you, records the total amount of time you spend exercising, and also your average heart rate during training. The watch has one file on it which can record this information.
The watch also offers such features as a backlit display, time of day, alarm, stopwatch and calendar, so can be used as an all round watch as well as a HRM.
The transmitter is comfortable to wear - you hardly notice it once it's on, and with this particular HRM (as with the majority from the M~Series and S~Series) is coded so that it won't receive interference if you are exercising next to anyone else who is also wearing a HRM.
(Note - this category covers the M21 as well as the M51. For info - the M21 is quite similar in looks and specifications however it does not offer the Fitness Test as the M51 does and has more basic OwnZone features).
If You're Thinking of Getting a HRM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Think carfeully about what you want from a HRM before you buy one. There's no point in spending £100's on a top of the range model if you're only going to use it a couple of times. There's a big price range where HRM's are concerned - the model mentioned above currently retails at between £99.99 and £114.99. Models with less specifications can be purchased from around £30. More technical models can cost well over £250. If you're a member of a gym, have a word with any of the instructors who may be able to point you in the right direction. Alternatively have a look at Polar's website (www.polar-uk.com).
If used correctly your HRM can become a real motivational tool - learning to control your heart rate whilst exercising and seeing how many calories you're burning off can be a real incentive for your next session to see if you can burn as many calories etc. Definitely a useful tool to help you meet your personal goals.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
A bit expensive for me - someone who doesn't do that much of the exercise that would benefit getting one of these, but for a more regular exerciser it seems like a good one to go for.
tine 19.03.2003 21:15
Must take a look at this, I didn't get on with the cheaper version.
Schmutzie 19.01.2003 11:10
This would probably scare me half to death, as my BP monitor did !
Jan 4th, 2003
very helpful by (97%):
helpful by (3%):
