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Why I love my heart rate monitor
By workoutmommy | November 27, 2007
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Even if you are not a gadget person, I highly recommend getting a heart rate monitor for your workouts. I absolutely love my Polar monitor and rarely exercise without it.
Here are 5 reasons why it is like having a personal trainer right on my own wrist:
- It beeps at me if I am not working hard enough. (the beeps can be turned off, in which case the numbers will blink.) My monitor will not let me just stroll along like I’m walking through the park—it wants me to MOVE!!
- It beeps (or blinks) at me if I am working too hard! It is not wise to constantly exercise at the edge of your red zone. Sometimes you need to step it back a notch to get ahead.
- It will tell me how many calories I burned after each session. This helps keep me in check when I am contemplating putting donuts in my cart at the grocery store. My 30 minute run in the morning did not burn 500 plus calories, so I need to keep the cart moving past all of the tempting treats!
- It can be set to remind me if I have not exercised in 3 consecutive days. A very useful feature because who really wants to be harassed by their watch? You will faithfully exercise just so this never happens!
- It tells me how long I spent in my specified exercise zone. Ideally, if I exercise for 30 minutes I want to spend a majority of that time in my target zone. The key here is to workout smarter, and a heart rate monitor helps you do just that.
There are many models to choose from and can range in price from $50 to $350, depending on what kind of features you would like on your monitor. I have a pretty basic model and find it does everything I want and need it to do. I definitely recommend the Polar brand. I feel it is the most accurate and they have excellent customer service.
My heart rate monitor is a fun gadget that definitely helps keep me motivated and moving. If you do not have one, I recommend putting it on your holiday list this year.
If you do have one, do you love it as much as I love mine?
Topics: about me |
November 27th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I hadn’t thought of getting one to wear for my outdoor exercise, but I do watch the one on my indoor bike like a hawk.
November 27th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
What specific model # do you use of the heart rate monitor? (good christmas present idea to give to my husband) Also, do they have one that maybe can tell you steps taken and heart rate information? (kind of like lumping it together with a pedometer?)
November 27th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Leticia, I have an older model (m52) which I think is similar to the f11? They do have ones that will measure your steps but I think it relies on you wearing the pod on your shoe. I’m not very familiar with those models though. The more features you add, the more expensive.
Polar’s customer service is excellent though. I would suggest giving them a call and they can help you figure out which one would be best for your husband. (and for you too!)
November 27th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
I have every intention of training for my next marathon with one of these…Hadn’t thought to use it for the powerwalks to!
November 28th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
I love my Polar heart monitor - it does help me work out smarter and helps me keep a good running pace!
December 5th, 2007 at 2:35 am
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