If a young fella such as myself were to get a heart rate monitor, what sort of thing should I be looking for/avoiding? It’s been about 20 years since I last used one (did I really just say that?)
Something simple please - not all fancy-like. I really just want a reliable, real-time bpm readout.
Brand recommendations too please.
Thanks.
No one? Don’t tell me I’m actually going to have to use Google.
Nike made the one I use. Thoracic band w/sensor, reasonably comfortable. Wrist read-out (in rather large characters) with a basic chronometer; no backlight and can be hard to read in low light (dawn, say). Works fine. I got change back for a US$50, which is pretty reasonable I think. Found it on amazon, if memory serves.
FWIW, I have a CatEye HRM. It has a chest strap and watch and settings for cycling, running and walking. When I rode a lot, I used it and it seemed to useful for pacing, particularly when climbing. Right now however, it’s in need of a new battery, If I were to buy one again, I’d probably look at one of the ones that is integrated with a cycling computer so all the data is in one device. When I was riding, I’d have some data on the HRM watch, and other on the bike computer and the times would never match up exactly.
I use a cycling computer type one like CFI recommended but I got my wife a much more simple Garmin Forerunner 50. It is as you describe but fancier in that it saves the data for you to be able to view later on a PC. I got it at Costco a while ago for about $100. You should be able to get something cheaper that only does real time, if such a thing is still available. I find the Garmin chest strap to be fairly comfortable. Make sure you wet the electrodes befoe putting it on. My wife is very thin and she has to make it pretty tight to get a reading. I use it often when running and I find it to be, well, not necessarily accurate but at least repeatable.
Sheesh. Next you’ll be asking about Powertap hubs and Training for Power.
You only need one very simple heart rate monitor… If you black out, you’re probably going a bit hard and you should ease back a bit.
OK, people I know like Garmins and Polars. The wrist read out ones are problematic if you need to use them when you’re going hard, as you can’t often see the wrist without taking at least one hand off the bars. The bigger ones let you download to the 'puter, which would tickle your technical fancy, I think.
Thanks for the comments so far.
I never considered a backlight. Thanks for mentioning that, flike.
I’d like it to be wrist-mounted. I already have a cycling computer I like, which measures cadence too, and I have no desire to change it. I can always strap the wrist-mounted HRM around my handlebars anyway.
Uro, I have a hard time knowing when to stop, and that’s not good when I only get out once a week. I tend to push harder up hills than I probably should for my fitness level and I don’t want to suddenly have a heart attack and leave behind a wife and two young kids (OK, I may be exaggerating a bit there). But really, it’s more out of curiosity about just how much I AM pushing it, which is why I just need something simple (and did I mention cheap?)
We’ve got these Sigma Onyx Easy models in stock, as well as lots of other Sigma stuff. The Onyx easy is one of the more basic wrist type models Sigma offer, but it provides almost exactly what you mentioned Irish, except depending on your definition perhaps, cheap, since ze Germanz don’t do cheap. I’ll PM you the details.
Alternatively there’s the more entry level version the Onyx Classic but I’ll need to check with the importers whether they have them available since we’ve sold out of that model.
Hey plasma, thanks as always for your help/advice.
Those are just a little out of my price range (although a very reasonable price for what you get for sure), but I’m very tempted. I’ll let you know if I decide to go for one or the other (I prefer the “Easy”, despite the higher price).
Oh, another question… has anyone had any problems with waterproofness? I’ve heard about some HRMs not being able to handle much more than a splash.
[quote=“irishstu”]If a young fella such as myself were to get a heart rate monitor, what sort of thing should I be looking for/avoiding? It’s been about 20 years since I last used one (did I really just say that?)
Something simple please - not all fancy-like. I really just want a reliable, real-time bpm readout.
Brand recommendations too please.
Thanks.[/quote]
I hear any of them work pretty good; providing you have a pulse…
I know that this is a pretty old post, but one of you guys sells heart rate monitors? are they still available? If possible, email me or if anybody knows where i can get one in taiwan let me know, thanx
Eddy
[quote=“Eddy_Burrito”]I know that this is a pretty old post, but one of you guys sells heart rate monitors? are they still available? If possible, email me or if anybody knows where i can get one in taiwan let me know, thanx
Eddy
gsa_soccer@yahoo.com[/quote]
Hey Eddy, I wouldn’t say it’s old. It was only started this month.
I’d recommend sending a PM to Plasmatron. He sells them for a good price and can get them to you very quickly indeed.
sorry must have misready it, i was googleing stuff in taiwan and i though it was 2004 for some reason, thanx
Sorry dont really know how to PM i searched for the name plasmatron but couldnt find it. Any Idea How?
Eddy
P.S. Any idea how to update the subject line on one of my posts?, thanx in Advance
[quote=“Eddy_Burrito”]Sorry dont really know how to PM i searched for the name plasmatron but couldnt find it. Any Idea How?
Eddy
P.S. Any idea how to update the subject line on one of my posts?, thanx in Advance[/quote]
He posted on page one of this thread. Just click on his name and you’ll be taken to his profile page, where there’s the option to “Contact plasmatron” and a link to send him a PM. I’ll let him know you’re looking for him anyway.
To edit the subject line, just edit the post. You’ll see that the subject line (called “Subject/Tweet”)can be edited too.
Bumping this back up …
What are some tips people have for heart rate monitors to buy and use in Taiwan? My main exercise is swimming (4-5 times a week), and I assume there’s nothing good for that, but I cycle a reasonable amount (1-2 times a week) and I also want to wear one once in a while just to keep tabs on the heart rate and get an idea of my daily range (e.g. what’s it at when I finish walking up to my 7th floor apartment).
I did have a freebie heart rate monitor/watch a couple of years back, but it died after two or three summer bike rides.
Background: I had a health check, and had a resting heart rate of 57 (I’m in my early 40s), highlighted in red on the form because that indicates bradycardia, but when I told them that I exercise a decent amount they said not to worry about it. But now my father’s trainer in Canada is telling him (sigh, the gossip network!) that it’s far too low and I’d better start taking salt pills (!). I don’t have any of the other symptoms of bradycardia, except that, yes, I feel fatigue if I don’t sleep enough, and I feel dizzy if I get stupid when cycling up a hill or going up stairs and push myself like I was still a teenager. My current attitude is to not worry about it, but get a heart rate monitor just to keep tabs on things.
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: For what it’s worth, I’ll be in Canada this summer, and I often prefer to buy these kinds of things in North America because of language support and a better sense of brand quality versus price. Perhaps it’d just be best to wait until then?
Bradycardia is (may be) a symptom, not a disease per se. Unless there is some identifiable pathology causing it, nobody needs to be taking any pills, surely. 57 doesn’t seem abnormally low under the circumstances.
Polar chest straps are completely sealed so you can swim in them. I’m fairly sure they’d still work. I don’t think Polar do an immersible watch, but presumably you could put it by the side of the pool? Also most watches include some sort of logging function these days, so you could just look at your results afterwards.
Can’t vouch for any other brands because I haven’t tried them (except for a few no-name types that die quickly). Polar pretty much set the standard.
if you’re only going to use it occasionally, just measure your neck pulse for 15 seconds against a watch with a second hand… then multiply by 4. Saves a lot of cost and bother, and can be done pretty much as soon as you stop the effort. and it’s portable, and I guess your watch is waterproof…
57 is not low for a heart rate in your 40s. Mine is around 45-50, same as my age. Any one recommending you take salt pills is off the wall. And if you do wish to use additional salt in your foods, which is fine if you sweat a lot and drink water on the bike, then please use sea salt… much easier for your kidneys to process any excess sodium if you also have potassium in the correct ratio (as provided by sea salt).
Thanks all.
Does anyone have experience with wearing the chest bands while exercising, whether cycling or swimming? How comfortable/uncomfortable are they, especially with the summer heat and humidity that’s currently on the upswing?
urodocus: yes, there’s always the time with a watch approach, but, um, I don’t have a watch … I guess I could always take out my phone and count. But when I was measuring my pulse yesterday, it seemed like my heart rate slowed down quite quickly after peak exercise (that’s probably a good sign, right?). At the end of what felt like a pretty intense swim set, I measured my pulse as 129 (using the pool clock, which fortunately includes seconds), which only seems to be at the lower end of what my exercise heart rate “should” be. Who knows, maybe this is just how my heart works - I was reminded of my childhood swim team, when our coach suggested I was being lazy because my heart rate wasn’t as high as it “should have been”, yet I felt like, no, I had absolutely nothing left.
On the other hand, I was rereading parts of Gretchen Reynolds’s The First Twenty Minutes, and she explains how there’s very little concrete good research around heart rate zones (finley, you’ve posted on this before, right?), and that what seems to be best is just to judge by how hard you feel like you’re working. That is admittedly a problem with both swimming and flat-road cycling - for both, it’s quite easy for me to lazily exercise. Strava’s segment function is helping with that at least.
On the salt pills: I’m wondering what on earth my father’s trainer was talking about. One possibility is that my father misremembered and told him/her my heart rate was 37 rather than 57. A bit of research online indicated that extra salt is sometimes used for low blood pressure (which isn’t a problem), not for a low heart rate. I didn’t see anything suggesting increased salt intake for a low heart rate, although I didn’t look too hard. And while I’m definitely cooking at home far more than I used to (thanks, Taiwan food scandals!), I’d be very, very surprised if I’m not consuming enough salt.
Sigh. I knew I shouldn’t have gone for a health check. Now I’m thinking too much about something that really isn’t that hard. My exercise habits are fine, my general breakfast/lunch/dinner is OK, but I have got to cut down on the casual snacking. I knew that before, and I know that now.
[quote=“lostinasia”]Thanks all.
Does anyone have experience with wearing the chest bands while exercising, whether cycling or swimming? How comfortable/uncomfortable are they, especially with the summer heat and humidity that’s currently on the upswing?
[/quote]
I use one for cycling. Don’t even notice its there.
From what you say you seem fit and healthy, if you’re not using a HRM for training I don’t think you need one.