new to fitness is a heart rate monitor good investment??

moffmcewan
moffmcewan Posts: 83
edited August 2010 in Training, fitness and health
hi,

i'm new to this fitness stuff but done about 3 months now on my first road bike. Not really aiming for anything but like the idea of mapping or measuring my improvements. 2 questions:

1.would a HRM be a good investment?

2. Polar or Suunto?

any replies greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    For 20 quid, well worth getting a polar fom amazon...
  • avoidingmyphd
    avoidingmyphd Posts: 1,154
    1. yes, absolutely, as long as you get your head around (at least one pretty coherent version of) what the numbers mean!

    2. dunno!
  • moffmcewan
    moffmcewan Posts: 83
    thanks very much.

    was looking at the suunto t3d and polar rs300x. both roughly £100 and offer pretty much the same.
  • blackhands
    blackhands Posts: 950
    Get a £20 one.
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Only if you know your TRUE (not theoretical) MHR, if you don't, IMO, its a waste of time.
  • moffmcewan
    moffmcewan Posts: 83
    how do you get to know your true MHR?
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    You don't need to know your maximum heart rate. Testing for it is nigh on impossible.

    Test for your threshold heart rate and work out training zones from that...

    http://home.trainingpeaks.com/media/154 ... r-pace.pdf
  • Alex_Simmons/RST
    Alex_Simmons/RST Posts: 4,161
    NapoleonD wrote:
    You don't need to know your maximum heart rate. Testing for it is nigh on impossible.
    How so?
    RST Sport : Coaching - Training Plans - Powermeters -- My blog -- AeroCoach Australia
  • psiturbo
    psiturbo Posts: 64
    Heart rate are worth the investment if you know how to use/read them.

    Go to the local library and grab cycling books and read the part about using heart rate monitors or simply google it. C'mmon man it is not that difficult, there is no need to spoon fed you.

    Its cool to help out, other is to be a tool.
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Hmmmm.........according to that link, my LTHR is (in and around) 174, I'd assume that the zone 5c is getting on for MHR?, 106% of 174 is 185, and funnily enough, my MHR is 185.

    Therefore, I'd say that the LTHR test, probably gives you the same results.

    I'd be interested to know why testing your MHR is nigh on impossible though.
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    I find the hr readings very useful while out riding. With a bit of use you soon get to know your heart rate zones, what`s a good cruising hr and your max and so on and it also gives you an idea when you're knackered and should be resting. That's when the hr stays very low.
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • eltonioni
    eltonioni Posts: 82
    Polar aren't a geeky / blokey as Suunto but they are everywhere and with HRM's you'll eventually want compatibility with something whether its a bike computer or the elliptical trainer at the gym. I've never seen anything Suunto compatible. My Polar is still going strong after 10 years.
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    I use a Suunto 3t - good & reliable if a bit pricey. you can change the batteries yourself. It logs your sessions. Only real criticism is teh beep sound for intervals & such is a bit too quiet for me /when running beside a busy road for example. But excellent bit of kit if you're interested in training using HR zones etc.

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