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The Best Heart Rate Monitor
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I don't know about you, but my time is precious. I sure don't like wasting my time or money. It's important to pick the right monitor...the first time!
Their are heart rate monitors designed for:
- Beginners
- Recreational athletes
- Cyclists
- Runners and
- Triathletes
In addition to monitoring heart rate, some monitors can measure your:
- Overall physical fitness
- Heart rate variability
- Relaxation rate and
- Altitude and temperature
So, it makes sense to find the best heart rate monitor that fits your goal whether it’s to lose weight, improve your fitness, or win the next 10k.
Polar heart rate monitors, in my opinion are the best. They are dependable and easy to use.
The Polar F series, such as the FT40, FT60 and FT80 models are:
- Simple to use. Just do what the watch says.
- Straightforward. No guess work involved.
- Designed with the most popular features.
- Act as your personal trainer/coach.
The polar FT80 is designed for those who want to maximize:
- Cardiovascular fitness, and
- Strength training.
When strength training, the objective of the FT80 is to monitor the rest period between sets alerting you to begin the next set.
You're able to move through your strength training sets based upon your heart rate and not your own perceived rest period.
The Polar R series are designed with runners in mind.
The Polar C series are designed for cyclists.
If you are a recreational runner or cyclist, the RS300x and CS300 are the two models you might consider.
You can learn more about the best Polar heart rate monitors by clicking here.
The best heart rate monitors allow you to enter
Your Own individual variables
Heart rate training is going to be different for:
- The beginner and advanced athlete,
- For men and women,
- People of different ages,
- And different for those who are overweight.
Because we are all different with different goals, having the ability to enter your personal data into the heart rate monitor is very important for reaching those goals.
The following are the typical steps you will take to program your heart rate monitor by entering your own variables.
However, every model will be different and the model you choose may not have all the options below.
That's why I highly recommend the FT40 as a minimum and preferably the FT60 or FT80 for the average exerciser.
Here is the typical data that would be entered into the FT60 or FT80 heart rate watch:
- Weight
- Height
- Birthday
- Sex
- Maximum heart rate (if known, otherwise HRM will determine)
- VO2 max (if known, otherwise perform Polar Fitness Test)
- Your current activity level
- LOW - 0 to 1 hours of regular exercise per week
- MODERATE - 1 to 3 hours moderate exercise per week
- HIGH - 3 to 5 hours of high intensity exercise per week
- TOP - 5+ competitive hours of exercise per week (elite athletes)
After all of these variables have been entered into the heart rate watch, depending upon the model, the best heart rate monitor will ask for your fitness goals. You will have 3 choices:
- Maintain your fitness
- Improve your fitness
- Maximize your fitness
- Calculate your heart rate training zones, and
- Calculate how long it recommends you train in each of the zones per week.
The zones can be categorized as:
- Zone 1 will be low intensity with emphasis on fat burning (good for beginners and recovery zone for advanced athlete's). It's calculated as 60-70% of your heart rate max.
- Zone 2 will be moderate intensity with emphasis on improving your cardiovascular fitness (a combination of fat burning and carbohydrate burning). Calculated at 70-80% of your heart rate max.
- Zone 3 will be high-intensity with emphasis on training your lactate threshold and maximizing your fitness (majority of carbohydrate burning). Calculated at 80-90% of your heart rate max.
In the fitness industry there are actually 5 zones that are used for other reasons. One lower zone (50-60%) and one higher zone (90-100%).
These 5 target heart rate zones are designed to help people reach different goals. It helps to know these zones if you are going through cardiac rehab, trying to lose weight, or trying to win that next marathon.
As I mentioned, I feel Polar builds the best heart rate monitor. And I also feel buying a heart rate monitor is one of the best decisions you can make.
If you would like more information on the best Polar heart rate monitors, please visit the Polar heart rate monitors page.
You should always consult a doctor before starting any exercise program.
Much more than the best heart rate monitor found on the home page
