Polar Heart rate monitor help

Ok I will buy my Polar heart rate monitor tommorow.

Please can someone tell me a little about it.

Ok when I get it, do I need to program my details into it ?
What do I need to program into it ?

Sorry but I just wanted a head start before I get it, as I have read that
these heart rate monitors are hard to use ??

Thanks for any easy help.

Peter Jones wrote:
Ok I will buy my Polar heart rate monitor tommorow.

Please can someone tell me a little about it.

Ok when I get it, do I need to program my details into it ?
What do I need to program into it ?

Sorry but I just wanted a head start before I get it, as I have read that
these heart rate monitors are hard to use ??

Thanks for any easy help.


That's crap. They're no harder to use than any other electronic gadget.
If you can use a bike computer or a VCR, then a HRM won't be a problem.

I don't have a Polar HRM so I can't help with specifics. It will depend
on which model you're buying and its features.

You can start by going he
http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/pro...ductfinder.asp

....and choosing the model you're buying. From there you can download
the manual, which will tell you how to configure it.

I have a Sigma HRM and there's nothing mandatory that needs to be done
to use it. But the things you can set up a

- HR zones (as minimum and maximum heart rates)
- recovery timer (in minutes)
- weight and height & type of exercise
(it uses this to guess how many calories you burn in each session)

Apart from that you just strap on the man bra and see what happens

HRMs are great for managing the intensity of your efforts, and it's
good to have another LCD gadget to play with

Cheers.

--
Nick

Peter Jones wrote:
Ok I will buy my Polar heart rate monitor tommorow.

Please can someone tell me a little about it.

Ok when I get it, do I need to program my details into it ?
What do I need to program into it ?

Sorry but I just wanted a head start before I get it, as I have read that
these heart rate monitors are hard to use ??

Thanks for any easy help.



I've got one of the low end Polar ones (has watch and HRM) and the way
to use it was press one button, put on the chest strap, and away you go.
No details required. If you can setup the time on a watch then you'll be
fine.
Dave B

Dude, just buy it already....when you do, read the manual. If yo
learned how to ride the bike - then you can learn how to use the dam
HRM

sorry if I sound a bit blunt

~j


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"Peter Jones" wrote in message
...
Ok I will buy my Polar heart rate monitor tommorow.

Please can someone tell me a little about it.

Ok when I get it, do I need to program my details into it ?
What do I need to program into it ?

Sorry but I just wanted a head start before I get it, as I have read that
these heart rate monitors are hard to use ??

Thanks for any easy help.


Peter,

I reckon that just the base model that gives a heart rate reading only (no
buttons, no watch) is sufficient for most people (me included). I have a
watch with a stopwatch and a speedo on the bike that I use to time my
sessions and I just use the Polar to monitor heart rate (I think it cost me
$75). I know that many people (mainly those with one of the more expensive
models) will argue this point but hear me out.....

I generally use the HRM to train within a certain HR zone, depending on what
I am trying to achieve with the session (ie. fat burning, cardiac base,
intervals, lactic tolerance). It is actually pretty hard to keep the HR low
enough to stay in the fat burning zone (generally I work on 60%-70% of max
HR) and so keeping it down to about 120bpm makes me feel like I am bludging.

A quick approximation for maximum heart rate is 220 subtract your age (for a
bloke). So for me it is 188. As I say, this is an approximation and I get
mine up to around 205 or so when doing 100% sprints when running.

Anyway, I don't believe that I need a watch beeping at me every time I go
above or below my target HR as it is not hard to check every 30s or so when
running or riding (an inch or two of black cylindrical foam from Clark
Rubber makes a good handlebar mount for the watch on the bike if you don't
get a bike mount with your HRM).

I also have my HRM by the bed at night time so that I can take my resting
pulse in the mornings. It is usually about 38 bpm when the alarm goes off
at 0520h but if it is up in the mid or high 40s, it is an indication of
overtraining and so I will take it easy that day and commute to and from
work at a lower intensity.

The main thing is to get your money's worth by actually using the HRM for
what it is intended instead of just a fancy watch as I have seen in a lot of
cases.

Go Hard,

Gags

BTW....another good trick is to challenge a mate to a low HR
competition...go to the deep end of the local pool.....deep breath and go to
the bottom.....hold the bottom of the ladder and relax as much as
possible......I managed to hold my breath for about 2 minutes and my HR got
down to 25!!! (get the mate to dive down after a minute or so to verify your
score)

*Disclaimer* Do not try the above....it is stupid and irresponsible
behaviour and I do not advocate it.

Gags wrote in message


[...]

I generally use the HRM to train within a certain HR zone, depending
on what I am trying to achieve with the session (ie. fat burning,
cardiac base, intervals, lactic tolerance). It is actually pretty
hard to keep the HR low enough to stay in the fat burning zone
(generally I work on 60%-70% of max HR) and so keeping it down to
about 120bpm makes me feel like I am bludging.

The idea of the 'fat burning zone' is a myth. It's based on poor
understanding of both physiology and maths. Your body's prime sources of
energy are carbohydrates and fat. Now, it is true that your body derives a
higher proportion of its energy from carbohydrate the harder you train. For
every 10 calories you burn during exercise at a high intensity (85% VO2max),
up to 3 of those calories will come from fat. For every 10 calories you
burn during exercise at a moderate intensity (65% VO2max), up to 6 of those
calories will come from fat. This is the source of the concept but it has a
fatal flaw. When you do the maths you actually expend more calories from
fat at high intensity work levels.

Consider the fat calories expended by a 130-pound woman during cardio
exercise [1]:

MI (60-65% MHR) HI (80-85% MHR)
Total Calories Expended per min. 4.86 6.86
Fat Calories expended per min. 2.43 2.7
Total Calories expended in 30 min. 146 206
Total Fat calories expended in 30 min. 73 82
Percentage of fat calories burned 50% 39.85%

The point is that although the MI workout expended a higher proportion of
calories from fat, the high intensity workout expended more calories from
fat in absolute terms and it's the absolute numbers which matter in this
context. Assuming the same calory intake, the woman in question would lose
fat faster doing the high intensity workout even though it's nominally
outsided her 'fat burning zone'. As a bonus, the high intensity exercise
will increase her Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) more than the moderate
intensity exercise, so she will burn more calories per day anyway.

In short, if you want to burn more fat then work harder for longer.

[1] The 24/5 Complete Personal Training Manual, 24 Hour Fitness, 2000

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

DRS wrote:

In short, if you want to burn more fat then work harder for longer.

Well duh.

My understanding of the fat burning zone isn't that it's where the most
fat gets burnt. The idea is that it is a zone where you can keep going
for longer. So if a low zone burns 146 calories and the high burns 206,
but you can keep going for twice as long in the low zone then the total
result is better. For out of shape people the "fat burning zone" is far
more sustainable over a long workout than the high zones.

Dave B.

Daveb wrote:
DRS wrote:

In short, if you want to burn more fat then work harder for longer.

Well duh.
My understanding of the fat burning zone isn't that it's where the most
fat gets burnt. The idea is that it is a zone where you can keep going
for longer. So if a low zone burns 146 calories and the high burns 206,
but you can keep going for twice as long in the low zone then the total
result is better. For out of shape people the "fat burning zone" is far
more sustainable over a long workout than the high zones.
Dave B.



Bit of a balance tho isnt it?

you cant go flat-hammer everytime you get astride the steed (altho lord
knows i get sucked into trying often enough :-) )

and the post-ride meal (In my case anyway) is always more ravenous after
the shorter-but-harder ride/race than the longer cruisy ride (cos I eat
DURING the longer ride, just to throw in another variable )

What Drs says is true and stated by most sports-docs (5 TdFs cant be
wrong) but over a duration of days/weeks ie real life you have to follow
a hard one with 'recovery' session just to balance and last out the week
(try going flatout every commute for a week day-in-day-out and see how
you feel thursday-Friday)

balance and listen to your body in general, HRM for the specifics



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Peter Jones wrote:
Ok I will buy my Polar heart rate monitor tommorow.
Please can someone tell me a little about it.
Ok when I get it, do I need to program my details into it ? What do I
need to program into it ?
Sorry but I just wanted a head start before I get it, as I have read
that these heart rate monitors are hard to use ??
Thanks for any easy help.


Peter, don't wan't to put you on the spot in front of everyone here bu
what factors made you decide to get a heart rate monitor? I'm in th
same boat as you in trying to justify it


-

DaveB wrote in message

DRS wrote:

In short, if you want to burn more fat then work harder for longer.

Well duh.

To you and me, maybe, but not necessarily to people who spend hundreds of
dollars on equipment to help them work less efficiently. For example, the
poster to whom I replied said, "It is actually pretty hard to keep the HR
low enough to stay in the fat burning zone (generally I work on 60%-70% of
max HR) and so keeping it down to about 120bpm makes me feel like I am
bludging." The fact is he is bludging! If he wants to burn fat he should
throw his HRM away and simply ride harder.

My understanding of the fat burning zone isn't that it's where the
most fat gets burnt. The idea is that it is a zone where you can keep
going for longer. So if a low zone burns 146 calories and the high
burns 206, but you can keep going for twice as long in the low zone
then the total result is better. For out of shape people the "fat
burning zone" is far more sustainable over a long workout than the
high zones.

Out of shape people will typically find their heart rates higher than that
of a fitter person doing the same work - meaning it's even harder for them
to stay in their 'fat burning zone'.

--

"I'm proud that I live in a country where witnessing two hours of bloody,
barbarous torture in gloating detail is considered indicia of religious
piety, whereas a mere second gazing upon a woman's breast is cause for
outraged apoplexy."
Betty Bowers, http://www.bettybowers.com/melgibsonpassion.html