Couch to 5k Running - Part Three

teachergirl

A real quick one cos I am on my way out. I bought an FT60. It was expensive but worth every penny. Also it was cheaper than the gym;)

fedupandskint

Can you tell me what these heart monitors do please - is it worth buying one?

Skintlass - hope all gets sorted for you and you sleep safe tonight

scubaangel

fedupandskint wrote: »

Can you tell me what these heart monitors do please - is it worth buying one?

Skintlass - hope all gets sorted for you and you sleep safe tonight

I use either a Polar FS1 (absolute bog standard model) or the Tesco version, mine are both very basic, and just tell you your heartrate on the watch, and the time on the watch, but will tell you the average HR and total run time after. The instruction booklets explain how to work out what your maz HR should be, and what % of that you should work to. IIRC its 210-your age, so in my case I should be working to a max of 185.

Then from that you can work out what your aim is fat burning/general cv fitness/stamina etc and set your 'target zone' and they'll beep if you go over or drop under your target range.

teachergirl

hi there fedupandskint . My heart monitor does a personalised programme for you. You feed it all your details, height,weight etc. Then you do a base heart rate test where you lie very still for 5 minutes while it monitors your heart. Then it sets you targets for the week. ie 2 hours in zone 1, 2 hours in zone 2 and 50 minutes in zone 3. According to how fit you are to start off with and what your goals are. Each time you use it ,it monitors how much time you spend in each zone. Each week it tells you if you met your targets and awards you a trophy if you have. After several weeks it re tests you and resets your targets if necessary. I find it really motivating and my husband was so fascinated he bought one too. You can do even more complicated things but this is enough for me. I know since I got it ,in February I have got fitter because my resting heart rate has gone right down. It also works with all the gym equipment but as I don't have membership any more that doesn't affect me.

neilersmc

Hey Folks - checking in!

Did Week3 run 3 yesterday - found it a doddle - cant get over how much i struggled with week 1 to where I am now.

Today should have been a rest day but i was so curious I had to go out and try Week 4 Run 1 and expected it to be a nightmare. It wasnt that bad. I have scared myself by reading up on what week 5 is going to bring if I can get myself through run 3, I will be over the moon

Never thought I would be into running but it is so addictive, have even started running on the treadmill when im at the gym.

Today i am also celebrating that according to the scales I have lost my 4th stone since April - nearly half way now to my target.

Seriously tempted to pick up a heart moniter now after reading the posts above. But then im meant to be saving for a holiday in september - my first in years.

fedupandskint

I've just had a look on the Tesco website and found the cheapest one for £19.99 so might get this one.

Planning to start Week 3 tomorrow but the weather forecast is rain for most of the day so will be brave and brave the weather in practice for later in the year!

cazmcf

Well I'm finally back. I haven't run for over 3 weeks and i cant get out for a run until fri so it will be 4 weeks then:eek:. When i left off i was strugling to complete week 5 run 2, and i know my fitness has gone to pot so i'm going to attempt week 3 on fri.

It's a bit disapointing going back on my myself but thats the price of laziness and going on holiday:o.

scubaangel

fedupandskint wrote: »

I've just had a look on the Tesco website and found the cheapest one for £19.99 so might get this one.

Planning to start Week 3 tomorrow but the weather forecast is rain for most of the day so will be brave and brave the weather in practice for later in the year!

My tesco one is probably the same model - nice and basic but it certainly gives you a shock when you realise just how hard your heart is working, but feels great to see the average heart rate coming down over a period of time.

elfen

Couldn't run today - no motivation, but I'll run and shred tomorrow....Also got first taekwando lesson hopefully.

fedupandskint

Snap elfen!

Woke up early this morning and thought I'd give it a miss so I could get ready for my course in time. might go out later on today or if not will definately be tomorrow morning