Heart Rate Monitor

Midger

I'd really like to get a heart rate monitor. Polar seems to be highly recommended...the F or FT range. Anyone seen any good deals?

Lugh_Chronain

Try Sainsbury's, they have Polar FS2C Heart Rate Monitors for £19.99 in store - £39.99 online. It might be labelled as an FS1 model but appears to be the same as the one online.

jenniewb

I have a Polar- not tried other brands to compare, (apparently Garmain are supposed to be the dogs ...)

I have the F7 which is fine for me. Really think about what you want from a HRM, as the more you pay the more you get but if your not going to use any of the functions its not going to be worth it. I use mine for the HRM function, it gives me a high and average per workout and also similarly per week for the past 16 days or weeks.

It also tells me the calories burnt which I am a little sceptical of as I used to have anorexia- I know my calories backwards and still log everything I eat. If the HRM was correct I should have fallen between the floor boards by now, instead I am a healthy weight! Turns out many people are sceptical on the calories shown per workout. But have to say, its a better result them the gym machines which are stupidly high! (HRM reads 10 mins on the treadmill running up hill at 110kcals, the treadmill tells me its 200...).

It also shows me the calories from fat which again I am sceptical of. As far as losing weight is concerned, its what you eat that makes the difference. If you eat more then you burn per day you will gain weight regardless of what percentage the HRM states!

I do like though to see my improvements on a weekly basis- it shows graphs of my heart rate levels per week (averages) which is how I monitor my performance.

Just remember though, there is more to exercising then HRM, for example using one whilst doing weights or core stability exercises will not be able to show you how you are improving and fitness is about being able to do many different forms of exercise, not just the cardio side.

I got mine from Amazon as they were the cheapest. I did my research and decided on the model after asking lots of questions and searching other peoples experiences online. I also liked the fact that when it broke down 6 months later, I was able to get a replacement within a week. I don't know if I would be able to trust many other companies with that same degree of customer service.

Eric_Pisch

I have an FT40 which are moderately expensive at £90

http://www.newitts.com/product/IT032120/Polar_FT40_Training_Computer.htm?utm_source=Google+Base&utm_medium=Price+Comparison&utm_campaign=Google+Product+Search&utm_content=IT032120

If you want to work out cals burned it is a very good unit, it does a basic fitness test (5 mins) and by adding your basic details, age, height, sex and weight it then uses all this information to calculate your cals burned reasonably accurately based on your HR

seams to give the right results for me anyway