For as long as I’ve been working in the health and fitness industry, I’ve been hearing about the myriad benefits of the heart-rate monitor. I’ve worked with editors who reviewed them annually, wrote about them constantly, and sent weight-loss candidates home to exercise with them. I’ve talked to real women who swore their workouts had changed for life and they’d never again enter a gym without one.
So I wasn’t surprised when, on my first visit with running coach Mindy Solkin back in December, she suggested—no, insisted—that I get myself a heart-rate monitor before we even started training.
Coach Mindy suggested a fairly basic model from Polar, the leader in heart-rate technology. Instead, Polar sent me its 2.0 model, the RS800sd running computer.
The following week, I wore the monitor around my chest while I ran on Mindy’s treadmill at various speeds. By pushing me to my physical limit, she was able to calculate my true maximum heart rate—and create a training plan based not just on distance and pace, but also on intensity.
My next run, for example, was scheduled for three miles at 80% of my maximum heart rate. This was to ensure that I was actually working hard enough to give my heart a real workout and boost my endurance.
Had I stuck with it, I’m sure my endurance would have improved—and probably more quickly than it has without a heart-rate monitor. But I didn’t give the device much of a chance. I tried it once but found that constantly checking my wristwatch and fighting to stay at a certain heart rate was distracting, not to mention exhausting. I’m used to a lot of easy jogging with an occasional sprint of speed, so running fast enough to maintain a high heart rate tired me out a lot faster than usual.
After that, I conveniently began forgetting to put the monitor in my gym bag, misplacing it under piles of clothes in my bedroom, or just refusing to spend time reading the brochure. Time constraints kept me from seeing Coach Mindy on a regular basis, and soon I’d come up with my own training plan that did not involve keeping an eye on my heart rate.
Abandoning the heart-rate monitor made me feel like a fitness flunkie. Without it, I’m still running farther than ever before, but I haven’t gotten much faster—and I still get winded after even a short sprint.
But I’ve never been much of a gadget person, and I’ve realized by now that the more complicated a workout gets, the less likely I am to actually follow through with it. That’s why I like running in the first place: All you really need is a good pair of sneakers.
A recent New York Times article gave me some comfort. Yes, heart-rate monitors can help you improve performance and track your fitness goals. But it turns out, a lot of people (including many who commented on the story) find them unnecessary or even detrimental, especially in sports like running, which allows you to easily track other benchmarks, such as pace and distance.
For me, I think part of the problem was the overwhelming amount of features on my $500 device. Polar’s website describes the RS800sd as being designed for "elite-level athletes" who want to "improve performance by planning, monitoring, and analyzing training data." I should have realized then that this was not the best choice for me.
What’s your view on heart-rate monitors? I think I’ll eventually give mine—or maybe a simpler model—another chance. But until May 3, I’m just trying to keep my legs moving. That’s enough to think about for now.
Comments (9)
You should take your trainers advice and get a simple one that does not overwhelm you.
But you should have one that is at least smart enough to have settable training zones and out of zone alarms.
That way you can select a training zone, lets say 60%-70% and then just run. If you run too hard hand your heart rate is too high the watch will start to beep, on the other hand if you don’t run hard enough the lower alarm will sound. Very simple: No need to look at the monitor at all.
After selecting your training zone you never have to look at it again. You only have to pay attention to the coaching alarms and they only beep if you are going out of the target range.
You don’t need a space ship if you are only going to kmart. Don’t take comfort in other peoples failures, to explain yours.
It’s simple, you started out with a bit of kit that was too complicated and you were not trained how to use it correctly. It made you anxious and you were intimidated by it’s complexity and felt the need to keep looking at it. If setup corecty there should be no need to be looking at the heart rate monitor during a simple running session.
(Not so for more complex mixed workouts, but that’s not what you were doing.)
Wow. You needed a simple unit, like the Polar Pacer or even the F Series, but got a RS Series. I Wish I had that problem. :) The RS800D is a great unit, but your right too complex for a beginner. I’d recommend finding someone who uses one and have them help you get set up. Or even pick up a sinple unit, then when you become an elite athlete (next year :) ) take the RS800D off the shelf and donate your simple one to a new athlete who doesn’t have one- or maybe a blog reader.. I have reviewed a few units and even have videos on my site to try and help new athletes decide which is best. Check it out at
http://www.heartratemonitorauctions.com
Thanks for the great post. Danny
I am looking into purchasing the new Nike+ SportBand, but there is such minimal info on it….Does anyone know if it can perform like the above mentioned Polar Pacer? I feel like…how many gadgets am I going to have wrapped around my arms and in my shoes by the time I hit the road running….geez…Anyone?
I am looking into purchasing the new Nike+ SportBand, but there is such minimal info on it….Does anyone know if it can perform like the above mentioned Polar Pacer? I feel like…how many gadgets am I going to have wrapped around my arms and in my shoes by the time I hit the road running….geez…Anyone?
I am looking into purchasing the new Nike+ SportBand, but there is such minimal info on it….Does anyone know if it can perform like the above mentioned Polar Pacer? I feel like…how many gadgets am I going to have wrapped around my arms and in my shoes by the time I hit the road running….geez…Anyone?
Thank you
there is alot of debate about monitors and if you really need one.
the only reason you should need one is for progress marking and performance testing. they dont need to be a part of each training session, which will infact degrade your training. what you should be using instead are times, you set a distance and a goal time, you run it in that time and see how you went. then every x amount of days you drop the goal time. you do not want monitors set to 80% and trying not to go over or go to far under its ridiculous. If im going on a distance run, ill be running on roads and up and down hills, your heart rate will vary depending on the load on your body. if i sprint itll go through the roof until i recover (jog for recovery, dont stop) your heart rate is supposed to vary its supposed to. but when you compete youre not being marked on your heart rate its on the time you finish in, in a race you are NOT going to be concerned about your heart rate.
so yes while they are useful, they are good for measuring the progress of your fitness and for recovery and vo2 max marking. for running and training you should be using goal times, they are what will ensure you get faster and therefor fitter
Another reason to use a heart rate monitor, rather than to keep going fast enough, is to keep you from actually pushing yourself too hard at the wrong times. If you are training for a specific event or race, especially a long one, a lot of trainers recommend working out for long periods at your ‘lower lactate threshhold’ during the early phases of training.
Also, heart rate monitors are another piece of information an athlete can use to help gauge where their body is at on any particular day.
They aren’t the be-all end-all when it comes to training, but they are a very accessible, easy to use gadget, that with some experience, can really help someone working out achieve fitness goals safely and more easily than without it.
Although I do agree that the heart rate monitor is great piece of equipment and provides many advantages… Almost every trainer that I have been in contact with and most doctors who recommend a workout regimen have all included a pulse Oximeter like this one: Pulse Oximeter. I have used this one and it seems to be the easiest to use right out of the box….