Gear Report: Why Buy A Heart Rate Monitor/Fitness Computer?

In this post: Heart rate monitors / fitness computers, Polar FT60, Polar RS300x, Polar G1 GPS, fitness improvement, weight loss

Mine is a common story.  Somewhere in my mid forties, during a routine annual check-up, my Doctor pointed out that I had gained 3 pounds during the past year.  He warned me I had reached the age where my metabolism was slowing down and predicted I’d be packing on a few pounds every year, unless I made some lifestyle changes.  He was right.  Over the next decade my blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar went up right along with my weight.

Then, early in 2010, I was introduced to heart rate monitor/fitness computers (thanks Kathy!).  These cool gadgets consist of two parts: 1) a chest strap with a small heart rate monitor/transmitter attached; and 2) a specialty wristwatch/receiver/computer that gathers, stores and interprets your heart rate data while you’re exercising.


The basic reason for using a heart rate monitor is to maximize the weight loss, health and fitness benefits of the time you spend exercising.  In a nut shell, this is accomplished by monitoring your heart rate while exercising and varying the intensity of your exercise so as to keep your heart rate in the specific range that has been determined by the computer to most efficiently address your personal fitness goals (e.g. weight loss, cardio fitness

improvement, performance improvement, etc.). But wait…
there’s more.


The first thing everybody notices when they start using a heart rate monitor is, they don’t need to exercise hard to achieve a heart rate that most efficiently burns body fat; for most people a brisk walk is all it takes.  The second thing they notice is, their heart starts getting stronger from day-one.  For instance, if you walk for 20 minutes on Monday at whatever speed keeps your heart rate at 94 beats per minute and you do the same thing again on Wednesday, you’ll very likely cover  a little more ground on Wednesday than you did on Monday and you’ll go even further if you do it again on Friday.  It’s a subtle improvement that you probably would not notice without the aid of a heart rate monitor, but seeing and knowing that things are improving - right away - is a great, uplifting motivator for most of us.

Another nice thing about having a heart rate monitor / fitness computer (HRMFC) is, you can do any kind of activity you want (i.e. fun stuff), anytime you want, anywhere you want and the  computer keeps a log of how long you're being active, how many calories you burn, your average heart rate and a bunch of other things depending on the model and accessories.  Somehow, having a log of all this stuff turns out to be yet another great motivator (with an extra device, you can even upload the data to your computer).

The coveted trophy

Among our friends, the most popular HRMFC has been the Polar FT60.  Polar makes quite a few different model HRMFC's.  Some are designed as training aids for specific purposes such as cycling, running and weight training, but the FT60 is a good choice for general fitness.  What makes the FT60 special is the built in "STAR Training Program" which comes up with user specific targets every week (based on personal goals, age, sex, height, weight, resting heart rate and last weeks performance).  If the user meets the weekly targets, a little icon appears on the watch face that looks like a trophy and remains visible for 1 week.  It sounds really silly, but that little digital icon is a huge motivator.

The bottom line: Five of us (A.R., Kathy, Janet, Simmons & Alan) started using HRMFC's at the beginning of 2010.  Our ages range from 50 to 64.  As the year is coming to a close, we are all in better shape now than we were at this same time last year and we are motivated to do even better in 2011.


Tips for use: Be sure to wet the contact strips in the chest strap before each use and wash - or at least throughly rinse - the chest strap after every use, otherwise you're inviting poor contact problems.  Also, remember that snapping the transmitter onto the chest strap activates the transmitter.  For longer battery life, don't leave the transmitter snapped onto the chest strap when  not in use. 

Polar G1 GPS, RS300X, Wearlink heart rate transmitter

Gear Report
Polar G1 GPS Sensor:
I sometimes wear a Polar G1 GPS transmitter when hiking, running or walking. The G1 transmits speed and distance information to my Polar RS300X fitness computer (the G1 works with some other Polar models, too). The information can be viewed in real time or from the workout log later.


We've had two different G1 units.  Both of them gave us fits until we figured out they were very sensitive to battery voltage.  Apparently the G1's are programed to shut down when battery voltage drops below a certain point, which must not be much below a fully charged or new battery.  We only get about two hours use from a new battery in a G1.  What gave us fits was, when the G1's shut down we would remove the batteries and test them with an independent battery tester and the batteries would always test as "good."  Not quite as good as a brand new battery, but good enough to make us think batteries couldn't possibly be the problem.  Wrong!


From what I've seen on the internet, we aren't the only ones who have been similarly frustrated.  To be fair, I must point out I've only recently figured this battery thing out and I haven't yet tried the G1 in power saving mode.