I want to get a heart rate monitor watch (e.g. Garmin or Polar), but I'm not sure how much to pay. They seem to range from $50 to upwards of $400. What's worth paying for and what's just fluff?
I think the main issue is what you are looking to track. When I started training I got a simple Polar. It displayed my HR so I could make sure my work out was intense enough and was compatible with the cardio machines at my gym. At the basic level you may want to make sure you can enter your age and weight to determine calories burnt, and HR zones if you want to vary your workout types (cardio, fat burning, recovery, etc).
As you move up the scale you add features - fitness tests, the ability to store and export multiple workouts for analysis, the ability to add GPS and foot pods/bicycle cadence meters that provide additional stats. What it really depends on what you want to know about your workouts - if anything - in addition to your HR.
Garmin has the GPS built right into the watch, that's the advantage. I use a Garmin 405 for running. I like being able to see how far and how fast I went. You can upload the results via computer to the web and see a number of things displayed - speed, elevation loss/gain, HR, cadence - at various points on run as a little icon moves around a Google map. As a runner, its all I need in one easy package. If you want to run indoors as well, you'll need the extra foot pod to record what you've done. This is also Mac compatible watch if you want store workouts electronically. I spend most of my time running outside, and only lift about 3 times a week - so it’s a great option for me.
Before my Garmin I used a basic polar. It was great for making sure I was keeping an adequate tempo while running or lifting. Here, the Polar's upside is most gym grade cardio equipment will display the heart rate if you have just the chest strap on. They also have a number of tests that are supposed to help determine fitness level that most Garmin's don't have. You can add GPS and cadence sensors, but I don’t have any experience with these. I did save my chest strap for use inside because a lot of treadmills have a feature that will adjust speed and incline to keep you HR in a user defined range which is great.
Nike makes an HR monitor, and if its compatible with the Nike owned website the Nike+ foot pods use it would be a great option for a runner. There are virtual challenges and games that I know friends find really motivating.
3 Answers
just bought the suunto t4c. like the watch but posted it for sale on CL for $150. i recieved a ironman watch that does the trick for me. if you're interested in the suunto - let me know.
I was given a suunto at work, great toy but ended going back to the cheap timex ironmans that I wear until they break and then throw away.
I have a garmin gps watch too, but lately I run with a cheap polar HRM and use the tracking app on my Iphone 3g Runkeeper . It tracks your pace real time and saves every run, it shows mileage by weak or month and you can see the exact path you took on google maps as well as elevation and exactly how fast you were runing at any given point. great app, the free version does all this, the pro gives you a few extras like audibly calling out mile splits and stuff, I used the free one for a month and liked it so much that I bought the pro version just to support the creator.
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I think the main issue is what you are looking to track. When I started training I got a simple Polar. It displayed my HR so I could make sure my work out was intense enough and was compatible with the cardio machines at my gym. At the basic level you may want to make sure you can enter your age and weight to determine calories burnt, and HR zones if you want to vary your workout types (cardio, fat burning, recovery, etc).
As you move up the scale you add features - fitness tests, the ability to store and export multiple workouts for analysis, the ability to add GPS and foot pods/bicycle cadence meters that provide additional stats. What it really depends on what you want to know about your workouts - if anything - in addition to your HR.
Garmin has the GPS built right into the watch, that's the advantage. I use a Garmin 405 for running. I like being able to see how far and how fast I went. You can upload the results via computer to the web and see a number of things displayed - speed, elevation loss/gain, HR, cadence - at various points on run as a little icon moves around a Google map. As a runner, its all I need in one easy package. If you want to run indoors as well, you'll need the extra foot pod to record what you've done. This is also Mac compatible watch if you want store workouts electronically. I spend most of my time running outside, and only lift about 3 times a week - so it’s a great option for me.
Before my Garmin I used a basic polar. It was great for making sure I was keeping an adequate tempo while running or lifting. Here, the Polar's upside is most gym grade cardio equipment will display the heart rate if you have just the chest strap on. They also have a number of tests that are supposed to help determine fitness level that most Garmin's don't have. You can add GPS and cadence sensors, but I don’t have any experience with these. I did save my chest strap for use inside because a lot of treadmills have a feature that will adjust speed and incline to keep you HR in a user defined range which is great.
Nike makes an HR monitor, and if its compatible with the Nike owned website the Nike+ foot pods use it would be a great option for a runner. There are virtual challenges and games that I know friends find really motivating.