Do I need a heart rate monitor watch?

2 Comments

1. Liam says:

   March 21, 2010 at 4:24 am

   Heart monitors are one of the most effective aids for tracking and developing your progress on the path to increased aerobic endurance.

   Heart monitors are the only effective way to track and record your heart rate over the course of an entire workout.

   Cardiovascular fitness is the single most significant factor in your speed as a runner. Consequently, being able to track your cardiovascular fitness is an extremely useful training tool.

   Perhaps the most obvious use for a heart monitor is to pace your training runs. Sometimes your time is not the best measure of how hard you are working. Different terrain, different energy levels, inconsistent distance measurements, and any number of factors can mislead you into thinking that you have performed well or poorly when the opposite may be true.

   Some runners not only train with a heart monitor, but race with one as well. The monitor is a better tool for gauging effort during a race than mile markers, as the appropriate speed of each mile during a race can vary. Also, the monitor is indifferent to the wind, the paces of the other runners, the cheering of the crowds, the silence of lonely stretches that occur towards the end of some races, and any hills and curves; it is an objective observer than can help you maintain a consistent work rate, both over varied terrain and in areas where external factors affect your motivation and speed.

   While many runners enjoy their long runs, using a heart monitor adds a twist to running, whether it is being worn for a race or for training, for one mile or for twenty. Monitors can give you an accurate and fun way to quantify your progress, and if for no other reason, contribute some variety to the activity.
   References :
2. DosCentavos says:

   March 21, 2010 at 4:45 am

   For a 3 mile run you’re mostly training an anaerobic metabolism.

   Heart rate monitors are most useful for people trying to lose weight by maintaining target rates (to keep them from getting injured or overexerting).

   They can also be used to monitor, track and help develop Aerobic, Anaerobic and Lacate thresholds. However they tend to become unreliable as the temperature goes up. How scientific do you want to be for your training?

   No you don’t need one — but they are nice to have if you decide you want to train for longer races and need to control your pacing. E.g. 10K, 1/2 and full marathons.

   I suggest you avoid the Polar garbage if you decide to buy one. I’ve destroyed 2 of these already but got them replaced via warranty — the best bang for the buck are the Timex heart rate monitors for 1/4 the price and twice the reliability/water resistance.
   References :
   Training for full distance triathlons. I don’t want to waste 90 seconds putting on a heart rate monitor and changing clothes in T1 — I put it on before I go into the water and wear the same clothes for the whole race.

   POS Polar doesn’t survive even a short swim.