Heart Rate monitor - excellent..... - Clubhouse

Homer Hart

08/08/2002 at 14:06

I have used a HR monitor for a few years, but have recently bought a new (more reliable) one, I went out and trained at a steady pace based on my heart rate, monitored my HR closely and kept it within certain parameters and when I finished the 6.5 mile course was amazed to see I'd set a new PB without really trying. I guess I had run at a more constant pace than I normally do (I usually end up pushing really hard up the hills, of which there are many, and then my pace for the rest of the distance is obviously slower, whereas with the HRM on I eased off on the hills more than I would normally do and subsequently my pace for the whole distance was faster)

Moral of the story, if you have problems with pacing yourself, try a HRM it works wonders for me.

Don Minquez

08/08/2002 at 15:13

One really good thing about hrm's is the distraction factor! I find that it stops you from thinking how fast you're going and more long the lines of "I'd better work harder if I want to run at 80%..."

I love 'em!

daisy dog

08/08/2002 at 15:17

OK Homer, please tell me, exactly which HRM have you got and how much was it ? I've been meaning to get one, nearly bought one in Heathrow but chickened out. I can't be bothered to do the homework - if you've found one you think is good that's good enough for me. Oh, and is it very complicated - I'm a simple hound.

Thanks very much. And well done on the PB

Don Minquez

08/08/2002 at 15:23

Get a Polar is my suggestion... M51/52 seems like a reasonable purchase.

(I realise the question wasn't directed at me btw, just butting in!)

WildWill..... pirate

pirate

08/08/2002 at 15:43

For the past 18 month I used a polar M21, fond it excellent for starting out – but don’t believe the claim of water proof ;o(

Being a gadget freak and like to look at session figures I’ve now bought a Cardiosport Ultima, which has a lot more features and upload to PC facilities

Will

The Dog Walker

08/08/2002 at 16:50

I've got M52 as well...no complaints at all.

neilruns .

08/08/2002 at 17:07

I've got a polar s210. Correct me if I'm wrong (quite likely!), but I don't think the M51 etc have a decent stopwatch/laptimer function, which is essential for me.

08/08/2002 at 17:12

I'm looking at getting the M51 soon. Does anyone know if they are available anywhere at less than £100

SS - The Last Unicorn

08/08/2002 at 18:06

Shouldn't we be able somehow to negotiate a discount with ...say the companies that now advertise on this site ? They're paying for the advertising - but that's cos they see us as being of benefit to them - I think it's the other way round! We'd use them if they offer us special rates - and the markup's so huge they should be able to give us say 15-20% easily? They sell these things at 1/2 price in sales and still make a profit.

neilruns .

08/08/2002 at 22:22

Shattered shins, when I landed my polar I was amazed at the markup on HRMs. My brother used to work in a gym and he bought it for me direct from Polar. The retail price was £130 and I got mine for about £75. He could get similar discounts from other suppliers, and not just on HRMs and watches. Selfish sod doesn't work there anymore (!) but it shows how much room there is for the people we spend so much money on to cut us a discount.

08/08/2002 at 23:15

Hi SS,

I mentioned this to Sean F the other day and will chase him on the issue. If we have to see all this advertising stuff shrinking the size of our forum they could at least offer us a discount.
I actually sent an e-mail to the Sweatshop re discounts for RWFRC members but the didn't bother replying

SS - The Last Unicorn

08/08/2002 at 23:27

Hi Blue Knees

If they can't be bothered to reply to you - then that doesn't bode well for their customer service does it?

Just before the FLM on the old forum there was a really helpful guy from Mizuno replying to queries on their products - I've never considered any brand other than Nike before - but his whole attitude made me wonder if I should try this other brand that so many people were raving about.It doesn't take much to get customer loyalty!

After reading Neilruns post I was also wondering how many forum members could get access to cheap deals from companies for other members - it needn't be just running related! We could even set up our own internet co-operative .....

Yes OK I'm bored tonight - the family are away - I'll go to bed now! Cheers!

Neil H

09/08/2002 at 08:11

Daisy,

Would heartily recommend the Polar S210, it's the cheapest model to combine the HR functions and a decent 50 lap stopwatch. It's a tad fiddly to set up but once done is very easy to use.

If you want to be able to upload data to a PC then you need to go for the S410.

Good luck

Neil

demeter

09/08/2002 at 09:05

Blue Knees, When I bought my HRM a company called sportsaver were the cheapest (www.sportsaver.co.uk), and I had great service it arrived the next working day. I bought the S410, I was originally going to get the M51/52 but they don't have a lap facility, depends on what you want to use it for.

09/08/2002 at 12:21

Thanks SlowMo, I'll have a look

daisy dog

09/08/2002 at 19:34

Thanks everyone.

I'm going to go to sportsaver, have a look at the M51/52 and the S210 and hopefully buy one.

Hope it helps my running...

Homer Hart

09/08/2002 at 20:36

Blimey, I didn't realise I'd get this much response on a thread about HRM's.
Mine is a Cardiosport one, it cost about £60 and has more than I'll ever need - can't remember which model it is.
The way I bought mine was to search around the internet and find the model that I wanted and then searched the internet using that model name and found loads of different sites that had it and found the cheapest, who had it on a special offer (much cheaper than other places) it really does pay to spend half an hour surfing the net and saving quite a percentage.
Good luck with finding one.

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