Something different: my new HRM toy! ⌚️📈📊📉

[CBDB]

Well, I’ve finally gone and done it, and bought myself a Heart Rate Monitor Armband!

I’ve been intrigued by HR Zone training for quite a while, but needed to consider all sorts of things. I didn’t want to spent too much, and it had to work for both running and rowing. And I didn’t like the thought of having a chest band.

So did a bit of research, and I finally got a nice, reasonably coated armband HRM from Coospo and it works brilliantly.

It arrived yesterday after my run (😏) and I thus used the rest of my Saturday to not only do some work ( 😕) but also read into HRZ training, max HR calculations and trials, and a first rowing test with the HR monitor on.

I do get nerdy a bit about stats, so this definitely pushes my button!

Anyone else get excited about Heart Rate Monitors and HT Zone training?

(Now, where is the perfect hill to use for identifying my max HR for running?)

[Gthants Graduate]

Do you not have a watch that monitors heart rate? Does this do more?

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Gthants]

I still only have an old fashioned watch. 😂⌚️ Until now, I didn’t have anything that monitored heart rate. I do use Runkeeper to track all my runs, but all runs are on my smartphone rather than watch.

So it’s a whole new world!

[apatsyf]

That looks good - more accurate than wristband watch being on the arm. Does it gives you alerts you can hear ir feel when moving into different HR zones?

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to apatsyf]

It connects to my phone, and then my Runkeeper tells me what my heart rate is. I still have to figure out how it can tell me the zones rather than the actual heart rate.

It does have a colour code, and it moves through different colours depending on zone.

Yes, I wanted something that works both for rowing AND running, and most wristband solutions (watches) don’t work for rowing, for some reason. So this was a recommendation from my rowing community.

you do need a smartphone to connect to, though. So it’s not a stand-alone, like a garmin.

But that’s perfect for me.

[skysue16]

How interesting…..looks good and I love your calculations on the notice board! (I am rubbish at working out percentages etc 😂).

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to skysue16]

Yeah, I had to get my head around the math, and it helps jotting it all down.

[apatsyf]

Ahha, you must subscribe to Runkeeper to get that? I enjoy using Runkeeper on my phone as its free and have been borrowing a Fitbit to monitor HR, but can't get alerts so keep on having to look at my watch to know HR. The Fitbit info says you can get alerts but doesnt seem to work or it's too gentle/quiet. Maybe I'm going to have to fork out!! Thanks for the info 👍 .

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to apatsyf]

Yes, I use Runkeeper and have always done. But only subscribed since last month, and I don’t think this was behind the paywall. But I might remember it wrong.

When you go to settings —> activity settings —> which stats —> do you not have the option “current heart rate”?

I can’t yet get the zones to work, so still playing around with settings.

[apatsyf]

Thanks. Nothing like that not even activity setting. But never mind, I get zones on the Fitbit and am getting used to looking every now and again. But will defo look into getting an armband. Enjoy your exploration of stats!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to apatsyf]

👍🏽

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to apatsyf]

Here is a detailed how to article by the Runkeeper people themselves, which might help: support.runkeeper.com/hc/en...

But Fitbit might be a better visual anyway!

[Hedgehogs123]

I have to confess at not paying any attention to heart rate and what zone I should be running in, but a lot of my running buddies really go by what zones they are running in. My last garmin was forever beeping at me saying my heart rate was too high, drove me mad to be honest!! 😁

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Hedgehogs123]

lol!

I’ll probably get there. At the moment I am enjoying the new colours to my stats!