New and HRM Question

allelsefaild

Hi I'm new. Just quick background: got engaged at the end of September after starting on a new lifestyle of eating healthy and working out. So far, I've lost 35 pounds and 2 pant sizes and am halfway to my goal weight. I went from barely being able to jog to being able to jog for 40+ minutes straight.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a good chest strap HRM. I want to buy one this weekend since Santa didn't bring me one. Thanks in advance for help.

cnf2013

I just got a Polar FT4 (clicky)

Congrats on your loss and your engagement!

allelsefaild

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_new-and-hrm-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:0e3d188d-2cd2-4c08-8788-e4bed750af24Post:55330eee-cbf3-4a33-a9e5-ced6d55fec08">Re: New and HRM Question</a>:
[QUOTE]I just got a  Polar FT4 (clicky) Congrats on your loss and your engagement!
Posted by cnf2013[/QUOTE]

I've heard of Polar, and looking it up, it looks like that have a Bluetooth model which is perfect. Looks like I might have found my HRM. Thanks!

freebread03

If you might ever want a gps watch for running and are planning to buy a HRM anyways, you may want to consider buying a Garmin or other similar watch that can do both. I have a Garmin 410 and I bought FI a 310 for Christmashis was cheaper and I actually like his more. Obviously if you don't see ever needing a Gps function, you wouldn't need these extras, but it's something to think about.

allelsefaild

My only issue with the GPS ones are they typically transmit to a watch and I find watches a bit uncomfortable. That was what appealed to me when I saw Polar had the Bluetooth chest strap. Although I don't know how well they work... Oh no! Now I'm confused again. lol

freebread03

Ah ok I get that. Honestly, after you get used to wearing a watch you won't even notice.  My FI was worried that the 310 would feel huge, and he says he doesn't even notice it.    If you don't think you'll ever want a GPS watch, don't spend the extra money, and get the polar with the chest strap.  But I will tell you this--having a GPS is really fun when you start running more--I enjoy reviewing my pace and altitude changes, etc. after a run, and it can be really useful for longer runs when you don't want to go out too fast.

cnf2013

My Polar chest strap does "talk" to the gym equipment, so my HR shows up on the machines while I'm working out, which is great for ease of tracking. I use the watch too though so I can have an accurate calories count as well. I'm a gym rat so the GPS function wasn't important to me, but it's definitely something to consider. 

allelsefaild

I'm going with the Polar FT7. I looked up reviews on their Bluetooth HRM and they weren't anywhere near as good as the ones for the FT7. I was going to buy it Saturday when we were at Best Buy but FI looked it up on his phone and found it for $15 less on Amazon. So it's getting ordered today. I did look at the GPS ones but they're so much more expensive and I can't justify spending over twice as much on them.

kristinanddan

A note about the Garmin 310, and I realize this is an aside:

I love my 310, but the calories burned it gives you is not based off of the heartrate it captures. It uses the standard formulas for some reason using height and weight and age and all that to come up with an estimate of your calories burned. Some garmins do actually use your heart rate in the calc. I didn't know this, or I would have bought a different model.