Prompted by the 10K thread:

My girlfriend’s entered a half marathon in October. She’s not really a runner and probably wouldn’t choose to without something to train for. She’s been running more regularly for about a month, at the moment she’s doing 6-10km, 2-4 times a week.

She says she finds it hard to push herself; she knows she’s got more in the tank, but always jogs around at an easy pace. I reckon a heart rate monitor with a beep to keep her inside target zones would be really helpful. I’m thinking this is probably all she really needs and I think the entry level Polar FT1 would fit the bill for £35ish.

Anyone else thought this and ended up getting a fancy pants model and really appreciating the extra features?

Are there any very handy functions which we might not have considered?

We map the runs manually on google earth, so don’t need a pedometer. It might be handy if it’s accurate, but if the cheap ones aren’t and you need to spend double for it to be useful, then it’s probably out. How do they work anyway? Do you run a known 5K and tell it when you’ve finished, or measure a stride?

Thanks!

Entry level Polar ftw. They are a good company. You can pay for extra features but only if you want to. I think they all have heart rate alarms which are all you need for training.

However – sounds like she needs to do intervals, you don’t necessarily need a HRM for this. Pushing yourself is a lot easier when doing short intervals.

Molgrips, you’re probably right. But in the first instance, she needs a totally objective, non-emotionally involved entity to tell her when she’s trying hard enough and when she isn’t!

She’s entered as a kick start to get her a bit fitter and lose a bit of weight. That’s the primary aim, so I’m not sure if she’ll be especially interested in intervals.

She says she can see something in me and a quite a few of our friends, this will to push ourselves physically, and she says she just doesn’t have it.

Not sure why that is, maybe she just doesn’t enjoy the endorphins enough to make the burn worth it. Does that make any sense? Can you teach yourself to like them, or do some people just not respond physiologically to the same extent?

Tesco do one for £20. Perfectly good for what you need. (although I don’t think she needs one either).

Yeah.. to get properly better you need to learn how to push yourself and embrace the pain, so to speak.

On some monitors you can set intervals with a HR target, which pushes you to keep going until you reach a certain number. That’d be a good way to do it 🙂

Or Tabata – this involves running as hard as you can, no targets required – flat out.

She’s entered as a kick start to get her a bit fitter and lose a bit of weight. That’s the primary aim, so I’m not sure if she’ll be especially interested in intervals

Intervals are a far better way of achieving those goals than just trotting along. Even if you don’t push yourself to the max.

As for why she might not enjoy it – well it’s a personality thing to an extent – but for me, just jogging along doesn’t seem to release endorphins at all. I have to go fast and really push it to get any kind of high.

but for me, just jogging along doesn’t seem to release endorphins at all. I have to go fast and really push it to get any kind of high.

I wondered whether this might be it, maybe she just doesn’t know what she’s missing!

Just ordered the FT1, cheers anyway, DD. I might have a quick look at HRMs with target zone interval trainers, but I reckon once she’s learnt what max feels like, what 75% feels like, she’ll be able to do that out herself.

There are a load of sigma monitors here at ukbikestore.
I use the PC15 at 42 quid which i think is ace, they have some cheaper ones like this PC 3 at 32 quid.

I cannot recommend the pc15 highly enough, I find it very useful and reliable.

I’ve had a few cheap ones and found they work when you first put them on, but after you’ve been running for a while, they either miss beats or just stop counting completely.

Is there a secret or are they just that rubbish? (Was using water under the pads as recommended in the ‘structions)

Polar cheap ones use the same tech as their more expensive ones.

I had a cheap one from lloyds chemist did exactly that, since I’ve had the sigma, 3 years no issues. (other than losing it and replacing it last week)

Cooli hooli. Cheers.

Bum. PC15 seems to be better. Calorie thinger and 3 zones rather than 1. And whole pound cheaper on Amazon.

Should have waited a bit longer for more replies. Rather the point of a forum, eh?

Bof.

Ignore the calorie thing. You might as well guess, cos that’s all it’s doing.

yeah but its an edumacated guess based on your weight and it integrates your heart rate over time to guess how hard you are working, its not too bad an idea. (Have worked on the design of such things many years ago)

Lidl have one for £12.99 at the moment, picked one up on Monday.

Looks like something Gordon Gecko would wear but does the job nicely.

well I can’t cancel the order now, and I’d imagine we won’t be bothered enough to send it back anyway.

Presumably we can use the data we’ve got and work it roughly with the same formula?

I wouldnt bother with a HRM. i’m not a huge fan of them for runners of any level. Not because they dont work but because they require quite a bit of analysis and commitment to get any benefit.
Low heart rate during training can mean

A: not working hard enough.
B: worked too hard on previous sessions and now tired.

Mistaking the two symptoms can lead to overtraining, it also strikes me as a slightly “gadget” focused approach. If a person is not able to motivate themselves to run hard then a watch bleeping at them wont really change that.
The only good experiences I have had with HRM’s is to actually slow athletes down who consistently train too hard.

Using a polar hrm, very comfy and reliable.

Surfer – surely the difference between A and B will be obvious – in B you will feel knackered and legs will be screaming at you 🙂

I have a Garmin Edge 705 (yes i know not a running item but stick with me)I used the heart rate monitor that came with this and on initial inspection all seemed OK, however i noticed my heart rate was rather high when i exercised (peaked to over 200 with extreme exertion) this panicked me and i went to the doctors and had an ECG, as it turned out most off the shelf heart rate monitors register the beat twice and as such my heart rate was peaking at just over 100 not 200 ( i verified this by wearing the HRM whilst having my ECG
Dont always rely on the output they give you!!!!

I wouldnt bother with a HRM. i’m not a huge fan of them for runners of any level. Not because they dont work but because they require quite a bit of analysis and commitment to get any benefit.
Low heart rate during training can mean

A: not working hard enough.
B: worked too hard on previous sessions and now tired.

Mistaking the two symptoms can lead to overtraining, it also strikes me as a slightly “gadget” focused approach. If a person is not able to motivate themselves to run hard then a watch bleeping at them wont really change that.
The only good experiences I have had with HRM’s is to actually slow athletes down who consistently train too hard.

I’ll be honest I don’t think this is true for all people.

I am 4 stone overweight, but in my past have been very fit. My brain is still calibrated to running fast and hard, and I find that if I train without a HRM then I get tired fast and overexercise leading to not being able to exercise for a week. with the HRM it surprises me how slow I need to run to get 160bpm, and shows that if I run as fast as I think I should, then I’m very quickly running at/or near my max heartbeat.

Its even harder to gauge your work level on a bike – especially if you want to go for a bit more endurance. I’ve used my HRM to stop me from going off to fast on a long ride ensuring that I have plenty left at the end of a ride.
So I think if you are well trained and fit then maybe you might not have a use for it, but for most people they are dead handy.

bendover: I don’t understand that at all. Is that because you have an odd heart rhythm? “most commercial HRM’s” can’t be doubling everyone’s heart rate?

And extreme exertion just pushed you over 100bpm?

bendover: I don’t understand that at all. Is that because you have an odd heart rhythm? “most commercial HRM’s” can’t be doubling everyone’s heart rate?

And extreme exertion just pushed you over 100bpm?

Me too, extreme exertion could take you to 200 ish, a very rough estimate of your max HR is 220 minus your age (although fit people can get near 220). So Without knowing your age and fitness level I dunno but a fit 40 year old may well get 200. I’m fat and crap and 30 and feel like death if my hr gets to 190.

If you exert hard and only get 100 then you are either superhuman, a liar, or have been misguided by your doctor. I suggest the latter.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate#Maximum

in B you will feel knackered and legs will be screaming at you

Not necesarily, in the same way that one symptom of over training is the inability to sleep!
It would appear simple however with athletes who are striving to improve being “tired” is the norm and the difference between that and being a “bit more” tired is sometimes not obvious.

if I train without a HRM then I get tired fast and overexercise leading to not being able to exercise for a week. with the HRM it surprises me how slow I need to run to get 160bpm, and shows that if I run as fast as I think I should, then I’m very quickly running at/or near my max heartbeat

That was my point really they can be useful IME to hold athletes back.

I am not saying they dont work I am just saying if you use one you have to incorporate it into your regime in a considered way and taking your HRM results against your training over a long period of time. Picking one up once a week is not really going to help IMO

surfer,

If a person is not able to motivate themselves to run hard then a watch bleeping at them wont really change that.

Maybe, we’ll see! For £37, it’s worth a go.