Hi looking to purchase a heart rate monitor for riding,walking ,pram pushing etc
need to shift some weaight after 6 months out with pro lapsed disc.
what works for you then folks?
wish list
cheapish
time
alarm
date
heart rate
zone alrms
thanks dtd
Decathlon do some reasonably priced stuff, I got one with the intention of being more scientific and setting an upper limit for enduro events to help pace myself. Didn't happen but it was interesting enough to play with and worked well enough. Just choose the one that has your requirements...
2nd Decathlon, not as good as Polar but a lot cheaper.
http://www.heartratemonitor.co.uk/
I've used this lot a couple of times. Best prices, good honest range covering the big brands and always had great service.
A HRM is pointless IMO for weight-loss, they're useful for training at higher intensities not to make sure you're in a mythical fat-burning zone when walking/bimbling along.
What FuzzyWuzzy said.
If only owning a HR monitor would equal weight loss!
Eat less, slightly smaller portions, push the pram a bit quicker.
For these and others, a HR monitor is a complete red herring!
You might as well take a calculator with you into Tesco's and work out calories before you put things in your trolley (I've seen it!.
You need a machine to tell you you're exercising enough ?
A HRM is pointless IMO for weight-loss, they're useful for training at higher intensities not to make sure you're in a mythical fat-burning zone when walking/bimbling along.
However, if you train in the right zones for long enough, you will enable your body to burn fat more efficiently. This has the double advantage of ensuring you burn more fat and you have more stamina towards the end of your rides. They seem worthy.
You need a machine to tell you you're exercising enough ?
Perhaps the OP just wants to make best use of his available time?
you will enable your body to burn fat more efficiently.
surely you mean less efficiently? if you burnt it more efficiently you wouldn't use up so much... not that the number of calories per gramme of fat is in any way adjustable.
big fat waste of money
no need to spend money to lose fat
you just missed Lidl's offer, they had some in for £10 a few weeks back
A HRM is pointless IMO for weight-loss, they're useful for training at higher intensities not to make sure you're in a mythical fat-burning zone when walking/bimbling along.
Not mythical, people just get it wrong:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/01/exercise-and-weight-loss-part-3-fat.html
Though for some people HR will have no relation to VO2max
What FuzzyWuzzy said. +1
The whole fat burning zone thing is largely a myth sold based on misunderstanding and the desire to sell people gym membership/equipment on the promise that low intensity (eg none of that nasty getting out of breath, sweating lots and getting tired) is actually best.
Fat burning zone exercise uses a higher proportion of fat than training at higher intensities which rely more on carbs but training at higher intensities still uses fat too (the body just can't generate enough energy quickly enough from fat alone) and you burn more energy in total so you lose more weight (assuming you don't stuff your face more 
).
You can dress it up but fundamentally, burn more calories and eat less and you'll lose weight. You can fine tune that to some extent (as the link above details) to make your body burn fat more efficiently/quicker but the basics still hold true.
#default STW answer alert#
Move more, eat less. 
simonfbarnes - Membersurely you mean less efficiently? if you burnt it more efficiently you wouldn't use up so much... not that the number of calories per gramme of fat is in any way adjustable.
No. I know what I meant - read the nice like provided by the nice man. You want to burn fat and not glycogen. You can train your body to burn more fat for longer ie closer to your anaerobic threshold. This enables you to sustain your rides for longer at a higher pace and recover from the hills etc at a higher heart rate than if you don't do this lower level training. It is why long base level rides are so important for elite cyclists - it stops them bonking 2/3 of the way round a race.
You can train your body to burn more fat for longer ie closer to your anaerobic threshold.
this sounds fancy but what has anaerobic metabolism got to do with fat ?
You want to burn fat and not glycogen
surely that's very easy as reserves of the latter are quite small ?
It is why long base level rides are so important for elite cyclists - it stops them bonking 2/3 of the way round a race
I don't buy that at all, the intensities are completely different.
EDIT and back on topic, if using an HRM is a good motivator for exercise & thus weight loss, why not?
I use a Polar I got sh off ebay for £30 when my chest strap died.
How much of this will have a significant performance affect on pushing a pram?
You need a machine to tell you you're exercising enough ?
Yes, I call them 'scales'.
Don't know why you're all jumping on the OP, it's a worthwhile investment for when they've recovered and moved on to more intensive workouts.. especially the Lidl special for around a tenner.
if using an HRM is a good motivator for exercise
here's an idea - a sort of 2 wheeled portable exercise machine for using outdoors - it might be fun too - do you think it might catch on ?
It is why long base level rides are so important for elite cyclists - it stops them bonking 2/3 of the way round a race
only partly right. It also allows them to do volume which they couldn't do at higher intensities because of the time it takes to recover.
A lot of pro teams are moving away from long endurance sessions anyway, the team coaches believe you can achieve as much from 3-4 hour rides with properly designed internals than you can get from traditional 5-8 hour steady state rides. And by 'achieve as much' I mean training to be able to race for 6-7 hours as some classics/long stages are.
Question: How did we ever survive / exercise before modern tecnology took our disposable income I'll never know!
You're baking up the wrong tree. Just exrecise - a HR monitor is a great distraction and a toy - I have had 2 for a few years and they're soon to be seen on eBay!
Question: How did we ever survive / exercise before modern tecnology took our disposable income I'll never know!
+1
How did we survive without titanium frames? 
I know I'm struggling with my alu framed bikes.
+1 to what fuzzywuzzy says - it seemed like i was 15 years ahead of the competition - when i coached, the longest rides i gave clients were 3.5 hours. three of them won stages of the tour, or Le Tour in case you think i mean the tour of the cotswolds. two have worn the yellow jersey.
long rides are used for enhancing the efficiency of the neural drive, not for CV fitness.
all the talk of fat burning zones to lose weight is complete and utter bullshit, but you guys never want to listen.
repeat after me - high intensity intervals for fat loss and CV/race fitness...
buy an HRM if you want to have some numbers to use as an excuse...
i doubt if I'll post on any of these threads again, pearls before swine etc...
Tam
Wife managed to lose over 2st last year with the aid of a pedometer, a set of scales and calorie counting.
10,000 steps a day is the magic number(for a fem anyway)
She is now using one of those Nike watches with the sender in the shoe.
http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_GB?sitesrc=gblp
Since last Fri I have;
Fri = road biked 30mls
Sat = 3hrs mtb
Sun = 3hrs mtb
Mon = walk 2hrs+1/2hr swim
Tues = 3hrs mtb @ Dalbeattie. Ride out to Mabie, 2hr ride, ride home(7mls), go for a 1/2hr swim
Wed = 2hr walk + some trail building am. 1hr bike +1/2hr swim pm.
Thurs = bike cumute to work(10mls). Work includes hiking up/down 3 floors using stairs. 5ml run + 1/2hr swim
Fri = same as Thurs.
I have lost 0lbs in wieght 
I have lost 0lbs in wieght
so you're eating exactly the right amount
all the talk of fat burning zones to lose weight is complete and utter bullshit, but you guys never want to listen.
I reckon so too. The metabolic system is evolved/designed to be operated by effectively mindless individuals. We have 4 possible sources of energy for our muscles:
1) glycogen, stored in the liver and muscles - but limited to enough for relatively short bursts of activity
2) digestion - rate limited to something like 300 KCal/hr I've read, though this may be suppressed during heavy exercise
3) fat breakdown - that's what it's for, but also limited, according to that article above to ~ 800kCal/hr, though may be a lot lower in many.
4) muscle breakdown - when all the above sources are at max or run out
1100 kCal/hr = 1100.4200/3600 = 1280W ie ~ 250W mechanical output (1/3rd BHP)
as far as I've been able to make out
all the talk of fat burning zones to lose weight is complete and utter bullshit, but you guys never want to listen.repeat after me - high intensity intervals for fat loss and CV/race fitness...
buy an HRM if you want to have some numbers to use as an excuse...
i doubt if I'll post on any of these threads again, pearls before swine etc...
I'm sure it has all been done elsewhere, but can I just check on what you're saying here. When you say high intensity intervals for race fitness you don't mean just high intensity intervals do you? There is still a bulk of steady riding (what used to be called level 2 - though I think current trend is to divide things differently) in there isn't there? I have to admit I don't enjoy intervals all that much so tend to do most of my training as steady efforts - I keep trying to convince myself I should do more intervals, but my base training isn't all wasted is it? I certainly know that I always go well 3 or so weeks after a week of high volume (ie a biking or XC skiing holiday) without an interval in sight.
no, your base training isn't wasted
iDave - a coach last week demonstrated - using live case studies - the improvements in fat breakdown ability through the use of proper training zones and lower HR intensity. This was along with other improvements but it was there to aid recovery during the ride, especially after bursts of high intensity - it brought the ability to recover into the higher HR zones. His aim was to improve the ability to use fat as the energy source longer, thus improving performance overall - not weight loss or fat burning per se. It all seemed reasonable.
Sfb, how much fat burning/weight loss have you achieved sat upon your high horse?? I think the OP's orginal question is a valid one and if he feels that it will aid in recovery/weight loss and fitness after an operation and then ultimately back onto a bike then surely should we not, and I don't know maybe a weird concept to some on here, try and answer the question he asked? Just an idea, you know.
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