Which Heart Rate Monitor Should I Get?

by Trinette

I was wondering if you could help guide me in finding a heart rate monitor.
There are so many out there!
Do you know anything about the strapless ones?
MIO and Reebok both have them. I was thinking they would be less cumbersome. I am training for a half marathon.
Thanks so much for your time.


Answer by Dominique:


Hi Trinette,
I'll do my best to help you.
Strapless ones are less cumbersome at first. The first few times you wear the breast strap it is quite annoying. But as you get used to it you notice it less and less.
Disadvantage of a strapless heart rate monitor is that if you are running with other runners your heart rate monitor can pick up somebody else's heart rate and not your own.
So if you often run in a group, then make sure to take that into account.

Mio and Reebok have both been around for a good while. You can't go wrong with either of them.

Just make sure you check the features of both (including price) and see what comes closest to what you want. I have tried to list my most wanted heart rate monitor features (click this link).

If you are interested in some reviews, check these pages:

Garmin Heart Rate Monitors

Polar Heart Rate Monitors

Nike Heart Rate Monitors

I have had great pleasure of my Timex heart rate monitor. Amongst heart rate monitors with breast straps, the Timex heart rate monitors have got to be amongst those with the best value for money.

Hmmm, what else to tell you; if you are regularly doing pyramids or tempo changes you might want to have a look at pre-programmability so that the target zones change over time and you don't have to do a lot of fiddling while running. It is possible, I do it, but sometimes wish I wouldn't have to.
Check for a backlight if you are often running in the dark.

And that's about it. Unless you want something more fancy (GPS distance measures etc.) pretty much all basic heart rate monitors will do what you want. But always check the list of features for details. And ask the supplier if you are unsure if a certain feature is included.

Hope this helps a bit.
Good luck,
Dominique
P.S. Good luck with your half marathon training. It's a great distance !