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?
I was thinking they would be less cumbersome.

I am training for a half marathon.
Thanks so much for your time.


Answer by Dom:


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 your heart rate is measured less accurately. That's why I'd always go for a heart rate monitor with strap.



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

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 used to do it when these features came at a premium, but sometimes wish I wouldn't have had to.

Check for a backlight if you are often running in the dark.

And that's about it. Unless you want something more fancy, 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,
Dom

P.S. Good luck with your half marathon training. It's a great distance!