heart rate monitors

From the looks of things around here, it might as well be Jan. 1.

People are popping up everywhere, running, cycling, walking. In other words, shaking off the the winter blahs and getting outside as the days become longer and the temperatures moderate. Bears aren't the only mammals to come out of hibernation in the spring. But unlike those furry creatures, humans don't lose weight when they hibernate -- they store it. OK, maybe you're a little overweight and creeky in the joints.

HeartZones 101 Week #7 -- Planning!

 

Well, we're up to week #7 of our introduction to HeartZones. You've learned a lot. You've learned how to find your maximum heart rate, what "Zones" are and how they feel.

You should be feeling better and more confident as well as we come to the end of my planned training for you. There's some fun workouts this week, along with an idea that just might help you squeeze in your workouts without even knowing it -- it's called Workout to Work and involves getting to your job under your own power.

HeartZones: 101 Week Six

One of the best ways to get fitter is to constantly take small fitness steps. One of these systems is called Kaizen, whcih means (loosely) small constant change.

"Kaizen" is a Japanese expression for constant small improvements. In other words, there is a great deal of value in a program that makes a 1% improvement 100 times, resulting in more than a 100% improvement.

OK, kids, workouts for Week #2 are now posted at Hearzones 101.

If you're like most people, you learned a lot about yourself and how you work out in Week #1. I remember a few years ago, when I did sub-max tests on participants in our health club's studio cycling program. One of the, whom I'd known for years, came up to me after the class and said "Gee, my max is a lot higher than I thought." It turned out she was working with a age-based formula number that had her some 20 beats below what it should have been.

If you haven't put a heart rate monitor on your Christmas wish list, here's another reason why you should.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends heart rate be monitored during all exercise to determine the appropriate amount of exertion for each individual. Don't know where to start? Well, that's where we come in.

OK, you've been working with Heart Zones and your monitor for some time, but now you want to move to the next step. Well, here we go.

We're going to introduce you to an easy form of periodization training, called the Training Tree. Each branch represents one progression which leads to improvement because of the body’s response to increased training load and adaptation.

Here are the branches of the tree and a sample of how you might structure a training plan. Here's where you should start.

From PRnewswire

Polar Electro, the world leader in heart rate monitors and fitness technology has announced a partnership with "The Global Learning Series," an education-focused, issue-oriented public television program.

Polar will be featured in "Understanding Obesity," a new program in the series that will focus on educating viewers on the causes and potential solutions in combating the latest obesity crisis in America.

I LOVE toys. There's nothing I like more than playing with a new piece of technology that promises to give me data.

That's why I was so excited to get a review unit of the Garmin Forerunner 305 to try out for a month. The GPS unit promised more accurate positioning than my Polar 625X speed and distance system. I also wanted to try the motionbased.com web site where you can upload sessions and use map overlays. More about that in my next blog.

While the units may be a bit pricey for the average consumer (305 goes for about $375 and has a heart rate monitor. The 205 is about $100 less) The units provide a dizzying array of information.

I'm sitting on a spin bike at the gym and another sweaty body walks up and asks about my heart rate monitor.

He says he's been doing some research online and he's now totally confused about what to buy. My first response is "this one," meaning my Polar S625X. But then I take a second to think and I realize that there is no "best" heart rate monitor. There is only the "best one for the job you want to do." So, here's the rub. You need to know what you want to do with a heart rate monitor before you buy one.

Here we go, kids. You've taken your sub-max tests and now you have a new set of zone heart rate numbers to work with. (IF you have NOT done this, go back to my previous posts and get up to speed)

If you've read "The Meaning of the 5 Zones ," you know that each zone has its benefits. If you're like me, you like to spend a lot of time in Zone 4. I know, it's the endorphins.