Do you us a hart rate monitor?

[Spectrum Bob]

I am curious how people are using their hart rate monitors.
I used one religisly for years. One time even went through the testing to have my zones charted. I stopped using it a year and a half ago and haven’t missed it...
My wife wanted to buy me a new sports watch and ended up getting me a Nike with a hart rate monitor so now I am reevaluating them to see if I should keep it or not.
I am a recreational rider that will log about 4000 miles this year.
Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

[Andreu]

quite a bit (at a low level) and have phases where I use it and then get bored and just use it to chart time and/or record other banal data like mileage and altitude. I know by feel when I am at threshold or what is happening at the high end....but in a race or out training what do you do ease back and lose wheels?
The HRM can help at the high end but I have found that using one helps especially when you want to take it easy or rest or make sure you are well rested.
I will start using mine again when I have rested up, smoked cigars, drank fine wine and eaten some lard..which will be after Christmas.
A

[zap]

I use mine rarely. Just use it once or twice a year to get familiar with heart rate/effort perception.

Hey, I'm not trying to go pro, so I like to keep it simple.

[William]

I have always had the "Pantani" frame of mind on heart rate monitors. Never used one, most likely never will. I don need no steengkeen heat rate monitor beeping at me everytime I'm pushing it up a climb. Really, my gauge is the person trying to beat me. :D

I have been involved in competive sports long enough that I know when I'm at the threshold. I have a good sense of where I'm at on that end. Taking Andrue's comment though, It would be of good use to make sure I'm not pushing too hard during the easy phase.


BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!! :crap:


William


William

[bags27]

I've used one pretty religiously in the late winter and early spring months, to get a sense of my conditioning. Once we roll toward summer and I'm pretty much in condition, I seem never to use it.

[coylifut]

I mostly use it as a govenor on my easy days. I also use it when doing intervals (I have to admit, I'd rather race into shape then do em). So yes I use it, but I don't take it too seriously. I leave it off the bike during races, can't bare to look at it.

[Len J]

I am curious how people are using their hart rate monitors.
I used one religisly for years. One time even went through the testing to have my zones charted. I stopped using it a year and a half ago and haven’t missed it...
My wife wanted to buy me a new sports watch and ended up getting me a Nike with a hart rate monitor so now I am reevaluating them to see if I should keep it or not.
I am a recreational rider that will log about 4000 miles this year.
Any insight will be greatly appreciated.


I use one on every ride. I have a Polar 720I tht is also my bike computer.

I got it 2 years ago when I decided to work the freil Program for a year to see if it improved my fitness significantly............It did. I learned a ton about what type of riding I needed to do to imrove my aerobic fitness, what type of riding to imrpove my on bike strength and what type to imrpove my strength endurance.......which were the things that were most appropriate for my type of riding which is several hour endurnce riding.

Since that time, I have hade uch less time to ride due to work travel. This year I'll end up with 4,000 + miles riding only on weekends. Using a heart rate monitor helps me not only access my fitness but it also helps me use my riding time effeciently to maintain a certain level of fitness. I learned more about both how my body reacts to different types of riding but also about the proper way to train me during that year trying to follow Freol's program.

I watch my heart rate now to validate what I thinkmy body is telling me. It's amazing how many times it says something different than I expect......especially when I haven't been sleeping well.

It's a great tool.....just don't get addicted to it.

Len

[Ozz]

I use one on most rides (Polar 520), but mainly just for info...It has a function that tracks calories burned...which lets me know how much I can pig out when I get home! :beer:

I think it is easy to go hard, and know when you are pushing yourself, so you don't really need a HR monitor for that.

What is hard for me, is for recovery rides not to push too hard. A HR monitor helps me to keep in check.

I also use it for "spinning" classes since the instructors tend to focus on HR Zones...

[Jack Brunk]

I use my monitor in the early season to monitor my lower heart rate zones. I stop using the monitor once the season starts. I know my heart rate within 2-3 beats based on exertion levels.

Jack

[slowgoing]

Always, especially on century or double century days so I don't spend too much time in the red zone and blow up later. Plus it really helps maintain training in the desired zones. If I wasn't training for specific events and was just out for general fitness, I probably wouldn't use one so religiously.

[kestrel]

I never use it on group rides. The group dictates my heart rate.
I do use it to be certain I'm going easy on my easy days.
I occasionally use it on solo rides just to stay honest.

[vaxn8r]

I'm with William. Never used one. Never will. I am a data junkie but I know when I'm gonna blow and I know when I'm sitting in. Plus, I have a little computer thingee in the handlebars that tells me average speed and as long as I keep it over 25 mph, I know I'm riding "Jerk approved" speed.

[keno]

but mostly to see how ride average bpms look alongside ride average watts on the Power Tap. You know I like the PT for training, which has a heart rate function. I have noticed that, over time, average watts have gone up on similar rides while average bpms have gone down. That's a good thing. When that trend reverses, I will throw out the heart monitor strap.

I have a Polar 710 which has something they call a Fitness Test function, which the manual tells us relates to V02 max. I don't use the monitor anymore except to do that test once in a while. Currently, the test indicates that my heart would work well in a much younger, fit body. When that result ceases to occur, I will throw the 710 out.

I guess it would be fair to say that race or event preparation aside, watts are much more interesting to me than bpms.

keno

[Dr. Doofus]

Your Doctor sides with that Louse-Like Liar of Latium, Mr. Ferrari, that if one had to choose one over the other, it would be the HRM. If one wants to do it correctly, yes, look at the relationship between watts/HR/blood pH...but as he is cheap and won't buy the watt toys, your Doctor prefers HR...yes, environment can affect HR, but one's max is still one's max...and as the aformentioned Erudite Emmisary of EPO knows, not all watts are created equal...but the HR monitor always indicates what percentage of your body's available "internal" resources you are using.

[dirtdigger88]

According to my wife I do not have a heart. :butt:

Jason

[flydhest]

keno actually uses one to make sure his heart is still beating and he's still alive. but then again, how could you tell?

[keno]

because I so cute and sexy.

keno

[Sandy]

You can tell when you are trying to catch up with him. He motors along at a very impressive pace, until he no longer remembers where he is trying to go.

I wear a heart rate monitor most all the time. I started using one, more as an experiment. Spin classes, that I attend in the winter, are held in a room that is often very warm, and hence I always use the heart rate monitor there, as my pulse rate tends to get very high for my age, sometimes into the mid 150 range (my age is almost 64). My identical twin brother is a cardiologist and tells me that there is no reason for me to allow my pulse to go much above 130-135. At those levels, I could never keep up with those that I ride with at all. So I do let my heart rate go considerably higher. I have often seen it in the 150-155 range and have seen it at 161-162, which was higher than I think it reached in a recent (last year or so) thalium stress test that I took. I do not use the heart rate monitor for any training regime, as those who ride with me know, my riding style does not even make sense. I use it to start to back off when it is in the 152-155 range.

Fydhest, do you think that a computer would help me in training??


Beep, beep, beep,......


The Big Bopper,


Sandy

[Sandy]

Cute, you are not!! :)

Sexy, you are not!! :)

Fast, you are! :)


Sexy Suave Sensual Sophisticated Sandy

[keno]

maybe because I so fast you not see I cute and I sexy.

keno

[Sandy]

You need glasses!!!


Sandy

[Sandy]

With a real powerful prescription.

Seeing Eye Dog Sandy

[keno]

you make keno's feelings hurt awful. You mean. boo hoo.

keno

[Sandy]

Sandy Sorry.

Sandy So Sorry.


So Sorry Sandy