Heart Rate Monitors

Anyone here use a heart rate monitor? I just bought myself a Polar S510. It's an awesome training partner! Heart rate monitor and cycling computer in one. IMHO, if you are serious about your training and cycling, get yourself a heart rate monitor!

http://www.polar.fi/productfinder/serious/S510.shtml

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I dont have one goh they are expensive i mean for a decent one. Also im a bit slow so what advantage is a heart rate monitor? i always though a heart rate monitor was for old dudes who wanted to avoid heart attacks ;D ;D

For it to be healp if it gave you a map elevation distance and speed varing speed you could see where you need to improve but this sort of moitors price would give you a heart attack too. ;D

Im not saying i know it all though so whats the advantage of just a heart rate monitor  ???

Our muscles use different energy sources under different intensities of effort. When you really stress your body and reach the limit of your aerobic fitness, your muscles start using anaerobic sources (this usually starts happening when your heart starts beating at round about 82-83% of your max heart rate), which leads to lactic acid build-up (the burning sensation in your legs), causing damage to the muscles and other side effects.
When you know where these limits are, then it's easier to know when to slow down and when to push. The higher your aerobic fitness level, the more you can push and still use aerobic energy.

The secret to improving your cycling condition is to balance your overload training and rest and recovery i.e knowing when to train hard and when to rest and recover. The only accurate way to do this is to use a heart rate monitor to plot your condition.

A decade ago no one in cycling had ever heard of them. Now bike racers around the world, from Lance Armstrong to local hotshots and time trialists, consider them indispensable for training and competition.

And no wonder. Heart rate monitors precisely measure the intensity of your activity and thus help you to avoid expending too much - or too little - energy.

The strength of your heart is the most important reason to maintain fitness; fortunately, it is one of the easiest fitness goals to achieve. The heart is a muscle. The heart is always functioning and, therefore, maintaining itself, unfortunately at a relativly low level in many people. But, like any muscle, when periods of exercise are applied regularly, its capacity will gradually increase so that it can deal with new tasks without strain.

If you work regularly at certain levels of intensity as measured by your heart rate, certain improvements in your fitness levels will occur - from toning muscles or losing weight to building a stronger heart or developing peak performance. These levels of effort are called Target Heart Rate Zones. Here's what they look like on a chart:

Target Heart Rate Zone
Percentage of Maximum Heart Rate

50 - 60 % ---------- Moderate Activity Zone

60 - 70 % ---------- Weight Management Zone

70 - 80 % ---------- Aerobic Training Zone

80 - 100 % -------- Competitive Training Zone

You must determine your indvidual Target Heart Rate Zone first before you start training. To determine your maximum heart rate, you can do it in one of two ways.

1. Having it tested at a lab or gym that have the facilities.

2. The easiest option is to estimate your maximum heart rate based on a formula (note that this is not your true max. heart rate) which has been established, take the number 220, and subtract your age in years. eg. If you're 45 then it's 220 - 45 = 175. So your max. heart rate is 175 bpm (beats per min.)

So Nicholas, training with a heart rate monitor has many advantages. It's going to help you train properly. You will be able to establish your diferent fitness levels. You will be able to train at certain intensities without guessing. This means that if you want to improve your endurance levels, for example, you can set upper and lower limits on your monitor and train within those limits. Your two hour training session gains much more meaning now.

There are many good monitors out there that are not so expensive, and offer many of the features of more expensive models.

(Part of this post was taken from the cyclelab.com website and sacycling mag. Thanks to Andrew McLean and Gary Beneke)

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Bought myself a S510 with the optional cadence sensor at the end of August. I have been using this to great effect in my training for the 94.7 .

I do a hard hill training session in the evenings, then the next morning I cycle on my trainer at 60-70% max. This allows the legs to recover from the previous day.

I've also been plotting my training using PC coach and it is very rewarding to see.

too many riders get bogged down by heart rates, training zones etc.

most people who have been riding a few years know their bodies well enough to know what pace they can keep up over the period of an endurance ride or what pace to aim for doing intervals.

imho heart rate monitors are only useful for recovery rides - they can stop you going too hard.

for every other kind of session the HRM should be in the back pocket (a tactic reccomended by plenty of european coaches) where it won't be a distraction to the task in hand - that of pedalling.

there's always the risk with HRMs that the rider becomes so reliant that they can no longer race on "feel".  if you're off the front of road race, heading for a solo victory and you look at your HRM and think, "****, i'm 5bpm over threshold, I should slow down"  you're not going to win the race. simple as that.

Wise words Andy. I have switched the thresh hold warning beep off on mine because it just irritates me.

Mine has a speed and cadense sensor and I use these features more in a race than the actuall heart rate side.

I however find it very useful in training.

I've been using one for about 7 years now. But as Andy says it's easy to become too reliant on the thing and allow it to limit you. I monitor it religously on recovery rides and when doing intervals but besides that i try to listen to my body.

I hear Polar is coming out with an HRM/cyclocomputer/SRM in one! It can measure watts by measuring the force excerted on the chain. Now, if you have the money, you can train like the pros!

As for me, I just want the Polar A1, but I can't even find it here.

if I'm not mistaken I think this is the S710. Very nice but a little over the top for my needs right now.

Has anyone bought the S710 yet? Can anyone confirm whether the optional cadence sensor and power sensor are two different sensors? Does anyone have an idea of the price of these sensors, or the price of the Polar IR-adapter for downloading the data to a PC?

From what I understand, the Polar website indicates these sensors as seperate and optional add-ons, but I could be mistaken. Why don't you give the Cyclelab guys a buzz? They'll probably give you all the info and pricing you want.

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As far as I know the cadence sensor for the 510 is the same as for the 710. I paid +/- R300 for mine. But VO2 is right, give Cycelab a call, they are extremely clued up on Polar.

I have spoken to Cyclelab earlier. I just wanted to confirm with someone else.

The Cyclelab website does not explicitly say that the power sensor is optional. It does however mention that the cadence sensor is optional.

According to Cyclelab the power sensor is still tested by Polar and will be available in December. But if I am not mistaken, Douglas Ryder was talking about his heart rate monitor on one of first SupaCycling programmes after the Argus, and was talking about how he can practise his pedal stroke using his heart rate monitor, because it can calculate the left/right power ratio.

What heart rate monitor besides the Polar S710 can do that?

The S510 has optional cadence, but not power sensor.
I don't think you'll find another product that's capable of offering you what the S710 does.

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Pain is inevitable...suffering is optional

Nic,

You'll find abit of info at http://www.pursuit-performance.com.au/sseries.htm

the s710 is awesome, I think I might order one this week  ;D
My current HRM is about 3 or 4 years old hehe time for an upgrade.

a 710 will set you back about $599 and a 510 costs about $499

cheers!