[mayweather]

Hi guys,
Next week I am starting a 12 week aerobic endurance plan. I get discount of certain watches and models through my health care insurers, i am not sure what to go for and if these discounts are worth availing.

for reference, here are some of the discounts i can use.

Vitality discount POLAR
40% off selected fitness devices M460, V650
30% off selected fitness devices OH1, M200, H10, M430, A370
25% off selected fitness devices Vantage M, Vantage V, Ignite, H9, Grit X, Unite

GARMIN

40% off selected wellness devices vívofit jr 2, vívosport, vívomove HR, Garmin Index™ Smart Scale, fēnix 5 Plus (5S/5/5X)
30% off selected fitness devices vívofit 4, vívosmart 4, vívoactive 3, Forerunner 35, Approach S60
25% off selected devices vívomove 3, vívoactive 4, Venu™, Forerunner 45S/45, Forerunner 245/245 Music, Forerunner 645 Music, Garmin Swim™ 2, Edge® 130 Plus, Edge 520 Plus, Edge 530, Edge 830, Edge 1030 Plus, Approach S10, Approach S40, Instinct™
20% off selected devices fēnix 6 (6S/6/6X), Forerunner® 945

thanks

stef

PS. Alternatively I can get an Apple 6 fitness watch cheap through my health care insurance which I believe can be paired with a good HRM strap for accurate readings?

 

 

 

Topic

[pablo]

Optical is good but straps
Optical is good but straps are normally a little more reliable. Training by heart rate I find really hard (I train with power now). The heart rate zones don’t really work for me my heart rate pickups so fast trying to judge an effort is next to impossible to even hit a zone and maintain it. I personally think RPE is far better than watching heart rate unless all you plan to do is ride at steady state. LTP (lower threshold power) is the only one I can relate to heart rate and even then it’s more of an interesting fact than useful.

[jacknorell]

From experience the
From experience the consistency of optical HR measurements is awful and on top often very laggy… Chest straps work extremely well in comparison

[jacknorell]

You missed that I’m saying to
You missed that I’m saying to get a chest strap to use with the watch… The 35 is the cheapest watch that I know works 100% with a strap. Wrist optical HR is terrible for accuracy.

[mtbtomo]

I agree with this too.
I agree with this too. Consistency of training will give the biggest benefit, not whether your heart rate is a few beats more or less than what a monitor tells you. Have a read up on perception of effort scores, if the plan majors on efforts that are aerobic then that’s an elevated heart rate/effort that you should feel capable of sustaining for a few hours. More formal RPE level descriptions will probably give you a better description. Legs might have a bit of a draggy feeling as you get more tired over the course of a session.

I have a Wahoo bike computer paired to a Decathlon HR strap, and also a basic Garmin watch. When I compare the two they’re pretty similar – definitely NOT that far out that one tells me I’m in the zone 2 and the other says zone 5!

I doubt you can go wrong with either Polar or Garmin, choose the one with the features and design you like.

[d10brp]

I have had a Polar OH1 for a

I have had a Polar OH1 for a couple of years and love it. Never fancied wearing a chest strap and wrist watch sensors tend to suffer from poor contact so an OH1 on my forearm, paired with my Garmin 530 is perfect for racking up the vitality points.

I originally got my Polar OH1 in a bundle deal with a V650 which works out pretty good value with the vitality discount but the V650 is terrible for navigation so sold that after a bit and got a Garmin.

[don simon fbpe]

Polar chest straps (years)

Polar chest straps (years) are way better than Garmin chest straps (months).

[Anonymous]

jacknorell wrote:

jacknorell wrote:

If you’re looking at mainly heart rate training get the Forerunner 35 and a chest strap HR monitor. I like the Wahoo Tickr.

Forerunner 35 is an optical wrist sensor – I have a Forerunner 30 which is basically the same watch and while it’s fine as an ‘activity tracker’, sleep and steps etc, it’s utter rubbish as an ‘exercise watch’ – takes about five minutes for the HR sensor to ‘tune in’ to the fact you’re exercising and drops out every few minutes, pointless.

I agree the Wahoo Tickr is brilliant though, it’s what I use now.

[OnTheRopes]

I use a Garmin 520 with HR

I use a Garmin 520 with HR chest strap, I find it reliable and use HR most of the time when training aerobically.

[Secret_squirrel]

I personally wouldnt waste

I personally wouldnt waste your time with a chest strap as the optical wrist and arm sensors are now so good.

Bear in mind you dont actually need good accuracy more than you need good consistency for training, as all you need to know is that your heart is in the same zone on each training session.

You seem to be looking at mostly watches – is that what you really want?  Bear in mind you need to consider where you display your HR data.   A watch makes a lousy cycle computer IMO coz its in the wrong place to see the screen.

If you want a new watch – get one, but be careful as the watches dont always integrate well as sensors to your cycle computer (if you have one).   Case in point – my lower end Garmin watch has to be put into “broadcast mode” to be used as an HR sensor and only 1 of my many (non-garmin) recieving devices reliably pics it up even though its meant to be standard bluetooth.

After messing around for ages I ended up with using the watch for watchy & basic excercise stuff and an optical arm band (tickr Fit) for HR training stuff.  I find there is a lot less fannying about with an arm band than a chest strap, because the order you put it on doesnt matter.  YMMV. 

[PRSboy]

I had poor experiences with

I had poor experiences with the ‘soft’ Garmin HR monitors.  I had three of them, all failed in normal use.  The ‘hard’ one has lasted years, but not available any more. 

[jacknorell]

If you’re looking at mainly
If you’re looking at mainly heart rate training get the Forerunner 35 and a chest strap HR monitor. I like the Wahoo Tickr.

[Author]

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