Are heart rate monitors really useful?

is there good reason to use hr monitors, do they acatually help you?

Are heart rate monitors really useful?

Self-monitoring is very imporant in running, particularly the more you run and the more you race, but I think using a heart-rate monitor is a waste of money and a crutch. There are very easy and free ways to monitor your pace and heart rate on your own, and because you%26#039;re doing them on your own, you%26#039;ll start to understand how you%26#039;re supposed to feel on an easy run, doing intervals, or in oxygen debt.

The vast majority of runners run similar routes all the time, so you get a good idea of where mile markers and how long certain stretches of the run should take. A lot of greenways even have distances marked off, so you know what your mile pace is, and you can always do your intervals on a track or on a loop of road that you%26#039;ve measured with a bike or car. After a while, you should have a pretty good idea if you%26#039;re running 5:30 or 7:00 or 8:45 pace. If you%26#039;ve been running for several years, you%26#039;ll probably find that you can guess your mile pace within 10 seconds just by the way you feel.

Then, if you%26#039;re particularly concerned with your heart rate, manually check your pulse between intervals or when you stop to stretch. Time it out for fifteen seconds and count. Multiply by four to get your pulse. It won%26#039;t take long until you get a pretty innate sense for that as well. And be aware that those generic heart rate charts that you see in gyms may not apply to you. If you%26#039;ve just started running, what a heart rate monitor might call intermediate might be a hard workout for you, and that%26#039;s okay. Or if you%26#039;ve been at it a while, your intervals might take you way past the stress levels of a standard heart rate monitor.

And honestly, you shouldn%26#039;t need a computer to tell you when you%26#039;re in oxygen debt.

Are heart rate monitors really useful?

some people find them very useful, I dont.

you have to decide if the cost of one (several hundred dollars possibly) is worth it to you. for professional athletes, it is. For most high school, college, and amateurs, its not.

Are heart rate monitors really useful?

I have runners/triathletes swear by them, but they are gauged in getting maximum effort in portions of workouts and know the target areas they want.

But it can also be a bummer; when I road raced, I had one runner drop off the pace a small pack we were in because he felt his heart rate was too far up for the front two miles of the 10k!

The heart monitors are good, but I feel for athletes looking for specific data for workouts/races.

Are heart rate monitors really useful?

A lot of my running buddies who train to run marathons use GPS devices to measure the distance and pace of their runs. Oftentimes, they get them with the heart rate monitors. For the first few weeks to a month or so, they keep checking their stats every chance they get. At a certain point, it becomes information overload. The use of the heart rate monitors trail off after a while, but the distance and pace (and mapping these results) remain essential for training. Also, the heart rate monitor straps that you have to wear on your chest (the only way to get reliable results) gets cumbersome, although you do get used to it.

I%26#039;m sure it%26#039;s great if you%26#039;re a professional athlete or just overly enthusiastic about your sport. However, for the rest of us, I just don%26#039;t really see much of a point.

Are heart rate monitors really useful?

Yes, you could visually see if you are pushing your pace or simply going easy.

However, if you could push hard without a heart rate monitor, then it%26#039;s not necessary.

I used for for cross country, but they got uncomfortable, due to stitch pains around the upper stomach region, so I quit using them. Sometimes they could just get in the way. The straps often fall loose, then you have to tighten them. Sometimes they even fall off!

Are heart rate monitors really useful?

I find them very useful. One of the biggest advantages to me was being an effective gauge to build up my lactate threshold gradually to a higher hr. I think that%26#039;s too hard to do and to monitor without a heart rate monitor.

Are heart rate monitors really useful?

sure. they tell you how hard you are actually pushing yourself. dont buy a heart monitor, though, unless you are like a 4 minute miler. just buy a watch that tells pulse.