Quote Originally Posted by Red Rock View Post
Thank you Colby. I have been looking at them. The Polar that is. I really do not need many features. I guess it is not hard to add on the list of things to have when running or cycling and use. It's the use part that I was wondering about. Once you have your parameters set up, it should be easy to use from there.

Thank you,
Red Rock
Well, I had to start wearing a HRM and watch my exertion because of a heart condition. Most HRMs come out of the box with a basic HR calculation based off of age, etc. You may find that you don't fit that 'mold'. I set mine to alarm about 5 bpm below where I start experiencing heart related symptoms. That gives me enough warning that I can back off on my effort level to keep from crossing the threshhold.

I have a Garmin 310XT, mainly because it has a vibrating alarm (I couldn't always hear my old Reebok HRM). Prior to that, my Reebok HRM worked just fine for most situations. I don't have any experience with Polar HRMs, but when I was investigating, I would've gone with one that has the coded strap transmitter to cut back on crosstalk, particularly at the gym.

A lot of it will just be learning where you're most comfortable. After awhile, you'll figure out how to stay in your 'zones' without the HRM just based on how you feel.