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Hello,
I am in rehab but I have graduated to the next phase of it, meaning, I no longer have to wear leads and have a telemetry box. This also means I can't see my heart rate and my doc doesn't want it over 138 yet.
So, I want to get one of those Polar bands and watches and was wondering if anyone else has one and has any recommendations. Also wondering if that is the only brand that makes them.
Thanks,
GraceAnn
Hi GraceAnn,
I have a Polar monitor, the FS2 model. It works great. I used it during the last month of rehab and for exercise at home. At rehab, most of the machines will pick up and display the signal from the Polar, so it's really convenient - I don't even have to look at my wrist. I really wanted it for home exercise, so I could be careful to stay in my target heart rate zone. This model has a feature where you can set the lower and upper ends of your target heart range. There's a beeping alarm (which you can turn off if you want) to let you know when you are outside of the range at either end. I'm sure there are other brands, but Polar seems to be the dominant one. I like this one a lot and it works well for me. I wouldn't exercise without it now.
For Mother's Day my gift was a Timex Ironman watch with HRM. Purple. About $100/$110 at the local running store.
I've been happy with it - use it for all my outdoor exercise and at the gym. Used it in the pool a few times, too, and got a reading.
I put tap water on the chest strap before I start my exercise. The numbers on the watch are big enough to read; there are several display modes. I haven't bothered to program it, but there are modes to warn you when you get above or below your target. I just pay attention to how my body feels.
Sometimes I have to pull the band more snugly to get a valid reading - will show me 37 or 40 BPM when I know it's really 84 or 92.
The machines at the gym will typically pick up the signal from my band. I do that sometimes just to compare what the machine displays vs. what the watch displays. It's a digital system so it isn't supposed to pick up other signals. BUT there really are not other people wearing any HRM at my office gym.
We used Polar brand at rehab; the chest pads were smooth and I never put water on them. But I always picked up readings from other people, made it nearly pointless.
My cardiologist also told me it was not necessary to have a HRM (after I'd already gotten it!). He said if you are breathing hard, getting sweaty, that's what he wants. Still, I am a big geek and love the feedback so it helps me to be motivated.
Thank you for the posts. I actually ordered the Timex Pacer Heart Monitor T5G971
http://www.heartmonitors.com/timex-personal-heart-monitor-t5g971.html
I spoke with the customer service rep at length and he recommended this one for the functions I wanted and also said it was an award winner. He also gave me a discount because I mentioned I was a cardiac patient in rehab.
It ships 1-3 days for free so I'll let you know how it goes!
Thanks for the replies!
I especially want to see how my heart rate increases when I am yelling at my son since that is mostly when I get tightening and angina. Does anyone else have that problem?
Heart hugs,
GraceAnn
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