The best heart rate monitor for a runner depends on many factors. Are you a beginning runner or a seasoned marathoner? Do you like to receive constant feedback on your progress and advice for your next training sessions?
Your specific running goals will help to find out which heart rate monitor fits you the best.
Another factor to take into account is the budget you want to spend. Prices of heart rate monitors roughly vary between $60 and $600.
No matter which heart rate monitor you are planning to use, never become a slave of your monitor.
Listen to your body as well, not only to the numbers on your screen.
Your Running Goals
To determine the best heart rate monitor for you, identify your specific running goals.
Are you just starting with running? You may find yourself comfortable with a heart rate monitor that just measures your heart rate and where you can set a high and low limit to your heart rate.
Are you training for a marathon and interested in a more advanced model? The best heart rate monitor for you may need an option to transfer the data to your computer.
Effective heart rate monitor training requires a heart rate monitor that exactly fits your needs.
Best Heart Rate Monitors For Beginner Runners
Based on several researches I recommend the following heart rate monitors for beginning runners.
Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor
This HRM will not disappoint you. You can order the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor for less than $50.
The monitor is very easy to program and offers a backlight function. It closely monitors you heart rate during your aerobic exercise and includes an alarm option for low and high heart rates.
The watch and transmitter belt are 30m water resistant, so you can even wear this one in the water. For this price you can’t go wrong!
Polar F6 Heart Rate Monitor
A bit more expensive, but for around $100 you can buy an in between heart rate monitor with a lot of extra features.
The Polar F6 Heart Rate Monitor tracks not only heart rate and time, but it can also create your personalized training zones. The Polar’s OwnZone module uses your heart rate during your warm-up to define this training zone. This way you can better optimize your running performance.
For the rest it has all the basic training features that you will need. The Polar F6 comes in black for men and has several women variants as well.
Best Heart Rate Monitors For Advanced Runners
There are heart rate monitors available that cost up to $600, but most probably there is no need to buy one in this expensive range.
Based on many reviews on different sites and my own experience I have selected two heart rate monitors to consider.
Polar FT60
In comparison to cheaper Polar heart rate monitors, this monitor measures calories burned in addition to heart rate numbers. You can measure speed and distance as well, but therefore you need to buy the G1 GPS Pod separately.
Where other inexpensive Polar monitors need to be sent to a Polar service center for battery replacement, the battery of the Polar FT60 can be manually replaced.
Further you can set weekly goals in relation to improving fitness. The monitor offers an option for heart rate and calories burned goal setting.
The Polar FT60 sells for around $200. The monitor has a special design for men and women.
Suunto t6c
In the heart rate monitor industry Polar’s main competitor is Suunto. The Suunto t6c is known as a high-end monitor. It currently sells for around $350.
Based on my own experience with this monitor, I would say these are the main pros and cons.
Pros:
- Very advanced Training PC software to analyze your workout and to use as input for your next workouts; it is easy to upload the data
- You can see different stats at the same time and switch between the stats during your workout; think about heart rate, time, speed and distance
- Great, smooth design
Cons:
- Expensive
- Backlight doesn’t function that well at night
- Strap sometimes fails to communicate to the heart rate monitor watch; problem disappears if you make the strap a bit wet before using it
For some people the number of features and menus is simply too much.
You love to analyze your training in full detail and respond on that in your next training sessions? The Suunto t6c may be the best heart rate monitor for you!
Heart Rate Monitor Books
Are you really into heart rate monitor training and want to get in-depth advice on training with such a device? I would suggest to read Heart Rate Training
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