heart rate monitor

from thatsfit.com

Summer is inching ever closer to its end, but that doesn't mean you can't still sculpt a set of boardwalk-worthy legs. For a head-turning lower hemisphere, fit these three easy-to-do moves into your workout.

Squat With Double Calf Raise - Begin with your feet just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your arms fully extended in front of you (like Superman).

from walking.about.com

I've been testing a gaggle of walking watches. Some are variations of pedometer watches, while one controls your iPod. Here are the first two.
Let's start with the Heart Rate Monitor/Pedometer Watch for Dummies. It arrived promptly after ordering it online, but with a dead battery. Luckily, the vendor had an easy way to do an exchange and in another couple of days I had a working model.

from exercise.about.com

I'm a gadget freak when it comes to exercise and one gadget I can't live without is my heart rate monitor. A heart rate monitor is a great tool for checking up on your intensity when you're working out, allowing you to work in your target heart rate zone as well as getting a sense of how different activities feel.

from macworld.co.uk

BBC 6 Music reports that an iTunes accident generated the Arctic Monkeys invasion of the UK singles chart last week.

If you want to really get fit, start with your heart.

And, if you want to get your heart in shape you'll want to be part of HeartZones:101 ~ 8 Weeks to a Stronger Heart, starting Monday, January 15 right here at fitPod. The program will be run by HeartZones certified instructor and fitPod blogger Nancy Tipton . Check it out.

To access HeartZones:101 , please register as a member of fitPod. It's free and only takes a second.

If you're like many of us, you threw out the last of the cookies and chocolate candy this morning and your body seems to be craving vegetables. My advice, go with it.Hope you're having a good start to 2007 and that you have those new heart rate monitors figured out. If you didn't get a new HRM from Santa, go buy yourself one as a New Year's present because we're going to put them to good use during the next eight weeks. Go to howtobefit.com for a great primer on Polar HRMs (the best I've found in my experience)

from walking.about.com

I am a gadget lover. I want data. I want something to play with while I walk. These gizmos will help you plan or track a better walking workout.

1) Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Personal Trainer

The Forerunner uses a GPS to get true distance and speed, and a chest strap heart rate monitor. Garmin improved on the Forerunner 201 by adding a heart rate monitor and upgrading the software into a Training Center, and upgraded mapping abilities - you can now download and overlay your workout to a map. The GPS works only outdoors, and the 205 and 305 models promise better performance than the 201 in areas with lots of trees or tall buildings or in gullies.

Like money, elevation changes everything. And, as every high altitude athlete knows, that thin alpine air can cause unexpected meltdown in the blood oxygen department without very careful monitoring. Now comes a cute little lifesaver designed especially for tracking critical altitude-related vital signs. (click image to enlarge)

Check Mate(tm) answers the sports and aviation markets’ demand for a lightweight, inexpensive monitor for measuring blood oxygen saturation and heart rate during physically active and high-altitude activities. It offers the user a greater ability to monitor these vital signs under motion and is less expensive than most available devices.

I still have the first running log I ever kept. It was put out under the name of Jim Fixx (runner who died in 1984 at the age of 52 of a massive heart attack)

I looked back at that log not too long ago when I was moving. It makes notes of how far I ran, the time and the weather.

Keeping track of what you do is just as important as actually doing the training. It is easy to simply get locked and lost in your training routine without recording your training information. Your log serves as a motivational tool, showing you how you are matching up to your training plan.

I became a "Zoner" about five years ago. I had been following the zones concept put forth by Sally Edwards in one of more than a dozen books she has authored on the subject.

One of her best is "The Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook" which is highly recommended reading for anyone who is interested in Heart Zone Training -- but I digress.

It wasn't until I took a Heart Zones seminar and a sub-max test that I became a true believer. Using a standard formula, I was way off in my sub-max estimate. I was working at a heart rate that was just too low for me to improve. Once I found my correct max, amazing things started to happen. I lost body fat, got fitter and faster. It works the other way as well. I've seen people in my spin class who ALWAYS worked too hard. So, what is Heart Zone Training.

About 15 years ago, my husband gave me a Polar Beat heart rate monitor as a gift. I've always loved gadgets, and as an active person, this new toy seemed right up my alley.

I used the monitor for a while and watching the numbers go up and down as I was running or cycling was interesting, but I had NO CLUE what it all meant. Was this just a fancy speedometer?

As luck would have it, my husband included a little book with the monitor, called "The Heart Rate Monitor Book" by Sally Edwards.

We fitness fanatics worry a lot about our muscles. Whether it's six-pack abs or bulging biceps, muscles get a lot of attention (well those in the front of the body anyway.)

But did you ever consider that your heart is your most important muscle??? Have you ever wondered how many times your heart beats during a day?

Before we start talking about max heart rate, training zones and workout intensity levels, I'd like you to take this challenge: wear your HR monitor during your waking hours for one day.