WHY HEART RATE MONITORS

If you entered this section, you are trying to lose or manage your weight. You probably already know that the key to weight management is the combination of eating and exercising right. Many people fall short when planning an exercise program because they just don't know what to do and how hard to exercise. These sections were created to help you develop an effective exercise program.

To understand how an HRM can help you, we established the
Polar 3 Point Message:

1. In order to reach your fitness goals, you need to exercise at the right intensity.
2. Heart rate is the only accurate measurement of your intensity or your exertion level.
3. A Polar HRM is the easiest and most accurate way to continuously measure your heart rate.

It's a tool that will help pace you. If you exercise too hard, you will most likely quit before you get the real benefit. We have all seen the person that gets on the treadmill, cranks it up to 8% grade and 8 mph, runs full out for 2 minutes, and gets off. ALL THEY DID WAS WASTE TWO MINUTES OF THEIR TIME!

Your goal should be 30 minutes. After 20 minutes, you will start burning more calories. Your body needs time to warm up. It's like lifting weights. The first 10 reps you do are like a warm-up, and the last 2 are the ones that really give you the benefit. How do you get to 30 minutes? By pacing yourself.

On the other hand, there are people that exercise very leisurely and wonder why they can't lose any weight. If you workout too slow, you don't get the exercise benefit.

If you're very new to the concept of heart rate, you might be wondering WHAT'S AN HRM. It consists of a watch worn on your wrist, and a transmitter that you comfortably wear against your skin and around your chest. The transmitter picks up the signals of your heart, and sends them wirelessly to the watch you wear on your wrist. It's that simple. No wires, no taking your pulse and doing a multiplication equation. Just look at your wrist and it's there. AND THE KEY, IT'S DISPLAYED CONTINUOUSLY. The continuous display is what makes it effective. It's there guiding you during your whole workout.

Here's how it works

There are specific Target Zones (TZ) that help to guide you to the right intensity. A TZ is a high and low heart rate range that is based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate. Using a formula based on your age, you can figure out your maximum heart rate. You then take percentages of that to get your Target Zones.

Key Target Zones for Weight Loss

Example:

Elaine is 45 years old and she wants to lose weight. She exercises three days a week, sometimes for 10 minutes, sometimes for 20 minutes and she's not sure how hard to exert herself.

*Her estimated max heart rate is 220-(age) 45=175

The recommended target zone is 60-70 %
60% of 175=105
70% of 175=123

Elaine should walk three days a week for at least 30 minutes and keep her heart rate between 105 and 123 for effective weight loss. IT'S THAT SIMPLE!

Polar OwnFeatures™

Our M-Series products have some exclusive features that listen to your body and then help guide you to an effective workout. The OwnZone™ feature will automatically establish your effective Target Zone for that day’s exercise during a brief warm-up period. It’s a great alternative to the formula calculations explained above.

The OwnCal™ feature will track your calories burned more accurately because it calculates consumption right from your body by using your heart rate. Almost all of the other calorie functions you see on watches or equipment are based on formulas. To see this, just step off your treadmill while it is still going and watch the calories continue to accumulate while you stand still.

Why HRM
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