Friday, April 27, 2012

New Toy!

OH BOY!  I got a new toy!

In my review of Burlesque by Jazzercise, I mentioned that I thought maybe I wasn't working quite as hard as I thought I was.  That got me thinking - what if I'm not working as hard as I think I am, like, ever?  Really, how does one tell exactly how hard one is working?  I mean, sure,  I'm sweating like a hoss.  My heart is pounding.  I'm tired when I finish.  But, Skillz... how hard ARE you working?

I went online and did a little research on heart rate monitors and decided on the Polar FT40.  I didn't want to spend a fortune, but I wanted a little more than basics.  I found a great price through Amazon, placed my order, and within a few days, my new toy arrived.


I have to say, it's pretty cool and easy to use.  Some of it's perks:

  • It's personalized.  You tell it your sex, height, age (HA), weight (HAHAHA), and it determines your target heart rate zone.
  • Based on your info, it also tells you how many calories you've burned.
  • It keeps track of your data.  How long have you spent working out this week?  How many calories have you burned this week?  How many of those calories were from fat? What was your average heart rate?  All at the touch of a button.
  • Using it is pretty intuitive.  It ain't rocket surgery, y'all.
  • The chest strap.  Looks big and cumbersome, but it sits right below your sports bra band.  Once you're moving, you can't tell the difference.
  • A very easy to read display lets you know if you are in the fat burning zone, fitness zone, or anaerobic zone, and you can turn on an alarm to let you know when you've gone out of your target zone. 
It's anti-perks:
  • Although it is easy to use, the user manual kind of sucks.  That said, I did just find a complete manual on their website.  I'll be printing that puppy out.
  • READ the manual before you push a button.  I didn't..... and ended up being asked to input my stats in German.  
  • No easy way to reset your personal info, like the fact it thinks you speak German.  I had to take the back off and pop the battery out (which was a real pain in the ass) to get it back to square one.
Bottom line, I'm diggin' it!  


1 comments:

how many calories said...

I'm not sure if I can bring myself to do this one. But it does sound like a very worthwhile challenge...

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