Last year my parents got me a really cool Tony Hawk helmet cam. It sparked the desire for a real helmet cam and I found the VholdR helmet cam. [click to continue…]
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I bet your asking yourself why you need a Polar Heart Rate Monitor. Well, I’m going to answer that question and explain why having one is a cooler weight loss gadget than a pair of running shoes or a gym membership.
Here are a couple of reasons Polar believes you should buy their watch:
- A heart rate monitor is like a rev counter, giving a precise measurement of exercise intensity.
- Training at your own ideal pace is made possible with a heart rate monitor.
- Direct measurement of heart rate during exercise is the most accurate way to gauge performance.
- Progress can be monitored and measured, increasing motivation.
- It maximizes the benefits of exercise in a limited amount of time.
- It introduces objective observation. Are you on the right track? Are you improving?
- It is a tool for regulating frequency and intensity of workouts.
- Because of the immediate feedback it provides, heart rate monitoring is an ideal training partner.
While I agree with all of those the first and fourth points are why I believe everyone should have a heart rate monitor.
Heart Rate Monitor as a Rev Counter
After you open the box and run through a couple of settings like entering the time, date, your height & weight and some other stuff you get to put on the chest strap and click the exercise button. This links the watch to the chest strap and it figures out your heart rate with ECG accuracy. So you look down and your (hopefully) loping along at under 90 or so beats per minute. Jump up and down a couple of times and the number should go up a little bit as your heart rate rises. 
In a nutshell, your heart pumps blood from your lungs (where its oxygenated) to the muscles (where oxygen is used as fuel) and back to the lungs again. The more you jump around looking at your new watch, the more fuel the muscles require and the harder your heart has to work to pump oxygen-rich blood to your muscles. The Polar watch detects the electrical current in your heart to calculate the number of times it beats per minute. This gives you an increadibly accurate gauge as to what speed your heart is beating and thus how much energy you’re using.
We all know that losing weight requires us to burn calories. The watch uses your heart rate to calculate the number of calories burned. A faster heart beat translates to more oxygen and fuel (calories) being burned by your muscles. So keeping your heart rate up helps burn calories and ultimately fat faster. If you’re monitoring it you can ensure that you’re always in an effective heart rate zone.
Monitoring Progress
When you exercise you click the button and the watch starts doing its thing. It reminds you with soft chirps to speed up or slow down to stay in the desired heart rate zone. Meanwhile its tiny little brain is recording every beat, calculating how much energy you’re expending and making notes in a journal for you.
Polar F11M Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Grey Pepper, New Design)
Price: 159.95
Price: 159.95
8 used & new available from 145.00
Polar F11 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Pink Fizz)
Price: 159.95
17 used & new available from 149.90
The Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor is the world’s only heart rate monitor that creates a workout program to tell you how much, how hard and how long to exercise to reach your goals. This powerful wrist monitor provides a highly accurate gauge for getting the most from your exercise sessions. The Polar Keeps U Fit Workout Program gives you personal guidance–how often, how hard, and how long you need to exercise to reach your personal fitness goals. It also includes a free-of-charge online component.
The wristwatch-like monitor features a large display that includes 12/24-hour time of day, alarm, and stopwatch. The transmitter includes the Wearlink Coded function, which eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors. The transmitter’s electrodes, which pick up the heart signals, are integrated right into the strap for added flexibility and comfort.
The OwnCal feature shows your energy expenditure during one exercise session as well as your accumulated kilocalories during several exercise sessions. It also allows you to set daily and weekly exercise goals in terms of calorie expenditure. The Fitness Bullets feature shows a bullet on the monitor’s display for every 10 minutes spent exercising/training in your target heart rate zone. The Coded feature eliminates interference from other heart rate monitors. Other features include:
- Displays heart rate, exercise time, and average heart rate
- Manual and automatic heart rate limit settings
- Large easy-to-read display with backlighting and split screen
- Water resistant to 30 meters (100 feet)
Manufacturer’s Warranty
The original purchaser of this heart rate monitor is backed by a limited warranty that states that this product that the product will be free from defects in material or workmanship for two years from the date of purchase.
Note:
Polar heart rate monitors are precision instruments; consumers are not advised to change their own battery. Polar recommends that all service be done by an authorized Polar Service Center which will include a warranty for 90 days on repairs and 6 months for batteries.
About Polar
The first EKG accurate wireless heart rate monitor was invented by Polar back in 1977 as a training tool for the Finnish National Cross Country Ski Team. The concept of “intensity training” by heart rate swept the athletic world in the eighties. By the 1990s, individuals were looking to heart rate monitors not only for performance training needs, but also for achieving everyday fitness goals. Today, the same concept of heart rate training is being used by world-class athletes as well as everyday people trying to lose weight. Polar is the leading brand among consumers, coaches, and personal trainers worldwide and the company is committed to not only producing the best products, but also being the leading educator on the benefits of heart rate based exercise.
Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitors with advanced features including Polar’s Keeps U Fit (a guide to how often, how long and how hard to exercise), heart rate, OwnCal, OwnZone, OwnCode, Heart Touch and watch/stopwatch functions.
Polar F11 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Pink Fizz)
Price: 159.95
Price: 159.95
17 used & new available from 149.90
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Polar FT80 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Black)
Price: 329.95
22 used & new available from 274.97
If there’s one word to describe people who train seriously for athletics, it’s dedication. And if there’s one heart rate monitor that’s dedicated to helping you achieve maximum workout efficiency, it’s the Polar FT80. The FT80 starts by checking your daily condition, and then guiding you to the ideal training intensity for your age and fitness level. Knowing your heart rate not only helps you reach your personal fitness goal, but also improves your physical condition in general, as it’s vitally important to train at the appropriate intensity level. If you exercise too hard, you may quit before you reach the real benefit, but if you work out too leisurely, you’ll struggle to lose weight at all. The FT80 helps overcome these problems by encouraging you to map out a complete fitness routine.
The FT80’s intelligent training computer also helps you work toward achieving your exercise goals in other ways. For example, the watch offers a Polar Star personalized training program that adapts to your workout habits. By giving you weekly training targets and providing constant feedback, the watch guides you without being too strict, helping you reach your goals more efficiently. The watch also displays heart rate info in several ways, including as a percentage of your maximum heart rate, as beats per minute, and within a graphical target zone indicator. And should your heart rate exceed or dip below your target zone, the FT80 will sound an alarm that helps you return to form.
Users will also love the variety of proprietary Polar functions, including ZonePointer, Polar Strength Training, and Polar OwnCal modes. The ZonePointer is an audible and visual feature on the display of your FT80 that shows you where your current heart rate sits within your target heart rate zone. The Polar Strength Training mode, meanwhile, helps you optimize your strength training by reading your heart rate and informing you when your body is ready for the next set–an ideal way to optimize your weight training. Finally, the Polar OwnCal mode shows your energy expenditure during one exercise session, as well as your accumulated kilocalories during several exercise sessions. You can also set daily and weekly exercise goals in terms of calorie expenditure, helping you achieve both short-term and long-term goals.
Other watch features include a built-in fitness test that measures your aerobic fitness at rest in just five minutes; a ZoneLock mode that lets you activate a target zone in the midst of training with the press of a button; a Polar OwnZone mode that provides a customized target zone for individual exercise sessions; an OwnCode mode that prevents crosstalk from other heart rate monitors nearby; a recording mode that tracks your average and maximum heart rate, calorie expenditure, distance, and total exercise time, and then puts it in an exercise file (with 100 total files); water resistance to 50 meters; a 12/24-hour clock with a day/week indicator; a built-in backlight; an alarm with a snooze; a low battery indicator; and a Polar FlowLink connection for transferring data between the FT80 and a computer. Sporting an attractive black housing, the watch carries a two-year warranty.
Manufacturer’s Warranty
The original purchaser of this heart rate monitor is backed by a limited warranty that states that this product that the product will be free from defects in material or workmanship for two years from the date of purchase.
About Polar
The first EKG accurate wireless heart rate monitor was invented by Polar back in 1977 as a training tool for the Finnish National Cross Country Ski Team. The concept of “intensity training” by heart rate swept the athletic world in the eighties. By the 1990s, individuals were looking to heart rate monitors not only for performance training needs, but also for achieving everyday fitness goals. Today, the same concept of heart rate training is being used by world-class athletes as well as everyday people trying to lose weight. Polar is the leading brand among consumers, coaches, and personal trainers worldwide and the company is committed to not only producing the best products, but also being the leading educator on the benefits of heart rate based exercise.
Dedication best describes those who are seriously into their training. FT80 is the most dedicated training partner for the most devoted fitness enthusiasts. This intelligent training computer helps you achieve maximum efficiency and reach your workout targets for both cardio and strength training, plus its stylish design is comfortable during a hot workout or in everyday use. Innovative Strength training guidance feature helps you have a fitter body. New Polar STAR training program gives you weekly training targets, adapts to your training habits to guide you without being too strict and allows you flexibility during the week. Fitness test measures your aerobic fitness at rest in just five minutes. FT80 shows you the calories burned. Number of Exercise Files (with Summaries) - 100 Watch Features - Dual Time Zone Time of Day (12/24h) with Alarm And Snooze Date And Weekday Indicator Low Battery Indicator
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November 25, 2008- Chances are that, wherever your Thanksgiving turkey comes from this year, it ate soy. It takes 75 to 80 pounds of soy-based feed to raise a 30 pound turkey. The U.S. Soybean Export Council helps farmers throughout the world raise quality turkeys in an efficient manner. [click to continue…]
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Here’s a complete list of all of the paunchiness post on one convenient page…
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Ernie asked me if I’d post some video of me on the new 1UP USA trainer so here it is. I’m still working on the full review because I’d like to use it for week or so to give me a better feel for how it works in the long run.
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Vitamin C supplements can reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and chronic disease risk in humans, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Participants who took approximately 500 milligrams of vitamin C supplements daily saw a 24 percent drop in plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after two months. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, is the first time vitamin C has been shown to decrease levels of CRP, a biomarker for heart disease and stroke. [click to continue…]
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