Pulse Watch UK FAQ's

Why use a heart rate monitor?

A heart rate monitor let's you really know how hard you are working.. A heart rate monitor can be used to control the intensity of your activity by way of an audible and visual alarm. The unit will bleep when you are exercising too hard, or to lightly. With this intensity control the user can prelong the exercise, optimise exercise control, prevent over and under training etc. With this level of heart rate control the user will hopefully achieve their goal quicker and with less time wasted working too hard / too easy.

If you are an exerciser, runner, cyclist, whatever, odes not matter, let's say you wish to train for 1 hour. It is far too easy to either go off too fast, and then struggle through at a plod, or plod at the start and do a final dash for the line in the last 5 minutes... with too much energy left in the tank..... A heart rate monitor will help you to manage a constant effort throughout a training session, thus vastly improving you total training time and quality.

Your heart rate is one of the most useful indicators of fitness level - how quickly you recover and also when comparing one session against another. ie. same distance, same time, lower average HR = improved fitness

Many of the heart rate monitors we sell will provide calorific burn feedback, how many calories have been burnt during an exercise session. This is a great way to track and compare the intensity of an exercise session to another one.

Calorie burn using a heart rate monitor?

Polar and most CV equipment manufacturers use a calorie algorithm that is INCLUSIVE of your metabolic rate calories.... i.e. calories burnt in TOTAL during exercise (including those you would have burnt if not exercising).

Timex, Oregon Scientific and a couple of other HRM manufacturers give calories burnt IN EXCESS of normal metabolic calorie expenditure. i.e extra calories burnt due to exercise.

If an average person burns 2500 calories per day, as a base calorie burn, that is about 150-200 per hour through non-exercise. This is incorporated in to the Polar algorithm, but ignored by many others like Oregon Scientific.

Also, many HRM only start accurately calculating calories when the HR is above 100 or even 120 bpm. The new Polar F series has an improved calorie formula that works down to about 80 bpm.

HOWEVER... if worn throughout a sedentary working day, the calories burnt will generally be inflated. They are best used to show exercise burnt calories, while exercising, when HR is over 100 bpm.

Hope that makes sense. The main thing to remember is that your HRM, whichever make.model, is CONSISTENT, so you can compare from one session to the next.

Do I need to use a chest strap with my heart rate monitor?

There are some heart rate monitors that do not have a chest strap. These units measure the electrical stimulation of the heart through the finger tips. You will only get an HR reading when your fingers touch the sensors. Although highly accurate (the models we sell measure electrical impulse, not PULSE beating through the finger, these type are cheap and NOT accurate) it is difficult to exercise effectively when having to check heart ratr all the time.

A chest strap HRM is generall more beneficial. It allows the user to set a training zone alarm and get on with the exercise. After the session the user can review average HR, time spent in zone, calories burnt etc (depending on model)

With a strapless HRM, this is not possible. In most cases, for people undertaking moderate exercise, we would always recommend a chest strap type.

Heart Rate Monitor chest straps?

All the heart rate monitors we sell NEED a chest strap and COME WITH a chest strap. The only "strapless" heart rate monitors we sell can be found here, strapless heart monitors. The advantage of CHEST STRAP type heart monitors is that they are continuous and can be used to recall average and maximum heart rate, plus time in zone, calories burnt etc. They can also be used to keep the wearer in a heart rate training zone.

The most common transmission and reciever units use analogue, uncoded FM transmission. Polar, CardioSport, CicloSport (CP8 and CP10), Reebok and Oregon Scientific all work in the same way and are generally compatible with most common gym equipment. CicloSport CP23 / CP29 and Timex use digital transmission and wil NOT interface with gym equipment.

If you need confirmation, please ask us on 0845 0900 192

Yes and No ?

Yes, if you want the heart rate monitor to continuously monitor your heart rate and keep you within a target zone. And yes if you want the HRM to give you accurate calorific and heart rate feedback, i.e. average HR, max HR, calories burnt etc.

No, if you just want an occassional snapshot of your heart rate.

A chest strap is included with ALL Heart rate monitors we sell except the MIO and Easy Touch, strapless HRM (momentaneous HR readings only)

Yes, it can help you lose weight (aid fat loss) when used in conjunction with a sensible eating plan and exercise programme
The ideal training zone for weight loss (fat loss) is, approximately, 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate
Programmable Training zones help you ensure that you spend most of your training session in the correct "zone"
A heart rate monitor accurately controls the intensity and duration of your sessions

Can a heart rate monitor help me avoid injuries?

Yes, it can. A high percentage of illness and injury is due to overtraining
A heart rate monitor will let you know when your body has recovered properly
Following a marathon, an athlete's resting heart rate may not settle for 3 to 4 days
The athlete may feel like they are OK to start training again, but an HRM will tell them
they should continue to rest

Can I swim with my heart rate monitor

Most Heart Rate Monitors are water resistant to 20, 30, 50 or 100 metres depending on the model. This is a theoretical static pressure measurement and does NOT relate to a practical depth. Most 20-50 metre water resistant HRMs are fine for surface swimming only. Please check with us before making any assumptions on wate resistancy Generally, HRMs do NOT work (read the heart rate) in the water due to inability to transmit the radio (FM) waves under water. They are designed to transmit in the air. It is possible to get a good reading in the pool only when your chest area, and the transmitter, is clear of the water. This is the same for all chest strap type HRMs. For Triathletes, this means that the HRM becomes a stopwatch only for the swim section. The unit will not be damaged in the pool, but it will not record heart rate (unless you are lucky, we cannot guarantee it, nor is it a fault if it fails to read HR while swimming) Strapless HRMs, the ones with finger touch contacts, can be used in the pool but the buttons must be mostly dry before pressing the sensors. NEVER press the buttons under the water. We recommend in most models that you should not press any buttons under water. See user's manual for details. Heart rate measurement in a water environment is technically demanding for the following reasons: Pool water with a high chlorine (or bromine) content, as well as seawater, may be very conductive and the electrodes of a transmitter may get short circuited and ECG signals cannot be detected by the transmitter unit. Jumping into the water or strenuous muscle movement during competitive swimming may cause water resistance that shifts the transmitter on the body to a location where it is not possible to pick up the ECG signal. The ECG signal strength varies depending on the individual's tissue composition. The percentage of people who have problems in heart rate measuring is considerably higher in a water environment than in other uses. In the watch industry the water resistance is generally indicated as metres of water pressure, meaning a static pressure of water at the level in question. Most manufacturers' apply the same indication system, as it is well known and water resistance is an essential feature of the heart rate monitor. However, it should be noted that when performing any underwater activity, the dynamic pressure generated by movement through the water is greater than the static pressure. Generally, all the HRM's we sell are fine for use while bathing, swimming and showering, BUT, not under water activity like scuba diving.

How do you calculate maximum heart rate?

A rough guide to calculate your maximum heart rate (MHR) is :-
Male 220 - age = MHR in beats per minute
Female 226 - age = MHR in beats per minute
It is important to calculate your MHR as it is used when calculating intensity of effort. i.e 65% of MHR for 20 minutes
You should note that your current fitness level does have an impact on your actual MHR
People new to exercising should avoid trying to reach their theoretical MHR
The only accurate (and safe) method of measuring MHR is through a clinical graduated exercise test

Site owners comment: We find that the 220 - age method of zone calculation are "OK" but generally provide "safe" limits that may not stretch relatively fit exercisers, especially older people, who the 220 - age formula gives very "conservative" HR values. The book that we give out with each free HRM helps you to set your personal HR limits, folloiwng a safe sub maximal exercise test, and also taking in to account your resting heart rate.

What are my "training zones"

Training zones are guides to help you achieve the desired affect of your exercise plan
A body builder trying to gain muscle mass, does not want to follow the same programme as a long distance runner
A heart rate monitor helps you to stay in your correct zone, with regard to your training goal
There are roughly 5 zones (depending on what you read)
These zones start at 50% of MHR, for conditioning/recovery) and go up to 95%-100% of MHR for maximum intensity training
Someone new to heart rate monitors, but with a foundation in exercise, would normally start a programme at about 60%-70%MHR
This is a safe "maintenance/weight" loss intensity
This would be repeated 3 or 4 times a week for 30 minutes per session

Site owners comment: We find that the 220 - age method of zone calculation are "OK" but generally provide "safe" limits that may not stretch relatively fit exercisers, especially older people, who the 220 - age formula gives very "conservative" HR values. The book that we give out FREE with each HRM helps you to set your personal HR limits, following a safe sub maximal exercise test, and also taking in to account your resting heart rate.

Can a heart rate monitor help me to develop my aerobic system?

Yes, your aerobic (with oxygen, endurance events) zone is approximately 70-80% of MHR
Setting your upper and lower limits to 80 and 70 respectively will let you know how much time you are spending in the aerobic zone
Your heart rate monitor will help you to avoid undertraining, exercise with no gain
Your heart rate monitor will help you to avoid overtraining, exercising in the anaerobic zone will not improve your aerobic performance

Can a heart rate monitor help me to develop my anaerobic system?

Yes, your anaerobic (without oxygen, short, explosive power events)zone is approximately 80-90% of MHR
Setting your upper and lower limits to 90 and 80 respectively will let you know how much time you are spending in the anaerobioc zone
Your heart rate monitor will help you to avoid undertraining, exercising in the aerobic zone
Your heart rate monitor will also help you to avoid overtraining, going beyond 90% for too long can result in fatigue

Can I get more help and advice?

Yes, please use our feedback form

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