Sports for Healthy LifeStyle

I have been using a RS200 for a few months. The unit works fine capturing the data but the hassle that one needs to go through to get the data uploaded to the Polar site via Weblink is very very cumbersome. It is a hit and a miss and I have given up on transmitting my data because of this useless feature.
Rating: 1 / 5

Excellent watch, the main problem is that when running in the gym with the Life Fitness machines, the heart rate lectures vary drastically.
Rating: 3 / 5

I’ll start by saying this is a great gadget all-around. It’s not something you can just strap on and run out the door with though, you need to read the manual carefully and completely to truly appreciate what this computer can do for you. Also, read all of the HELP file in the Pro Trainer sfotware that comes in the box.

There are so many things this computer can do for your training from beginner to advance that I couldn’t possibly comment on them all, so I’ll just go over my personal favorites. But first, and extremely brief introduction of myself so you may know if you are receiving usable information for yourself. I am 35 years old, about 50 lbs overweight, having gradually gaining weight over the last 10 years or so from a very healthy frame. I’m no stranger to exercise, except maybe the last several years. I have a gym membership I never use(d) and a perfect 10 mile running trail right outside my office door I never use(d). I am fairly tech-savvy and I lie to play with electronics, but I have no degree in the stuff. I have been trying to get on a running/jogging routine for almost a year now with no success at persistence. Until now…

This watch changed everything. The first thing it when I got it was hook myself up to it and head out the door, turn it on, then stood at the end of my driveway for 30 minutes trying to figure out how to use it. I went back inside with a heart beat of about 150 BPM nopt from exercise, but from frustration. What did I just get myself into? I just want to exercise I don’t want a mess of electronics to fight… back inside to read the manual.

I spent an hour reading up on the basics, enough to go back out and get a workout in. I figured I could keep schooling myself with the long but well written manuals for the watch and software while I workout for a couple of days. Then later when I figured it all out I could find/create a workout and load it onto the software and the watch, and follow the workout. And that is exactly what I did, and I recommend it to you to do so as well.

The first thing I realized, on my very first walk after getting a training plan onto the watch, was that I have no need whatsoever to run; at least not now, and probably not for a while. The watch tells you to keep your heart rate within certain predetermined zones for a given amount of time. Going over would be over training and over time a major cause of de-motivation. Going under would be, well, not working out at all.

So the watch starts beeping at me and I see it wants me to get my heart rate (HR) up to zone 3, which for me is around between 121 and 135 beats per minute (BPM). I start to jog lightly, just like I always had when starting a routing in the past. After less than a minute the watch starts beeping at me and I see that I have exceeded 150 BPM which is zone 4, an anaerobic zone for serious athletes, NOT fat guys on Dec 26th with a belly full of leftovers bouncing along a sidewalk in his neighborhood and a $250 fancy watch. Geez no wonder I never stuck to my program!

I’ve been at it for about a few weeks now, and I can tell that I was over training in the past, just by how I feel before, during, and after I work out. I have a great source of knowledge and motivation in my corner; I work with several marathon runners at my office. They agree unanimously that my routine is spot-on. Except for the rare heavy workout every few weeks coming up in my exercise plan, I should feel an energizing from my workouts; before, during, and after. I’ve begun to feel this great state of euphoria when I near the end of my workout, which is also normal (as long as you don’t see a tunnel and a light, and if you do, you probably pushed it a little to hard and the watch will no longer be of use to you).

So there’s the exercise routing part of the watch. If you don’t even plan on going that far, and you just want to know what your heart rate is, there are cheaper computers out there. Get one of those. The exercise plan is just the beginning of what this watch can do for you.

When you exercise regularly, your body adapts by strengthening your body (and mind) in so many ways. If you keep doing the same thing over and over, your body will adapt completely. You’ll no longer be doing anything more than getting fresh air. Its kind of like if you went out and had a slow walk for 5 minutes on your sidewalk. You’ve already adapted to that and probably won’t get much other than reversing the sag you have going on in your vital signs. To the inverse, if you try to get results by exercising too hard, you’ll over train. Some over training every few weeks is good. Being in a STATE of over training is BAD. Very bad.

It’s my belief that over training is what gets inactive people like myself to quit an exercise plan. It hurts all over, however, you think its working because it hurts, and the short-term feeling of self accomplishment keeps you going but for only a short while.

The RS400 has a test within itself called “OwnOptimiser” which is a simple test involving lying down for 3 minutes then standing up and holding still for another 3 minutes. All the while the watch is checking your pulse BPM and variations, which it compares to your previous tests (you do this a few times a week) to determine how hard you’ve been at it and whether or not you should push harder, back off a bit, back off a lot, or keep doing what your doing. This keeps you improving at the most efficient level of activity possible.

The “OwnOptimiser” feature, along with the ability to transfer exercise data to and from the watch and software, including a training plan, make this watch worth every penny in my opinion.

It is my first heart rate monitor (HRM) so I can’t compare it to others. But now I will do the best I can do be critical of the device…

#1 The buttons get pushed accidentally very easily, particularly when not exercising. That problem, combined with it’s giant ugly red button make it unusable for anything other than exercise, so the $250 watch sits in my gym bag when I’m not exercising. I would like to use my $250 all day long as my casual watch if I were given the realistic option.

#2 There’s a bunch of push within the owner’s manual for the watch and software to use the online version of the software. It’s a great site, with great info and great training plans that are INCOMPATIBLE with the RS400!!! Polar, why are you suggesting I use training programs I cannot load onto my watch? That is very foolish on your part. You should have a compatible version of every training program you have on that website for every data transferring HRM you have in your portfolio, and I shouldn’t have to suggest that.

In the end, I am very happy with the watch and the software it came with. I am more energetic, even after a few short weeks, and more excited about exercising than I have been in years. The watch is becoming second-nature to use. I’m not really analyzing my workouts yet.. I’m just walking on the sidewalk for cryin’ out loud. But I will step it up, as my HRM tells me its time to, and it’ll get more useful. With the level of knowledge this HRM provides me, I plan to stay on track with exercise longer than I ever have in the past. And the twiggy marathon runners I’m surrounded by agree 100%.

fin.
Rating: 4 / 5