Heart Rate Monitors

[Fisticuffs 0]

I'm looking to buy a heart rate monitor, mostly just to satisfy my curiosity as to how high my heart rate gets, and how many calories I burn when playing.

There's so many out there, at tone of price points, From my research online, Polar seems to be a popular brand. What I'm really looking for is something that will allow me to download the data to my PC, so I can graph my heart rate as the game progresses. Most of the options seem to be based around a watch which connects remotely to a heart sensor attached to a band across the chest, this may somewhat impede my stick handling, but I'm not too concerned, considering I'll be using it in a men's league.

Has anyone used one in the past? Any recommendations? I suspect the data could prove quite interesting.

[danno25nh 3]

I'm looking to buy a heart rate monitor, mostly just to satisfy my curiosity as to how high my heart rate gets, and how many calories I burn when playing.

There's so many out there, at tone of price points, From my research online, Polar seems to be a popular brand. What I'm really looking for is something that will allow me to download the data to my PC, so I can graph my heart rate as the game progresses. Most of the options seem to be based around a watch which connects remotely to a heart sensor attached to a band across the chest, this may somewhat impede my stick handling, but I'm not too concerned, considering I'll be using it in a men's league.

Has anyone used one in the past? Any recommendations? I suspect the data could prove quite interesting.

As a Biomedical Engineer I have to say that short of a vey high dollar unit you'll have great difficulty getting accurate readings. As you start to sweat the conductivity of your skin to electrode connection will change causing problems. The bouncing around will also induce a lot of noise that will be difficult for a consumer device to filter. I suspect you'd have better luck taking a pulse and writing the data down as soon as you off shift.

There is a Japanese company that is developing an electrode that will be held in place by temporary tattoo and contain a preamp as part of the electrode. Once that is released this will be much more feasible.

Philips has developed a calorie meter that seems fairly accurate for day to day activities. Not sure how it will hold up for hockey. You'll likely have better results with that than trying to track heart rate.

[Buzz_LightBeer 968]

As a Biomedical Engineer I have to say that short of a vey high dollar unit you'll have great difficulty getting accurate readings. As you start to sweat the conductivity of your skin to electrode connection will change causing problems. The bouncing around will also induce a lot of noise that will be difficult for a consumer device to filter. I suspect you'd have better luck taking a pulse and writing the data down as soon as you off shift.

There is a Japanese company that is developing an electrode that will be held in place by temporary tattoo and contain a preamp as part of the electrode. Once that is released this will be much more feasible.

Philips has developed a calorie meter that seems fairly accurate for day to day activities. Not sure how it will hold up for hockey. You'll likely have better results with that than trying to track heart rate.

........or just go to Dunhams and try a few on. I have a Nike that all wore all through the Fire Academy with out any restriction, but i've found some of the watch setups can be bulky. I went middle of the road as far as price, and its performed very well for nearly 5 years.

[danno25nh 3]

........or just go to Dunhams and try a few on. I have a Nike that all wore all through the Fire Academy with out any restriction, but i've found some of the watch setups can be bulky. I went middle of the road as far as price, and its performed very well for nearly 5 years.

How did you verify accuracy? 15% on a good day while you're moving around. That's quite a big error. Even the $2000 telemetry monitors we use at the hospital show artifact and error with patient movement.

[Tikkanen 1]

Under Armour has a new technology called E39, I'd give that a look. I really think this type of technology is the future of sports. Imagine coming to the rink and knowing what you are in need of rather than guessing what your body needs.

[Scotty 8]

Last I'd heard, the BodyBugg monitors were within 8-10% error and are built to withstand sweating.

[jimmy 194]

Before ACL tear, I was a big-time runner and had used HRM's for decades. The one thing that bugged me was the Polar's did not have a replaceable battery in the chest transmitter, so I had to buy a new transmitter every time the battery died. Frustrating and costly. I then found a RBK model with replaceable battery. Nice. So whatever you get, ease of battery replacement is critical. So be sure to look at that feature.

[jds 20]

Before ACL tear, I was a big-time runner and had used HRM's for decades. The one thing that bugged me was the Polar's did not have a replaceable battery in the chest transmitter, so I had to buy a new transmitter every time the battery died. Frustrating and costly. I then found a RBK model with replaceable battery. Nice. So whatever you get, ease of battery replacement is critical. So be sure to look at that feature.

Great point. I have a drawer full of dead polar transmitter straps. I might also suggest that if you are going to buy one you use it for more than just figuring out your max HR during a game. For years as a runner/triathlete I would strap one on and record what my HR was during a workout. Interesting but not terribly useful. When I was training for an Ironman I made a conscious effort to use the HR data to make sure I was working hard enough when I was supposed to be and EASY enough when I was supposed to be. You would be surprised to find out that you are not working as hard as you think when doing intervals or as easy enough when you are trying to build aerobic capacity or not overtrain. The HR keeps you hones. That year I improved my performance dramatically by using the HR monitor as it was intended. My first HR monitor was $300 but now you can get decent ones for less than half that price. But if you just want to find out how high your HR got after a shift, it is probably more easy and economical to just take your pulse on the bench.

[chippa13 1844]

I've been rocking a Timex monitor (chest strap and watch) since my "event" and it works pretty good during my workouts.