UKH

Hi,

Getting a new HRM, and suddenly occurred to me that maybe I don't need a watch (wear an non-digital watch already the whole time) but could use a chest HRM band with some app on my phone that I carry anyway on the runs.

This would be much cheaper and less faff. Did have a quick look and saw the Polar app, does this work like that? Is it as good (or better?) than having a watch for GPS and HR zones - which is all I really use a watch for anyway.

Cheers

How big is your phone, is it water resistant and how are you going to carry it? The latest smart phones are too big to fit in a pocket or require a large unwieldy arm pouch. I've just bought my wife a smart watch because her new phone is too big and not water resistant.

I use Endomondo or Strava on my Iphone 4s to track distance mostly mountain biking ( carried in a rucksack)  and a handful of runs ( phone carried  in a zip pocket in my shorts ). Major issue I've encountered is that the phone struggle to get a GPS lock if you are out of mobile reception. Both apps can be setup to record heart rate from a chest HRM bans.

My favourite feature on  Endomondo isthe audiocoach that Ican configure to shout out mypace at regular intervals rather than having to glance at a screen. My wifes favourite feature is the live-tracking so she can worry about whether I've fallen off the side of a mountain.

Thanks. My phone's not that big, carry it in a Lycra waist band thing and haven't found it a pain tbh. Can put in a small waterproof pouch if I need to. Can you set up an alert if you go out of selected HR zone like you can with a watch? The only down side I can see is not being able to have a quick look at your wrist for time/distance done.

I would go even cheaper and not bother with the HRM. If you cannot see your HR (phone in waist band) then why bother? Unless you want to track it over many runs afterwards on your app?

If you are anything like me, my HR goes quickly up to 170bpm and stays there for the duration of the run anyway (unless I go too far or hit a steep hill)