Tips On Pacing Yourself
Using a heart rate monitor is the mostly used tool to pace you during competitions and other intervals. You can make sure you’re analyzing your performance and detect when you may be overtraining. Polar watches are very precise in measuring your current heart rate. This kind of information can be very beneficial for an experienced user who understands the exercise physiology behind heart rate regulation.
The Polar cs600 isn’t for beginners. The best way to learn the proper way to use a heart rate monitor is to start using one. Don’t buy the top models if you’re just starting. If you’re beginning, it’s highly suggested to get the basic Polar monitor. For the beginners, Polar has the A1 Heart Rate Monitor, which comes with a strap and displays a constant heart rate reader, while it records your total exercise time and the time that you spend in your target zone. This heart rate monitor usually runs about $40-$50. These watches are much cheaper and much easier to work with. There are more manufacturers to HR monitors besides Polar. Some of them you’ll be able to find cheaper too. One brand is the Lifesource XC300. This is an intermediate level HRM and includes a programmable target heart rate zone, and also displays how many calories you have burned. It also contains a stopwatch and a 20-hour countdown timer. The Lifesource XC300 runs about $100. Once you know what kind of data you’re looking for in a heart rate monitor, than it’s time to look into the more expensive models. The Polar cs600 is an excellent tool, but may be overkill for a newbie.
Once you bought the heart rate monitor, it’s time to get busy. Spend a month doing your regular training program. Keep records of how your heart rate reacts to your training. Study your heart rate and after a month, you’ll be a pro in discovering how to use the heart rate monitor for pacing. You’re now training harder and more motivated while riding.
The first month of wearing it, all you’re doing is keeping track of your heart rate. There’s no need to start a special heart rate focused program. It’s much easier to stick to a plan, when there is a goal to achieve. This goal is getting to know your heart rate and learning how to pace yourself.