HRM that shows time-in-zone?

Question

Does anyone know of a heart rate monitor that specifically does this: Say your target HR is a given band or zone, perhaps 115-125. I want a display that shows total elapsed time, inside, that zone. Thus, the stopwatch only advances, if, you are in the target zone/band.

I realise any advanced watch includes a file of your HR over time which can be reviewed later. But I'm looking for a live and continuous display of elapsed time-in-zone, while you are actually running.

Solution: With thanks to Kevin Mackinnon at ironman.com and Keith Meyer at Timex, it turns out there is in fact one watch which does this....

'Timex Race Trainer Pro' which is: this watch - the one with the "angled" digits.

I'm fairly sure, it is in fact the one and only watch available that has continuous time-in-zone display. I checked with polar and none of their watches do it. Ditto Suunto. I am familiar with all garmin models and none of them do it. Interestingly, even Timex's new fancier gps-model, does not have the feature. So the "Race Trainer Pro" (that angled digits model) appears to be pretty much the only solution. Hope it helps someone.

Answer 1

I’m prefacing this answer with the fact that I’m definitely not good with tech. I could be wrong, but I think my little Timex does this. (I’m not sure - I usually just strap mine on and go without using any of the features). But to try it out for you, I set a narrow target zone. The “in zone” timer counted when I was in the zone, stopped when I was out of the zone, and then resumed counting where it left off when I got back in the zone. So IF I understood your question, I think it does what you want.

However, you have to hit the recall button to switch from the monitor screen to the timer screen and I don’t think you can always keep it on the timer screen. Mine goes back to the monitor screen as the default. So that may not work for you. The activity timer gives you the time “in zone” your “ave” bpm and “peak” bpm.

The Amazon description says: “this watch enables you to continuously track your heart rate during exercise as well as pre-set target heart rate zones with alarms that notify you when you are out of the zone. It also offers an automatic activity timer and a workout review that recalls activity time and average/peak heart rates.”

If this is what you want, would you do me the favor of getting it thru our site’s store? Timex T5G971. If it is not, never mind :) Thanks - hope it works out for you.

Answer 2

You'll need a combination of the watch and the computer software. For example, my Polar RS400 comes with software for your PC to help track your performance. The watch has several display modes, although I don't recall the "time in band" function you are talking about.

Now, that watch does have programmable routines and shows where your heart rate is within the band. It will warn you when you are getting too high or too low. For me that is enough.

The software that comes with the watch tracks total time in each band, allows you to review the entire routine, and reports the calories burned cumulatively. The calendar screen also shows the cumulative results for the week. It's fairly handy as I can set up my workout sessions way in advance and sync the schedule. The watch will sound off when the scheduled time has arrived, along with defaulting to the exercise on the schedule. It's great for zone training in that sense.

As far as a programmable meter, you might have to look at the iTouch/iPhone or a Droid phone. The Nike software is able to get your pulse from a Polar heart rate sensor. If you can figure out how to receive/process it then you can get your custom app doing exactly what you want.