Why bother with a HR monitor?

Former Member over 4 years ago

I am awaiting delivery of an Instinct which I am aware does not have VO2 Max.

The watch will primarily be used for running (I appreciate there are more 'running focused' Garmins out there but the Instinct has more or less what I need and looks great). Given that the Instinct does not have training load or VO2 max I wondered if there was any point in purchasing a HR monitor (ie maybe I have missed something).

Top Replies

gaijin over 4 years ago in reply to tess +2 suggested

What she said! ^^^^^^^^

The Optical HRM built-in to Garmin watches is great for tracking HR while sleeping and for casual use during the day, like on a walk; but there is no substitute for a chest HRM…
tess over 4 years ago +1 suggested

Absolutely! Anyone that is a true athlete will tell you that a wrist heart rate monitor is garbage. Sometimes they work OK, other times they don't. And this goes for any manufacturer, not just Garmin…

All Replies

0 tess over 4 years ago

Absolutely! Anyone that is a true athlete will tell you that a wrist heart rate monitor is garbage. Sometimes they work OK, other times they don't. And this goes for any manufacturer, not just Garmin. They may be OK monitoring your HR outside of an activity, but during an activity there are to many factors that will give false readings. If you're really concerned about training, get yourself a good HR strap that will give you more precise and accurate readings. You are going to find people who say the wrist HR works just fine or as good. Ask them to post references you can confirm are legitimate other than I say so. They won't be able too because they don't exist. They'll tell you it works fine without evidence. Don't take it from me, research it yourself.

0 gaijin over 4 years ago in reply to tess

What she said! ^^^^^^^^

The Optical HRM built-in to Garmin watches is great for tracking HR while sleeping and for casual use during the day, like on a walk; but there is no substitute for a chest HRM that measures the electrical signals from the heart directly - much more reliable and accurate than ANY optical HRM.

HTH

0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to tess

Thanks Tess!

I agree with what you are saying but if you are using pace as your barometer of improvement and you are using an Instinct which does not have vo2max or recovery metrics how would a HR monitor help you.

I appreciate the benefits if your are doing HR zone training but otherwise why use HR at all (from either the monitor OR the watch)?

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

I appreciate the benefits if your are doing HR zone training but otherwise why use HR at all (from either the monitor OR the watch)?

I try to list some of the benefits:

as you tell fro HR Zone training, as well as for the post-training analysis of the HR Zones
generally, the HR graphs, both daily and those of activities may show you some valuable info
Sleep monitoring
Body Battery
Stress monitoring
HR alerts in-activities
Abnormal HR alerts (whole day)
Calories calculation
Intensity Minutes calculation
Average Resting HR - an important factor for seeing the progress of your fitness

0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to trux

I agree Trux they are some good benefits but again unless you are doing zone training none seem compelling.

Body battery, stress are all nice (I had those on my 6X) but not essential for training.

Surely if you are following a well structured program then pace improvement will depect whether it is working.

Sort of playing devils advocate because I was going to buy one. Then I took a step back and tried to understand what the benefits would be for me specifically.

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

I do not quite understand where you are heading. If you do not want to use the HRM, thinking it has no benefit, despite all the features listed, then why do you bother about it? If it does not interest you, turn it off

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to trux

... BTW, I edited the list in my previous post, adding also the Calories calculation, and Intensity Minutes calculation. There are certainly some other features I forgot, too. If I find more, I'll add the to the list again.

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to trux

... and now added also the Average Resting HR - an important factor for seeing the progress of your fitness

0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to trux

So sorry I should have made myself clear.

I meant I am considering BUYING a chest strap.

Of course I will keep the in built version o .

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

... a chest strap has other added advantages

it can work for swimming (see the specs of the model)
is much more accurate and reliable
the HRM PRO can give you much more data - the Running Dynamics, Respiration Rate, etc. (not sure about VO₂max - I did not test it yet, but did not find it mentioned in the specs, in the manual, or in reviews, so probably not)

Please note that currently the HRM PRO is the only HRM belt providing this data also with Instinct, because unlike all other HRMs, it behaves as an independent standalone device that you can add to Garmin Connect directly (though it will broadcast the HR data over ANT+ to Instinct too, just as any other HRM).

EDIT 2021/01/18: There is still some discussion whether the Running Dynamics is available with HRM Pro + Instinct, but unless someone can confirm first-hand that it really works, it is safer to assume that it does not.