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Heart Monitor for Windsurfing?
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fxop



Joined: 13 Jun 1998
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:54 am    Post subject: Heart Monitor for Windsurfing? Reply with quote

Any experience out there with heart monitors? I would like to get as close to a traditional EKG as possible, worn in the surf using a wetsuit.

I talked to a couple of guys about this during rigging the other day -- one was on his second brand -- the first one wasn't really waterproof. They were wearing wristwatch receivers connected wirelessly to a chest strap worn under the wetsuit.

Any recommendations?
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just curious, why are you interested in wearing a heart monitor while windsurfing? Do you need to be readily aware of your heart's performance for health reasons?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've considered that, just out of curiosity. Under a drysuit, I'd think the transmitter would work, but you'd need a waterproof or recording receiver. I finally ditched the idea after learning to guesstimate my heart rate by perception on a cardio machine (and reading that perceived level of effort is a pretty darned good measure of exertion and heart rate). I know from interval training with heart rate monitoring that my max heart rate is in the upper 160s; at 68, I'm oxygen-limited to about that level in a sprint, more like 160 sustained.

I sometimes feel the same in an all-out, whole-body, max-exertion run across big terrain in hammering conditions. Past of the cause is all the $#!+ I wear hampering my deepest breathing, but nevertheless I'm fairly sure my heart rate is maxing out briefly in my most intense and longer whole-body (slashing as hard and often as I can on a wave board) sustained efforts. If, however, I'm not using my legs and core and upper torso and arms at full effort pretty much full time, my heart rate stays a more comfortable 130-140 in rough terrain or even <130 if I'm not working pretty hard. It's gotta be more like 120 if I'm just blasting across the water on cruise control.

FWIW.

My bottom line is that until you find a waterproof AND reliable widget, some gym experimentation and baselines may help. And since interval training is FAR more beneficial than that long slow distance "cardio" training everybody else in the gym is doing, WSing can be a great workout if we frequently max out our heart and lungs. "Any exertion that doesn't kill us helps us live longer" isn't a joke.

Mike \m/
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ronm41



Joined: 02 May 2007
Posts: 180

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just a average no frills Polar HRM is waterproof, reliable and will last for atleast a couple of years before you neeed to do a battery replacement. I have one mounted on my MTB that I use everytime I ride. It is a great tool as it has a watch, timer and a HRM. So since I do alot of the same rides over and over I have waypoints, personal records to those waypoints and keep my pace in check by trying to keep a good time and keep my HR within my personal comfort zone. I am older and have ridden MTB's for twenty years and ride around 3-4 times a week during the non snow season. Not sure what exactly my max HR is but around mid 160's. I like to ride between 125 and 135 for 1-2 hr rides and can stay pretty comfortable in that range. Interestingly, my wife who rides with me a lot and just a few years younger can ride comfortably 140-150. I think if one is in good shape and is skilled at what ever activity they are doing like biking, running or just doing cardio at the gym they can do big workloads at lower HR's. I know I can. Anyway, windsurfing is alot of anarobic work so I would expect pretty high HR's but HR would be a lot of up and down. However, I have never tried my monitor windsurfing or even skiing for that matter. Probably just more working on skill level than maxing out my cardio.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ronm41 wrote:
windsurfing is alot of anarobic work so I would expect pretty high HR's but HR would be a lot of up and down.


That, explicitly and physiologically, is a major part of the reason interval exercise, in both training and play, is so superior to LSD. Learning that is one reason I lost interest in a HRM for WSing; it will neither tell me anything I don't know nor help me achieve any goals. It's obvious to me that my heart rate is all over the map on a good windy day, which tells me I'm maximizing my aerobic and anaerobic benefits ... at least for WSing ("cardiovascular" conditioning resides in our muscles at the cellular level; we can aerobically train our left bicep all by itself, for example, and champion distance runners and swimmers prove useless in the opposite sport because they use different muscles.)

Mike \m/
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SPQR



Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 274

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've used a Garmin Forerunner 310 XT to see how fast I was going. I plan on wearing a chest strap a couple of times to compare HR versus when I'm cycling. If I do it soon I will post, but so far the Garmin unit has performed well windsurfing.
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fxop



Joined: 13 Jun 1998
Posts: 202

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

swchandler wrote:
Just curious, why are you interested in wearing a heart monitor while windsurfing? Do you need to be readily aware of your heart's performance for health reasons?


Don't need real-time awareness -- want to be able to look at the data after a session.

Thanks for the responses so far.

fxop
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SPQR



Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 274

PostPosted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Using a Garmin 310 while windsurfing my max heart rate recorded this summer was 97, for surfing this morning in Santa Cruz 93, highest number for running has been 154, and for cycling 180. In cycling I push myself harder than the other sports, in the other sports I try to keep my heart rate under control to help lengthen the time spent in that activity. But the Forerunner 310 has worked pretty well I think.
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Try paddling out at OceanBeachSF on a 6' day, close period swells and your heartrate would break the monitor.
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kirk



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 158

PostPosted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 4:08 pm    Post subject: Heart Monitor for Windsurfing Reply with quote

I wrote an article in 2010 " GPS for Windsurfing " about a GPS with heart monitor that I used for windsurfing and biking.

I use a Garmin 310XT and like it but it seems to read too high and too low after I miss a jibe. My guess is I wear keys around my neck under my wet suit that interfere with the signal from the strap after it gets wet.

Here is a recent trace http://connect.garmin.com/activity/215900973
You can see my HR looked accurate until I missed a jibe after sailing 24 minutes and fell in.... then it soared to over 21o... which I doubt...

I will have to find a better place for my keys, but I also keep spare line on the loop around my neck so I like to have it handy...

I really like it otherwise.

_________________
Best Regards
Kirk Out
http://bayareawindsurfing.blogspot.com/
http://kirklindstrom.blogspot.com/
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