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Garmin HRM-Tri
Designed for swim-bike-runners,
this ECG chest strap works in the pool
and open water, storing workouts on
the small sensor and beaming them
via ANT+ to connected devices. In
addition to zone training, training-load
feedback and recovery powered by
heart-rate variability, motion sensors
also track torso movement for
running insights including cadence
and ground contact time. You’ll get 10
months from one replaceable battery.
£100 / garmin.com
Scosche Rhythm24
If you find wrapping a strap around
your chest too restrictive, Scosche’s
heart-rate tracker is an armband that
sits on your forearm to track beats
per minute. The argument here is that
there are fewer motions to muddy
the results compared to a wrist-worn
device. Waterproof and able to store
workouts to sync later, the armband
is compatible with lots of third-party
apps and includes Bluetooth and
ANT+ connectivity.
€100 / scosche.euWhoop Strap 3.0
Essentially a screenless optical heart
monitor, the Whoop is designed to be
worn 24/7. It tracks five heart-rate
metrics at high frequency, including
resting rate and variability, and
recommends how hard you should
train based on your recovery. There’s
a monthly subscription for those
insights, but it has a five-day battery
life and broadcasts to Peloton, Strava
and TrainerRoad.
€25/month / whoop.com
Polar OH1+
The brilliantly versatile OH1+ is an
optical heart-rate sensor you can
wear on your forearm, your biceps
or even your temple. It’s not quite as
accurate as the H10 on dry land but
it’s perfect for events where you
need your tracker out of the way and
strapped to your goggles during pool
workouts. It’s ANT+ and Bluetooth
compatible, with 12hrs of continuous
tracking and a 200hr memory.
£70 / polar.com1
Listen to
your heart
Aside from being
a top indicator for
cardiovascular fitness,
heart-rate tracking
shows what zone
you’re in, how long you
can sustain it, and how
quickly you can recover
to a resting rate after
exercise. If you’re
training for something
specific, it’s a great way
to measure and track
improvements.2
My heart
will go on
While things like speed
and power can be
affected by external
factors, such as the
weather, your heart
rate is a consistent
force to be measured.
So when you come
to compare data from
multiple sessions,
there’s no denying
you may have worked
harder in one than
the other.3
The heart
never lies
Your resting heart rate
is linked to lifestyle and
it rarely lies. If you’ve
been on the sauce
consistently for a
couple of weeks it’s
likely to be reflected
in the cold, hard data.
Seeing the numbers
push up might be
enough to motivate
you to train harder or
simply cut out some
bad habits.OUTDOOR FITNESS
NOW APP THIS
Instant
Heart Rate
If you’re too strapped
to strap, IHR is a clever
little app that uses
the lens on your phone
camera to take an
instant heart-rate
reading by calculating
blood circulation in your
finger. The developers
claim it’s accurate
enough for cardiology
research at the
University of California,
San Francisco (UCSF),
no doubt ruining
everyone’s Freshers’
Week memories
with accidental
pictures of fingers
in the process.
More than just a
medical tool, though,
the app is good
for cardio workout
monitoring to improve
your training and track
progress. There are
heart-rate zones for
rest, fat burn, cardio
and peak, plus it’ll work
with Apple and Google’s
respective in-house
fitness apps too.
£free (IAPs) /
iOS, Android(UN)FITBUT YOU
KNOW IT