Buy Walking VideosFitsense Speedometer Systems
I usually don’t like to recommend unnecessary equipment. If you want to get fit, all you need are a good pair of shoes and a door to walk out of. Too many times I’ve seen people say that they can’t exercise because they don’t have a gym membership or a treadmill. You don’t need those things. All you need to do is get your butt out of the door every day and run.
Then again, I’m a gadget freak. I love to play with new exercise toys. Sometimes a new exercise toy will inspire me for months. Just having a new toy to play with when I get my butt out the door is enough to keep me exercising sometimes. This looks like a fun new toy:
This is a speedometer, heart rate monitor and a link to upload your workout data to the computer. There is a pod that connects to your shoe that measures your distance and speed, a watch for your wrist, a heart rate monitor strap and a USB uplink to connect to your computer. If you don’t want to shell out $250, you can pick and choose which parts you want and upgrade later.
Benefits:
Speedometer, heart rate monitor, distance and chronometer all on one watch. They all display on one screen. You won’t have to push buttons to see what you want.
Compared to GPS systems, it is relatively inexpensive. Additionally, GPS tracking has problems in “urban canyonsâ€, where the signal bounces off the large buildings.
Negatives:
The watch is rather large and bulky. The display is designed to be easy to see while running or walking, but that makes it slightly unwieldy, especially if you’re a woman.
If you already have a heart rate monitor, stopwatch or distance meter, you would have to buy extra items in order to have them all be in one watch. Either that or wear two watches.
The uplink to your computer is an Internet based system, which is unnecessary. I would prefer software that just runs on my computer. I don’t want to depend on my unreliable ISP in order to upload my workout data.
My current heart rate monitor is a Timex, so you know it’s going to last a hundred years. I’m thinking that I’ll never get a chance to try this new toy, but if you are in the market for a heart rate monitor, it looks like this one will give you the extra benefits of speedometer and distance measurement. Check it out.
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July 29th, 2005 at 3:42 am
One additional negative that I found. If you are large and slow and alternate between walking and running, you will find that your data varies pretty wildly. One minute it will tell you that you’re running an impossible (for me) 9 minute mile and the next you’re running a 17 minute mile without you ever changing your pace. I’ve been told by the company that I’ll get better readings if I stick to using it for walking until I’m able to run at a consistently faster (than my actual 13-14 minute mile) pace. Suffice to say, it’s been a $200 paperweight since I found that out.
July 29th, 2005 at 5:15 am
Thank you for the review. It’s nice to know someone who has actually used one of these things. Too many of the gadgets that look great on paper turn out to be paperweights. Thanks for the warning.