Do you always use a heart rate monitor?

[eplusg]

I am off to finally purchase a heart rate monitor. When you teach, are you always wearing on?

Thanks!

[groupfitpower]

Yes.

Unless I forgot to put it in my gym bag, then I fake it by pulling one out of the lost and found.

Never going to get my students riding with them if they see me without one on after all.

[TuscanPhil]

I always use one, teaching or when being taught. Whilst your legs may feel 'warm', your heart may say otherwise - it allows you to gauge how hard you are working against your body - rather than how hard it feels. Your heart is a pretty good way of seeing how much effort your body is putting in. Ther are plenty of free resources on the web regarding training with heartrate - just go for it I'd say!

[eplusg]

I used it yesterday, for the first time ever, and I am happy I decided to finally get one. It will really help me build my class profiles once I start to recognize the zones I am actually working in, and how to get my class participants to find a similar zone What cues do you find easiest to understand from a rider perspective, without a hrm?

[Cheeze]

Usually I just wear the watch when I teach. As GFP posted if you don't teach by example it's more difficult to get your students to wear one. (In class I usually don't wear my chest strap. Even with a coded strap/watch at times I can cause interference if I approach a student bike) Instructors sucking air in/over the mic drives me absolutely crazy. Subsequently during class I ride by perceived exertion and usually stop adding intensity just before sucking.

I usually pre-ride my profiles before class - this time with a HR monitor. During that pre-ride I can gauge the intensity and gain the students perspective. Both pieces of information I can use to coach the ride during class.

Cheeze
"The hill isn't going to lay down or go flat just so you can make it to the top"

[tarah]

I'm not wearing one at the moment, because mine is broken and I need to either buy a new one or see if I can send it back to Polar to get fixed. But, yes, generally speaking, I wear one when I am teaching. I might have even been one of the only people who showed up for the Spinning Instructor Training who took the admonition to bring a HRM with them seriously--I bought one then and I always use one now. One of the ways I also try to sell it to my class is as a biofeedback tool -- my HR tells me if I've had too much coffee that morning, if I'm overtraining or am getting sick, and things like that. That's useful stuff that can help me gauge my workout for the day.

[Todd S]

Usually I just wear the watch when I teach. As GFP posted if you don't teach by example it's more difficult to get your students to wear one. (In class I usually don't wear my chest strap. Even with a coded strap/watch at times I can cause interference if I approach a student bike) Instructors sucking air in/over the mic drives me absolutely crazy. Subsequently during class I ride by perceived exertion and usually stop adding intensity just before sucking.

I usually pre-ride my profiles before class - this time with a HR monitor. During that pre-ride I can gauge the intensity and gain the students perspective. Both pieces of information I can use to coach the ride during class.

Cheeze
"The hill isn't going to lay down or go flat just so you can make it to the top"

So you use a fake HR Monitor to monitor the intensity (i.e. resistance) you're faking?

(Tip: Move the mic to the side of your face. You won't hear breathing and the mic will last longer as sweat will not drip on it.)

[liveon2wheels]

I used it yesterday, for the first time ever, and I am happy I decided to finally get one. It will really help me build my class profiles once I start to recognize the zones I am actually working in, and how to get my class participants to find a similar zone What cues do you find easiest to understand from a rider perspective, without a hrm?

Well done! You have hit the nail on the head with this comment - it truly brings an entire new dimension to your teaching (not to mention your own training). The more you use it, the more you will learn what you can do with it. I keep about 10 "loaner straps" with me when I teach so anyone can "get a taste" to see what it's like. Most eventually buy one for themselves after they use it a few times.

[Vivienne]

Well done! You have hit the nail on the head with this comment - it truly brings an entire new dimension to your teaching (not to mention your own training). The more you use it, the more you will learn what you can do with it.
.

This is a big thing about working with an HRM that folk who're new to HRM usage oftentimes don't appreciate ...... there's a learning curve. The feedback a user gets isn't quite as rapid or as precise as, say, a speedometer in a well tuned car. There are anomalies in use that're predictable as well as those that aren't, to the extent that the info. given can be worse than no HR data at all.

I have a new-to-me class member (new to the gym) who's using an HRM .....potentially good.....except I fancy that she's gotten the idea that it's a feedback tool for every intensity level. And, of course, there's the calorie burn. Nice challenge for me to re-educate her without giving the impression that HRM usage is a total crock....

Vivienne

[groupfitpower]

So you use a fake HR Monitor to monitor the intensity (i.e. resistance) you're faking?

Dude, don't judge.



Why "make it" when faking it accomplishes just as much?

[tvano1991]

Why "make it" when faking it accomplishes just as much?

The replies here always make me chuckle. I ALWAYS wear a HRM. For lots of reasons, as mentioned here, but I want to lead by example, and I do coach to HR as well as RPE, so what would that say if I didn't wear one?

I also fake it. I teach upwards of 6-10 classes per week, and once this darn weather breaks I plan to start riding outside as well, so there's no way I could ride at the intensity I coach in class. So another reason I wear my HR is to make sure I keep my own intensity down and don't get caught up in the action. I have to remember that it's THEIR workout, not mine, the vast majority of the time, or else I'd get sick and wouldn't be able to teach! (Voice of experience.)

Yes, I do teach off the bike on occasion, too.

What cues do you find easiest to understand from a rider perspective, without a hrm?

As far as how to coach RPE for those not wearing a HRM, I would do a search on this forum. There are a lot of motivational threads and ways to cue riders for the desired intensity. If you get stuck, let me know and I'll actually dig up some links for ya.