For workout planners, Rhythm+ heart monitor a good fit

The Scosche Rhythm+ Heart Monitor attaches to the forearm with a soft, comfortable strap and monitors heart rate during a workout.
The Scosche Rhythm+ Heart Monitor attaches to the forearm with a soft, comfortable strap and monitors heart rate during a workout.

I've been on a bit of a health kick lately, trying to get into better shape.

Given that I'm planning a big trip next year, the more I plan, the more I see how much walking I'm going to be doing. That means I need to start getting into shape to be able to walk over miles of terrain or up old stone steps to get to see the sights I want to see.

After all, what's the point of a dream overseas trip if you can't see or do the things you want?

One thing I've been doing is working to improve my heart rate to a healthier level. This requires two things that, I'm ashamed to say, I've been lacking: exercise and a decent heart monitor. OK, maybe the heart monitor isn't as shameful as the exercise, but you get the idea.

For a monitor, I've been looking for something convenient and accurate that I can wear on my wrist or forearm. Those aren't easy to find or tend to be really, really expensive. Several I found were either chest monitors or monitors for the upper arm. Neither would work for me.

Scosche sent along a heart monitor that wasn't as expensive as expected, and while it is designed to work on the forearm, I also got it to work just above the wrist.

The Rhythm+ Heart Rate Monitor has a dirt-proof, sweat-proof sensor on the bottom and a center button and small LED light on the top. The device looks similar to a wristwatch, but its strap is made to fit around a forearm. If the attached strap isn't big enough to use, a longer band is available in the package. Switching them out is easy enough to do.

The sensor can be worn during a workout, even in a pool because it's waterproof to a little more than 3 feet.

The device comes with a charger. The monitor snaps into the charger, and the charger plugs into a USB port or adapter. You do have to be careful when popping the monitor out of its charger, or you might damage it.

While the strap is soft and stretches well, it's a bit tricky. You have to get it on tight enough so it won't slip during a workout, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation -- which means it won't get accurate readings. That wasn't always as easy as it seems, and I had to readjust it a few times.

The key to the heart monitor is its connection.

Because it doesn't have its own display, it must connect to a device that can read the data. Luckily, this device includes Bluetooth technology so it can connect with any Bluetooth-compatible fitness device that has ANT+ capability, a common signal for these types of devices. This means the monitor can connect with fitness equipment displays, smartphones or heart-monitoring watches.

The monitor, surprisingly, doesn't come with its own smartphone app, something I expected. Luckily, it works with several apps already available, so I tested it with a few.

I started with the Wahoo Utility, but all that did was offer me more apps from the same company and none really did what I wanted. Basically, it was pretty useless. So I moved on to Digifit. This one is compatible with the Scosche monitors. However, you have to pay $7.99 to upgrade the app so it would talk to the monitors.

Uh, no.

Next, I moved on to Heart Graph. It's a very basic app, but it did the job, easily talking to the Rhythm+ monitor. With this app, you can work out freely, plan your own workout or even download workouts from other Heart Graph users. This feature requires a $1.99 purchase for "Premium" services. Simple workout tracking is free, however. The app also will keep a record of the graphs from each workout.

The app uses the monitor to track a person's heart rate during a workout. It tracks maximum and mean heart rates, as well as the workout duration, calories burned and even reps and reference sets. The app plots the heart rate on a graph as you work out, so you can see how well you maintained your pace. It stores all of that into a report that can be viewed and compared with others later. Heart Graph is a nice little app for the monitor, and it's free.

I also tried out a free app called HeartRate. This one looks for a heart monitor called 60beat Blue, but it works fine with the Scosche monitor. The app figures out your target heart rate based on age, weight and sex, or it allows you to set your heart zones manually, including zones for fat burning, aerobic and anaerobic rates. The app then uses the monitor to track where your heart rate falls on that scale, so a user can see not only whether they hit their target rate, but at what percentage they hit it during a workout. It also tracks calories burned. The app will even email the results to you, so you can store the information or forward it to your doctor.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test Android apps (these were for iPhones), but there are several similar apps available for Android as well, some of which are free.

No matter the app, the Scosche monitor seemed to work well. Compared with manually taking my pulse, the monitor seemed to be pretty close to the target. At most, it would be off by a beat or two.

If you're looking to kick it into gear, this would be a good option. It's a little pricey at $79.99, but it does the job.

It's a nice tool to have if you're working out for a goal -- like an awesome trip sometime next year.

Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at [email protected].

where it's @

The Scosche Rhythm+ Heart Monitor requires a smartphone, watch, fitness equipment or other display device with Bluetooth and ANT+ capabilities. The product retails for $79.99. More information is available at scosche.com/rhythm+.

Business on 06/09/2014

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