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Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor

A heart rate monitor can help you achieve the maximum benefit from your walking program. I use the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor. I have to admit that I like Omron products. I now own an Omron pedometer, blood pressure monitor and heart rate monitor. One benefit to Omron products is that their manuals are all available on-line so I don't have to remember where I put them.

The Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor allows you to track your heart rate while you walk, jog or use a piece of exercise equipment. The Omron HR-100C comes with a mounting bracket that you can attach to a stationary bike, treadmill, or other piece of exercise equipment.

It is important to know your heart rate when you are exercising and it is most important when you are walking because many of us have a tendency to stroll at some point in our walk. Unlike walking on a treadmill where you have all sorts of displays telling you how hard you are working out, walking on your own is self-regulated.

To achieve an effective workout you must maintain your heart rate at a proper level for a minimum of 20 minutes. The proper level is considered to be 65%-85% of your maximum heartrate.

What I learned using the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor is that I need to pick up the pace. I have started to add a few short sprints to my walking routine so that I can increase my heart rate. I also learned that walking up a hill greatly increases my heart rate, so I have added a few hills to my walking route.

What you get when you order this product:

• Wrist Receiver Monitor (it is essentially a watch)
• Receiver Mounting Bracket for use on exercise equipment
• Transmitter and Transmitter Strap
• 2 Lithium CR2032 Batteries (1 Receiver, 1 Transmitter, both are installed)
• Instruction Manual

Pros of the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor

• Easy to program, if I can program the monitor anyone can
• You can set an alarm to go off if your heart rate goes too high or too low
• The Wrist Receiver functions as a watch, alarm clock and stop watch as well as a heart rate monitor
• A button allows you to light up the watch face
• There is a mounting bracket to mount the watch receiver to most treadmills and bicycles
• The watch face is large enough to be easily read
• It comes with it's own carrying case that you can attach to a belt, though I cannot imagine why you would ever do that
• The watch is water resistant
• The transmitter belt expands to 98 feet (30 meters)
• There is a 1 year warranty

Cons of the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor

• The plastic watch band is large and inflexible. There are 10 holes in the watch band and I have it on the fourth hole from smallest. If you have very small wrists this watch may be uncomfortable.
• I would say I am a "medium endowed" woman. I can't say the transmitter belt is comfortable, but it is not uncomfortable either. I forgot that I had it on after the first 10 minutes or so. It did take me a while to figure out the most comfortable position. I think a "well-endowed" woman would find the belt uncomfortable since it sits right under your breasts.

I recommend the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor. It keeps you honest about how hard you are working out so you will get the most out of your exercise. After all none of us wants to spend all that time exercising if we are not seeing any benefit.

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Posted by Jackie on December 19, 2006

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