You don't have to be an elite athlete to enjoy the benefits of a GPS-enabled heart rate monitor these days, although it would certainly makes exercising more interesting again when you get to find out exactly how well you're running or swimming is progressing on a weekly/daily basis.
Garmin have been at the top of the exercise/heart rate monitor game for a while now (20 years in fact) and if their latest units are anything to go by - things are looking very bright for the company.
Timed to coincide with the Australian Fitness Expo, Garmin have two new fitness products worth taking a gander at:
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| The Garmin Forerunner 405CX |
Garmin Forerunner 405CX
A more advanced model (using high-end algorithms) is targeted towards fitness enthusiasts who seek access to dedicated, specialist training data. It supposably provides betters accuracy for heart rate-based calorie computation, and is more comfy to wear.
Priced respectively at $499, light (at 60g), it also features a choice of two additional form-fitting bands for Arnie-sized wrists and a smaller band for the less endowed. A finish based company, Firstbeat technologies provides the heartrate computation and in addition to these marvels of excercise science, the 405CX also geeks out with speed, distance and location tracking via its imbedded GPS sensor (using HotFix location technology).
A 'Virtual Partner' sensor on board is another feature worth mentioning. Although it may sound kooky and desperate, it's apparently a new way of training against the computer.
The unit is also waterproof, but doesn't mention whether it's good enough for swimming or just 'splash resistant'. However, the wireless data transfer mode promises to get all your data to the computer quicker.
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| The Garmin Forerunner 310XT |
Garmin Forerunner 310XT
The best thing about the 310XT has to be the new waterproof feature on board, good down to 50m - although we doubt suggesting you go out and dive with it. 20 hours of battery life is a nice touch too. Similar to the 405CX, there's wireless connectivity and GPS speed and distance tracking - perfect if still unsure about getting lost in the back hills or backstreets of your local suburb.
The slim wristband design makes it adaptable to a jog or a swim. Triathletes will love the easy mount system for putting it on a bike, while the unit can categorize multisport activities in one workout. The usual calorie counting, heart rate measuring functions are there, in addition to the virtual partner workout mode.
A nice little addition gives users the option to participate in an online fitness community known as Garmin Connect - Garmin's online training site. Prices will set you back $449 for the heart rate monitor model, or $379 without - which isn't a bad deal for a GPS style exercise device.
For more information, sprint over to www.garmin.com.au for more sweat inducing details.
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| Garmin Forerunner 310XT and 405CX side by side |