Heart Rate Monitor

With my payday on Wednesday, I bought a couple of big ticket items. Firstly I decided to join True Fitness since it's near my office and I can go workout before coming in or during lunchtime. Yippee!

I'm like a kid let loose in the candy store when I see the nice new machines there. It does this and whoa, what does that do?! I have been exploring (alright, I admit that I have been hiding away at the ladies' corner) and have quickly settled down on a favourite - the Precor cross ramp machine.

It's an interesting hybrid - a mix of a cross trainer, strider and a stair master (except it's not so excruciating as one). I really enjoy it. :)

And since there are no stupid rules like only using the machine for a max of 20 mins and no reading materials allowed, I have been bringing in my iPad too. Catching up on my RSS feeds or watch a movie while working out? Game on!

*takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself*

And before I forgot, the second thing I bought is the Polar heart rate monitor, the FT60. It is uber cool. It takes down my measurements and calculate my fitness level. It then ask me for my target currently (lose weight) and calculate my weekly targets.

*gulps*

My fitness level is Low which is not surprisingly given my weight (but then again, it is surprising after working out for 4 months now, hmmpf). But the one that made me gasp was the weekly target.

6 hours 5 mins of exercise per week and burn 2540 calories in total.

OMG.

I currently workout at 40 mins for 5 times a week and am trying to bring up my frequency to 6 times a week. And now I am told that I have to increase my duration by a third?! Acks.

I would love to workout more and I think that one hour is durable... if not for the fact that I exercise during my workday and am in a constant rush to get back so that I can get more work done. -____-;;

Anyway given that I was in Suntec today, I did clocked in 1 hour today, go me! I burnt 416 calories in total which was interesting because the last time I clocked only 30 mins (didn't know how to operate the HRM properly at that time) and actually clocked 300+ calories. So how much effort I put into it matters too and not just the duration nor the intensity set at the machine.

I will do my best to hit the weekly targets but I am NOT going to hold myself accountable to that. One thing I have learnt from the past is that if I take such calculations too seriously and become rigid on what I must do to lose weight, the fun and joy of exercising is diminished for me. I WILL NOT let this happen.

So let's see where this HRM and my perspective takes me. Who knows, perhaps after a week or so, I come changin' my mind and the next thing you know, I am begging the HRM to GIVE IT TO ME.

More... more!