elite for a day...

I've always been a gadget person, and love new technology.  It's what I do for a living, and I use gadgets with my running, (especially with my new focus of heart rate training), so naturally it's a big part of my life.  

I recently bought a Polar heart rate monitor; my first one.  I've been learning the settings, the software, and how to use it.  If you read my post from last week, where Marlene suggested that I was the neighborhood menace, it was obvious that I had done something wrong. :D

The Polar allows you to do a 'Fitness Test'.  The following is taken from the manual...

The Polar Fitness Test is an easy, safe, and quick way to measure your aerobic (cardiovascular) fitness at rest. The result, Polar OwnIndex, is comparable to maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), which is commonly used to evaluate aerobic fitness. Your long-term level of physical activity, heart rate, heart rate variability at rest, gender, age, height, and body weight all influence OwnIndex. The Polar Fitness Test is developed for use by healthy adults.

Aerobic fitness relates to how well your cardiovascular system works to transport oxygen to your body. The better your aerobic fitness, the stronger and more efficient your heart is. Good aerobic fitness has many health benefits. For example, it helps in decreasing high blood pressure and your risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. If you want to improve your aerobic fitness it takes, on average, six weeks of regular training to see a noticeable change in your OwnIndex. Less fit individuals see progress even more rapidly. The better your aerobic fitness, the smaller the improvements in your OwnIndex.

The first time I did this test, I scored a 35.  Being female and age 31, this put me in the 'moderate' category.

Reading the manual further, I made an adjustment to a setting to my level of activity since I've been running 40+km/week, biking and packing to move... this counts as cross-training, no?

A few days after having made this change (even though I kinda forgotten about this setting change), I repeated the fitness test... and scored a 51, which is considered Elite!  Pffft.  So I redid it, same thing. Obviously something is wrong, but flattery will get you everywhere, and my morale could use a boost!  I hope to see results from heart rate training, but didn't expect it to be so drastic and so soon! LOL

As bloggers, some of you often get contacted by companies to do product reviews, get free swag, etc.  (I don't, but I'm not bitter... lol)  Well, I was surprised on Monday to get an email from Chris at Polar USA in response to my "menacing" post asking if I got the settings fixed, and offered his help if needed!  

I explained that the constant beeping was a malfunction user error, but also took the opportunity to ask him about the results of the fitness test, and a few other questions I had. He responded yesterday suggesting that the setting I changed last week was probably incorrect, and helped with my other inquiries! How's that for Customer Service!  I was contacted as a result of my blog post, questions answered, issues resolved! If only it was that easy to deal with every company! Thanks again Chris!

I redid the fitness test this morning; I'm back to being 'moderate', but it was fun to be elite for a day, even if I didn't feel any different. :)