subject: Buying A Trainer Watch Is Exciting - But Here Is What You Can't Learn By Reading The Specifications! [print this page] Buying A Trainer Watch Is Exciting - But Here Is What You Can't Learn By Reading The Specifications!
Whether you are trying to improve your training or are training specifically for a triathlon or iron man then you will be very interested in the great range of sports watches and trainers available.
What should you expect from a sports watch?
The early sports watches were considered advanced if they could take your pulse; now they will monitor your heart rate as you train! So as far as technology goes, you can pretty much guarantee that you will be wowed by the facilities.
If you are looking for a sports watch you will want to spend plenty of time checking out all the features. However, below are the things I found needed extra consideration. They are the aspects which you forget about because you are so busy reading the technical specifications; but they are possibly more important than the spec. These are the areas which will make or break your love of your trainer watch.
There are two aspects of your sports watch which have to be considered together. These are the comfort and the facility. For example the Garmin Forerunner 305 now comes with a wireless heart rate monitor. This is a great facility. The guys at Garmin have also made sure that the chest strap is comfortable while training. However, there is always the possibility that you will not like wearing a chest strap. So this is a perfect case where it may be better to loose a facility instead of risk your discomfort during training. (I have to admin, having used the Garmin, it is unlikely that you will find it uncomfortable, but the concept does take some getting used to.) Timex also have a heart rate monitor watch; their Ironman Triathlon watch.
Apart from the heart rate monitor the other aspects of comfort to consider is the watch itself. You need a screen which is small enough that it does not affect your hand or wrist movement, and a strap which does not irritate and will be comfortable in all the conditions you will be training in. The Garmin has a screen which is shaped more like a traditional stopwatch; that is, it larger at the top than the bottom. It does have a clever feature that allows you to personalise the screen, so you can have your most useful information largest and easiest to see at a glance. On the other hand the Timex watch is more like a watch. The face is round and tapers into the strap, much like a standard watch.
All in, your love for your sports watch is essential for its success as a trainer. Discover my favourite trainer watch at http://extremesportcafe.com
This article was originally published under Discover the Garmin Forerunner 305.
