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That's an Excellent Question: How to keep your heart rate monitor strap up?
By:  Craig Storey   (2006/09/18)

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I have a stupid question but I hope to get a reasonable answer. I guess you guys use Heart Rate monitor during the winter when skiing. I do too. But the chest strap always drops down to my waist, it does not stay in place. Would you give a trick to overcome this problem. I checked for some kind of suspender but couldn't find anything. I am a male, so don't tell me to use the woman bra made by Polar:-)))

Thanks and keep up training.
D.P.

Hi there,

>> Would you give a trick to overcome this problem.
Crazy Glue? :)

No seriously, that's not a stupid question at all! In fact you are not alone - lots of people have this problem. Some people's chest/rib shapes just make it impossible to get any heart rate signal or to have the strap stay up. Tightening the strap too tight isn't a good solution as it can restrict breathing. Generally I don't have many issues myself, but on occasion as the soft elastic band gets older I sometimes find the monitor sliding down my chest more often. I've replaced the soft band twice in about 10 years of use and both time the new band helped fix the problem.

If you are going to buy a new elastic band, then you might just want to try the newer Polar chest straps since people say they are getting much better. There's one with a smaller elastic strap and another one with softer material and almost no plastic across the chest than the orignal, mainly plastic strap across the chest, straps. See http://www.polarusa.com/store/default.asp for more details.

It takes some experimenting to find a good solution to this problem. I've even heard from people who have problems with getting a signal that Polar recommends trying to wear the strap across you back, upside down. I've never tried this, but maybe it also solves the strap sliding issue?

I had a roomate in university who made himself a bra-like shoulder strap he was so frustrated with his chest strap falling off. It was a simple contraption - two shoelaces over the shoulders in an X shape. This solution works well, but looks a little funny if you wear it in the summer with your shirt off. (Do you call it "The Bro" or "The Manssier"?) Remember, I didn't tell you to use the Polar bra I told you to make your own.

Good luck keeping that strap in the right spot.
Craig

 
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