Why The Garmin Forerunner 305 Cardio Velocity Recording Device Is One of The Best
The Garmin Forerunner 305 heart rate monitor has everything you need to improve your fitness level. You’ll find all kinds of tracking data, goals setting tools, and accurate measures of your cardiac rate and location.
My sister was competing in a duathlon a few weeks ago. It was a run/bike combo with a 10K run followed by a 50K bike ride. Now I’m just a runner myself. I just haven’t yet put out the extra cash and made the serious investment in a nice bike and all the other accessories you need to get into biking. But I do know that after running a 10K I’m pretty much ready to lay down for a while and have an ice cold drink. The last thing I would want to do is hop on a bike for another hour or so and go another 50K.
Table Of Contents
Section 1. Start of the Review
Section 2. Features Table
Section 3. GPS Navigation
Section 4. Heart Rate Zone Training
Section 5. Choose A Workout Type
Section 6. Create Your Own Awesome Courses
Section 7. Program Multi-Sport Workouts
Section 8. Set Up A Range of Different Alerts
Section 9. Garmin Training Center
Section 10. Some Other Unique Features
Section 11. Optional Accessories
Section 12. The Good
Section 13. The Bad
Section 14. What’s Included
Section 15. Consumer Reviews Summary
Section 16. Where to Buy
Now my sister is really in fantastic shape. She trains hard and consistently. Surprisingly too she’s really seen her times drop over the last couple years despite the demands of motherhood (my nephew is a real handful) and a full time career in counseling. I asked her what she was doing, because goodness knows I need some of that.
She told me it was about training smarter, not harder, and held out her wrist. I looked down at the high tech gadget she had strapped on. At first glance it looked like a sports watch on steroids, but sleek and cool. After she started showing me what it could do, I said to myself, “Self, you need to take a serious look at this Garmin Forerunner 305.” And so I did. Here’s what I found out.
The GPS Navigation Is The Best In The World
Garmin is really the king when it comes to GPS features. There is an interface on the screen where you can look at all of the satellites in orbit that are in range of your Forerunner. The screen will show you where they are located, give each one a tracking number, and tell you which ones are the strongest and most accurate.
When you start setting up road courses on the Forerunner 305 you’ll be able to use the GPS feature to view the course you’re running or biking on a map. You can then save different locations that you want to remember later, and create new routes where you’d like to work out. Workouts can be mapped using Google Earth. If you ever get lost, the 305 will even help you find your way home. Locations on the screen are shown on a map and positions are listed by longitude and latitude as well as elevation. There is also a compass built in to the 305.
Heart Rate Zone Training Means Smart Training
If you didn’t already know, you can measure and greatly improve your fitness by knowing your cardio rate zones and which ones to train in and for how long. Your pulse rate is an excellent measure of how intense you are exercising. By training in certain zones you can enhance your strength and improve your cardiovascular capacity. Knowing your individual personalized heart rate zones can help prevent you from over or under training and decrease your risk of injury.
You can set up five pulse rate zones on the Forerunner 305. The zones are based on a percentage of maximum cardiovascular rate (1-lowest, 5-highest). You will need to enter your maximum heart pace and the Garmin 305 will calculate the percentages.
| Zone | % of Max Heart Rate | Perceived Exertion | Benefits |
| 1 | 50-60% | An easy pace, very relaxed slow breathing. | Reduce stress, beginner level aerobic training. |
| 2 | 60-70% | Deeper breathing but you can still hold a conversation, comfortable pace. | Good pace for recovery and warm-up. Builds basic cardio ability. |
| 3 | 70-80% | Moderate pace, harder to have a conversation. | Optimal cardiovascular training level, really improves aerobic capacity. |
| 4 | 80-90% | Fast uncomfortable pace, breathing is hard. | Boosts your speed and anaerobic capacity. |
| 5 | 90-100% | A sprinting pace, really hard breathing, you can’t keep this up for long. | Increases power and strength and improves anaerobic and muscular endurance. |
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Great article! For those concerned that 10 hours of battery isn’t enough, you can buy the Duracel battery pack for about $10 (or less) and several extra batteries. I guess this is more for those hikers and bikers who can carry the extra luggage. You can bike or run for dozens of hours this way (the charger just connects through the USB cradle for the watch to charge while you’re running/hiking/walking.
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