Meet Beets Blu! | Product Review

I’ve long pondered the concept of heart rate training versus just run-it-all-out-and-if-your-heart-beats-too-hard-slow-down training, but have never gone as far as researching or seeing what it all really means. I was more than floored and excited when Beets Blu reached out to me a little while back and asked if I wanted to test our their Heart Rate Monitor – considering I’d never even messed with the one that came with my Garmin, I figured why not check one out? Theirs seemed simple enough to use and syncs with your phone app, so surely it’s meant for newbies like me. Bonus: I got a fun little key-finder fob – ask me how many times I lose my keys a week and where I’ve found them (re: twice in the front door lock. Overnight. Yes, I win at life).

Beets Blu is a company specializing in mobile apps and fitness technology, and is fairly new in the fitness world, having just been founded in 2012. Their products include the heart rate monitor, the pager tag (key finder) and a smart scale.

I first wanted to play with the HRM during the Ventura Half back in September. The night before the race, Doug and I messed around with it, to get it set up and figure out how this sucker works. Much to my happiness, it’s SO easy – download the free corresponding smart phone app, set up your profile and personal settings, and sync the HRM to your phone via Bluetooth.

I was expecting the strap to be really uncomfortable and awkward, but I lined it up right under the rim of my sports bra, so I hardly noticed it was there. The whole thing is really light, and aside from indents on the tighter spots of where my bra hits, you couldn’t even tell that I had worn it for 2+ hours during the half.

The app is quite simple, and again as a novice HRM user/researcher/nerd, I am not sure what it’s missing that I’d still like to have. For a newbie like me, it’s perfect to see where my high points are and where I work hardest. For folks who might be more advanced in HRM nerdiness, the cool part is that it also syncs to other HRM apps and other devices (RunKeeper, Garmin, etc.), so you can continue using any platform you may have been on before!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Beets Blu’s HRM and am looking forward to getting nerdy with it in the future as I read up more on heart rate training and what it all means. 

Likes

Price

Lightweight

Easy to use app / simple product overall

Dislikes

The app could be a downfall to some – but I like its simplicity! 

Do you run with a heart rate monitor? 

I received the Beets Blu Wireless Bluetooth Smart 4.0 Heart Rate Monitor free of charge in exchange for a product review. I was not compensated for this blog post other than receiving the products, and all opinions are my own.