Looking for a heart rate monitor device to upgrade or replace your old device?  Take a look at the MyZone heart rate monitor, the MZ-3. In addition to providing an excellent heart rate monitor device, as a company MyZone recognizes that users often benefit from more than just a set of readings to motivate them.  If a user starts a workout program, they want fitness results. Started by president and co-founder Emmett Williams, the company launched their extremely accurate MZ-3 heart rate monitor, delivering an astounding 99.4% accuracy to users in 2017.

There has been considerable growth at MyZone since the company began in 2011. MyZone uses their technology to not only to track and record training results, it also connects the individual with a personalized training plan and a social network to engage them more fully. And it works, here’s how… 

MEPS

The MyZone heart rate monitor is an accurate and innovative wearable, combining wireless and cloud technology to calculate MyZone Effort Points (MEPS). By earning points, the user is engaged to beat their personalized performance plan. Not only that, but the user can join in games and challenges that promote physical activity and makes working out more fun. 

The purpose of awarding points is to reward individual effort and make achieving fitness more fun.  At the same time, the user learns how to use heart rate intensity to promote better personal results. The MZ-3 is the perfect device to measure and track heart rate stats to improve health. So much so, that it is now being used by fitness facilities to help members feel good about their workouts, encourages their success, and keeps them coming back to the gym.

Design of the MZ-3

The MZ-3 is a chest worn heart rate monitor worn under your clothing that records your own personal fitness stats, much like every other chest strap device.  The oval shaped MZ-3 tracker is positioned over the sternum and attached to the band using two snaps, making it easy to detach the strap for washing after workouts.  There is a place for you to write your name on it, making it easy to spot your own strap after tossing it into the wash.  The band is adjustable, fits snugly and is simple to hook into place to start your run, bike ride or workout.  To understand more about heart rate monitor use in training click here.

The unit is made of durable plastic, able to withstand a few knocks during a weigh training routine or being tossed into the bottom of your gym bag.  The MZ-3 device comes with its own clip-on charger that uses USB and can really hold a charge.  Mine lasted at over 7 months before I needed to reconnect and charge it.

How It Works

The MyZone heart rate monitor sensors must connect directly with the skin to take a reading, so if you aren’t wearing it, the battery is not drained.  This device uses a series of beeps to signal use, one when the sensors engage and three beeps when it turns off. The beeps are not always detectable if you are in a very noisy environment.  To accommodate this, whenever I was in the locker room or noisy outdoor space, I held the sensors in my hand until I heard the beeps.

The MyZone heart rate monitor chest band fits snugly, as it should for accurate readings. However, I found the monitor itself would detach when I was adjusting the band.  Once I realized that to adjust the band, I needed to stop grabbing the monitor to move it, the problem was solved.

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MyZone Heart Rate Monitor Features

The MZ-3 offers users the combined support of an excellent heart rate monitor along with and app that supports the users fitness goals. The features of this device include;

  • Heart rate monitoring
  • Calories burned
  • Real-time feedback
  • Bluetooth
  • Android/iOS app
  • Personalized results
  • Live Stats Training sessions  
  • ANT+ compatible, (it works with other apps and devices such as Apple Watch, Garmin running watches, Strava, MapMyRun or MapMyFitness) 

Set Up and App Use

One of the goals of Myzone is to reward workout efforts by using technology so people feel positive about exercising.  Therefore, this phone app acts as more than a repository for your data.  This application allows you to search for friends, set personal goals, create challenges and tract real time exercise data.  It also stores information, tracks improvements and keeps your workouts on track to meet your personal goals.

The app set up is straight forward.  To pair your MZ-3 MyZone heart rate monitor belt to your phone, just turn on Bluetooth in your phone settings, open the MyZone app, go to the Effort Stream screen and then put on the MZ-3 belt.  Once it is on correctly, and the monitor is recording your heart rate, the pairing should begin, and your belt ID number will be seen on the top of the screen.  This pairing then activates the Tiles and you are now up and running.  Just proceed with your workout and the MZ-3 device will record it. It’s important to note that you will require a facility code to activate your MZ-3, depending on the country location; UK, USA or OTHER.

When you first open the app, you are on the Home screen.  There are six tiles on the main menu, these tiles are; the My Body Metrics, Challenges, Connections, Workout Time, Home and Chat Inbox tiles. These tiles can be repositioned to make those used most often easier to access.  To customize their position, just click and drag them to suit your needs.

Make Workouts More Fun

The tiles make exercising more fun, connects you to outside challenges and potentially coaching. You can create group challenges, invite friends and add suggested participants if you are using it through a facility and enter the code to register.  Once you are inside a tile, simply swipe right or left to toggle between screens.

At the bottom of the screen, there are two additional icons; a Stats icon on the left side of the lower bar and a Settings icon, located on the bottom right side, where you can add your picture to the app to personalize it.

There are a couple of changes that would make these tiles even easier to use.  For instance, you must manually refresh individual pages to see your latest workouts.  The same is true of the activity calendar, even after these pages have been synced. It offers sections for body shots and places to log food intake.  Both are pretty basic, and could have offered more  information about caloric intake as other apps do, reaching beyond uploading photos.

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The MZ-3 wearable is compatible with a wide array of other devices and apps. For example, Apple Watch users’ active burn calories, weight, height, BMI, BMR, blood pressure, body fat and heart rate can all be shared with the Apple Health portal. Your heart rate data is stored until you sync your belt with the MyZone app.

Pros

  • Accurate heart rate readings (99.4%) as accurate as an EKG (electrocardiogram)
  • Multi-sport versatility
  • Long battery life, proprietary USB charger
  • Calories burned as accurate as other HRM devices
  • Useable in gym setting
  • Integrate with many third-party wearable apps and devices
  • Provides live data via phone app
  • Offers personalized training programs, social connections
  • Used in many fitness facilities by coaches and class instructors

Cons

  • App pairing can be spotty
  • Not always obvious it’s turned on
  • Hard to hear beeps in a busy gym, locker room or noisy outdoor settings
  • Can be a bit uncomfortable
  • Water resistant to 30m, not designed for swimming

Summary

The MZ-3 heart rate monitor combined with the MyZone app links the user to social connections that increase competition. Those connections stimulate and encourage your efforts and rewards you for participation through a point system. This device is compatible with other third party apps and wearables such as the Apple Watch.

The MZ-3 MyZone heart rate monitor is rated safe in water up to 3 meters, however, it will not reliably record data while swimming.  This is because the water causes the strap to regularly detach from the chest.  MyZone recommends you not submerge the belt in water or use it when swimming. So, on the downside, although they are water resistant and work when you sweat on them, these monitors are not waterproof.    To learn more about a wearable for swimming click here.

On the positive side, this wearable is highly accurate, and combined with the application, can give you the tools you need to increase your fitness while also offering you the community support and connectivity that encourages your success.  The focus of the MZ-3 MyZone heart rate monitor is to make workouts more enjoyable and rewarding through their MEP system rather than just step counting. That in turn increases the user to commit to improved health.  And while not perfect, this device it does exactly what fitness devices were designed to do, support overall health and fitness. 

Therefore, I recommend this device to anyone who wants to monitor their heart rate to improve fitness training, tract calories burned and record their workouts, with an option for social support and potentially with a fitness facility. This may be the perfect device for someone like you.