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he MYZONE MZ-3 is a physical activity belt that has been designed to track the user’s heart rate during various forms of tasks conducted as part of a work out session.  The product consists of a wearable hardware device and a downloadable app that is available from either the App Store or Google Play depending upon your preference for the mobile device that will provide feedback regarding gathered data.

The hardware element of the kit consists of a red belt-like contraption, a clip on tracking device and a short cable for charging the unit.  The belt, which is adjustable to fit different chest sizes (a sports bra product is available from the same company) enabling the product to be classified as “one size fits all”.  Located on the front of the belt is a pair of press stud connections for attaching the supplied tracking device to the wearable chest belt. 

See also: Health and Fitness

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On the reverse side of the belt, located just behind the press studs, is a 28 cm strip of black plastic material that contains the technology designed to pick up the heart data which is then passed to the tracking device for transmission to a mobile device. Apart from the 28 cm black strip, the rest of the belt is constructed from an elasticated material allowing the belt to be stretched to fit around the chest of different sized  wearers.

The tracking device adopts a flattened egg shape with a colourful logo decorating the front of the unit’s black body.  Located on the rear of the unit are the product’s serial number, which is required for the initial setting up process, and the two press stud connections for linking and firmly attaching the tracking device to the red chest belt. 

The press stud on the right of the unit has a tiny circular contact point which indicates that this is the press stud which acts as the connection point for recharging the unit’s internal battery using the supplied lead with a standard USB plug.  During the charging process a red light will blink and then settling down to a steady white glow when the charging is complete.  Fully charged the unit’s battery has a promised up to seven months of life but I have yet to fully test this feature.

As mentioned earlier, the hardware element of this product works in conjunction with the MZ-3 app which can be downloaded free from the App Store or Google Play.  When you first run the app you will need to link it to the hardware element by entering the tracking device’s facility code and Belt ID plus supply an email address and password.  You will then need to enter your personal details such as first and last name, date of birth and sex before moving on to entering body measurements in either metric or imperial measurements for weight and height.

The MZ-3 app presents the user with an interface that is split into eight different sections that make use of tiles.  You can switch between My Body Metrics, Goals, Challenges, Calendar, Workout, Connections, Home and MZChat before drilling down to examine different aspects of the heart data captured by the MZ-3 product that can be viewed on a smartphone  The MZ-3 can store up to 16MB or the equivalent of three years of personal data that you can access to check on past performances. You create challenges and goals plus interact with others to see how they are performing and have your favourite music played on the smartphone in the background.

The use of the press stud type connection should ensure that the tracking device does not become detached, no matter how strenuous were the various activities being carried out while wearing the kit.  Wearing the device did feel a little uncomfortable when first put on but it wasn’t long before I forgot that I was wearing the unit as I became involved in various activities.  The MZ-3 seemed to cope adequately with my irregular heart rate condition that I have.  The MZ-3 is priced at £129.99.

http://myzone.org/meet-the-mz3/