Your heart rate is one of your best, measurable indicators of overall fitness. When you exercise, your heart pushes oxygen-rich blood from your lungs to your muscles (which burn the oxygen like a car burns fuel) and back again. The harder you exercise, the more fuel your muscles demand, and the harder your heart beats. To maximize the benefits of exercise, it is critical to tailor the intensity to what your body is capable of, and your heart rate is your gauge for modifying the intensity level for maximum benefit. As you become more fit, your heart pumps more blood with each beat, your muscles get more fuel, and your heart becomes more efficient, beating at a slower rate. A heart rate monitor allows you to track your heart beat and see whether it's staying at the same level, or decreasing as your training progresses.
While there are many heart rate monitor choices, it's not as overwhelming as it may appear. Not to overly simplify, but the price increases with the number of performance features. Think "basic, better, best." In many cases, you simply do not need tons of features. On the other hand, an heart rate monitor is an investment that lasts years, and we would advise that you select the highest level heart rate monitor that you think you'll need so you're not "penny wise and pound foolish."
A new breed of devices began debuting in 2012 and 2013. Worn as a wristwatch or armband, they use optical sensors on the back of the device to continuously read your pulse through the skin. You get a real-time readout of your heart rate, just as with the chest strap monitors. Although make sure you do your homework as sometimes the readouts, especially on the cheaper Timex models, don't always work to plan.
A "basic" heart rate monitors indicate your "continuous heart rate", allow you to program your own training zone at varying "percentages of maximum heart rate", time your exercise, and provide a summary indicating average and maximum heart rate during the exercise. This means every heart rate monitor sold by Eastern Mountain Sports allows you to tune your workout to an appropriate intensity. In their off time, heart rate monitors are cool sport watches too!
Consider the ease of use when making your choice. Most monitors come with a watch and chest strap. That makes it very easy to monitor your stats during your workout. However, there are a few that don't require a chest strap, instead detecting your pulse by placing one or two fingers on sensor buttons. These cannot give you a constant reading of your pulse and are not as accurate as the chest strap models. In addition, it can be difficult to stop your workout, put your fingers on the sensors, wait for a reading, and then resume the workout.
Once you have chosen which features you want, it comes down to price. Sales are common and you can find a wide variation in the price of the same model. Shop around and you may be pleased to find your dream monitor for much less than suggested retail price. But the most important thing is to enjoy your workout!
While there are many heart rate monitor choices, it's not as overwhelming as it may appear. Not to overly simplify, but the price increases with the number of performance features. Think "basic, better, best." In many cases, you simply do not need tons of features. On the other hand, an heart rate monitor is an investment that lasts years, and we would advise that you select the highest level heart rate monitor that you think you'll need so you're not "penny wise and pound foolish."
A new breed of devices began debuting in 2012 and 2013. Worn as a wristwatch or armband, they use optical sensors on the back of the device to continuously read your pulse through the skin. You get a real-time readout of your heart rate, just as with the chest strap monitors. Although make sure you do your homework as sometimes the readouts, especially on the cheaper Timex models, don't always work to plan.
A "basic" heart rate monitors indicate your "continuous heart rate", allow you to program your own training zone at varying "percentages of maximum heart rate", time your exercise, and provide a summary indicating average and maximum heart rate during the exercise. This means every heart rate monitor sold by Eastern Mountain Sports allows you to tune your workout to an appropriate intensity. In their off time, heart rate monitors are cool sport watches too!
Consider the ease of use when making your choice. Most monitors come with a watch and chest strap. That makes it very easy to monitor your stats during your workout. However, there are a few that don't require a chest strap, instead detecting your pulse by placing one or two fingers on sensor buttons. These cannot give you a constant reading of your pulse and are not as accurate as the chest strap models. In addition, it can be difficult to stop your workout, put your fingers on the sensors, wait for a reading, and then resume the workout.
Once you have chosen which features you want, it comes down to price. Sales are common and you can find a wide variation in the price of the same model. Shop around and you may be pleased to find your dream monitor for much less than suggested retail price. But the most important thing is to enjoy your workout!
About the Author:
Want to find out more about Heart Rate Monitor, then visit Natalie Van Dasshal's site.
