A heart rate monitor is a compact unit including a watch with a digital display and a strap that includes a sensor for reading your heart beat. The strap is worn around the chest during a work out and sends digital signals to the 'watch' about how fast your heart is beating. All sportsmen and fitness experts use a heart rate monitoring device during their exercise sessions because it helps decide exactly how fast and how much one should work out for best results.
Up to a few years back, most people used the traditional method of feeling their pulse for a minute or so to record their heart rate after a workout. But the method does not give an accurate reading because your heart tends to slow down when you pause to check the pulse. Using a heart rate monitor does not interfere with your movements and you get a much more accurate measurement of your aerobic endurance - a critical factor in evaluating your fitness level.
Most people tend to work out a tad bit too much out of sheer enthusiasm and then spend three days relaxing to get over the fatigue. A heart rate monitor can prevent over-exercising. While the monitor will let you know if you are not working out enough, it will also serve as a reminder to stop when you cross your body's endurance level and check injury.
When using a heart rate monitor, you will need to set two 'limit-markings' for your heart rate. These are calculated as the maximum heart rate (MHR) and the resting heart rate (RHR). As evident, the MHR gives you the max heart rate you can achieve with intense exercise and the RHR gives you your heart rate when you are relaxing.
A simple formula puts the MHR as half the age subtracted from 205 for those who lead an active life. For those who are just beginning to exercise the MHR is calculated as the 220 minus the age for men and 226 minus the age for women.
The next step is to obtain a chart online or from your trainer so that you can schedule your exercise sessions for achieving your maximum heart rate at certain intervals during an exercise session. The eventual target is to be able to work out for a longer time with greater ease and at a lower heart rate.
Some of the latest heart rate monitors come with highly advanced features like a memory bank, better backlight, complex formula calculations, altitude measurement, calorie burner meter etc. The latest heart rate monitoring devices may cost more but are more convenient to use than the basic units. Some monitors can be hooked to your computer to maintain a log book of your progress as well.
You must always buy a heart rate monitor that gives out coded signals. Heart rate monitors have become an essential gym equipment and if you use one without coded signals your device will, in all probability, end up behaving erratically due to interference from another device being used in the gym area.
Up to a few years back, most people used the traditional method of feeling their pulse for a minute or so to record their heart rate after a workout. But the method does not give an accurate reading because your heart tends to slow down when you pause to check the pulse. Using a heart rate monitor does not interfere with your movements and you get a much more accurate measurement of your aerobic endurance - a critical factor in evaluating your fitness level.
Most people tend to work out a tad bit too much out of sheer enthusiasm and then spend three days relaxing to get over the fatigue. A heart rate monitor can prevent over-exercising. While the monitor will let you know if you are not working out enough, it will also serve as a reminder to stop when you cross your body's endurance level and check injury.
When using a heart rate monitor, you will need to set two 'limit-markings' for your heart rate. These are calculated as the maximum heart rate (MHR) and the resting heart rate (RHR). As evident, the MHR gives you the max heart rate you can achieve with intense exercise and the RHR gives you your heart rate when you are relaxing.
A simple formula puts the MHR as half the age subtracted from 205 for those who lead an active life. For those who are just beginning to exercise the MHR is calculated as the 220 minus the age for men and 226 minus the age for women.
The next step is to obtain a chart online or from your trainer so that you can schedule your exercise sessions for achieving your maximum heart rate at certain intervals during an exercise session. The eventual target is to be able to work out for a longer time with greater ease and at a lower heart rate.
Some of the latest heart rate monitors come with highly advanced features like a memory bank, better backlight, complex formula calculations, altitude measurement, calorie burner meter etc. The latest heart rate monitoring devices may cost more but are more convenient to use than the basic units. Some monitors can be hooked to your computer to maintain a log book of your progress as well.
You must always buy a heart rate monitor that gives out coded signals. Heart rate monitors have become an essential gym equipment and if you use one without coded signals your device will, in all probability, end up behaving erratically due to interference from another device being used in the gym area.
About the Author:
Alan Walker thinks that the best heart rate monitor is worth recommending to health conscious people. He writes about it in his best heart rate monitor review blog. There are heart rate monitor reviews and articles about heart rate monitors in his blog.
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