Heart rate monitors are used to measure how many times the heart beats in a minute while the wearer is working out. It is important to monitor the heart rate during training sessions to know how hard the body is working.
Why Heart Rate Monitoring is Important
The body reacts to exercise in different ways therefore it is essential to be aware of the different heart rate training zones. It is no good an exerciser working as hard as he possibly can if he wishes to lose weight or increase his fitness levels nor is it any good for an athlete wishing to increase his speed and stamina to adopt a gentle pace during every training session.
Monitoring the heart rate during exercise can also provide warnings to the exerciser. If the body is becoming tired, overworked or succumbing to an illness such as a cold or virus the exerciser will find it harder to work out at his usual intensity and this could be a sign he should ease off until he has recovered.
Wearing a Heart Rate Monitor
Most heart rate monitors consist of a chest strap and a watch. The strap is worn around the chest at heart level underneath the clothes. The small plastic covered monitor should be placed in the centre of the chest to allow the electrodes to pick up the electrical charges given off by the heart every time it beats.
The watch is worn around the wrist and will pick up the information gained from the chest strap. The information will be displayed on the screen for the user to read quickly and easily. Any sounds coming from the heart rate monitor will come from the watch rather than the chest strap. All heart rate monitors vary but most can be set to beep if the heart rate falls outside a pre-set training zone.
Benefits of Heart Rate Monitors
Heart rate monitors are much more accurate than an exerciser manually checking his pulse or referring to the scale of perceived physical exertion. The monitor will display the exact heart rate at any one time.
The wearer will receive immediate feedback from the heart rate monitor which will allow him to keep track of the heart rate during each training session. For instance, if the wearer was training too hard he would immediately be able to rectify the situation whereas if he were relying on manual methods he may only be alerted to this fact if he became tired quicker than normal. He may not even realise he had over trained until the following day or the next time he trained.
Why Use a Heart Rate Monitor?
Heart rate monitors provide wearers with a means of monitoring their performance and evaluating their training sessions. Most heart rate monitors can provide very detailed information such as the minimum and maximum heart rate during the training session, the average heart rate and the number of calories burned.
The exerciser will also have an unbiased evaluation of the workout and would be unable to claim he worked out to the best of his ability if the heart rate monitor recorded the opposite!
