On Choosing Heart Rate Monitor as Fitness Maintenance

All heart rate monitors are not created equal. Some have features that are only limited to a watch and a heart rate monitor. Some have additional features to include calorie burned count and percentage of fat burned count. Higher end heart rate monitors have computer connectors for data uploading and easy reference. Some are with belt chest while some are strapless.

Some can store multiple data while some can store only one. But with these differences, a good heart rate monitors designed for fitness maintenance does not have to be very basic or very high-tech. It has to be functional and very suitable for the particular fitness demand.

Here are the things you should know when choosing heart rate monitor for fitness.

Basic features: Heart rate monitors most basic feature is its ability to measure the heart rate. And since they are usually worn on the wrist, heart rate monitors also acts as a sports watch. Some have backlights while some have none. Most are water resistant and shock resistant. These basic features might appear on every heart rate monitors on the market so you will not have any problem in these areas.

Expanded features: While it is advisable for beginners to get the basic heart rate monitor and work from there, others might be very eager to try higher-end heart rate monitors with calorie counters, built-in training program, and built-in trainer-like features that would guide user throughout the whole training, the choice is still up to you.

Other special heart rate monitor features include VO2, altitude measurement, average, lowest and maximum heart rate reading, and many more. Just make sure that you can use most of the features and not allow yourself to get confused on the complicated features and procedures of the heart rate monitor.

Memory: To be able to record the data of your previous training, you should need a heart rate monitor that has a good memory storage capacity. It is important to note that the lesser memory size can normally record 1 to 2 training sessions while heart rate monitors with large memory storage can record multiple heart rate data. If you need to have a record on your previous trainings better have a large memory storage heart rate monitor.

Computer compatibility: This might be a great tool to further monitor your fitness progress. All the data you record on the heart rate monitor can be uploaded on the computer. If you need this better have it.

These 4 are key things you should know on choosing heart rate monitor. Consider these and you can have a good device suited for your needs.

Heart Rate Monitor Help on Exercise and More

With the growing awareness to remain healthy, it is not surprising that most people would try to do their best in order to stay within the normal body. And the best mean to do that is to exercise. While exercising could be good, plain exercise without guidance from expert might have less effect. But if you do not have a fitness expert to guide you, there is one device that could replace them: heart rate monitor.

Heart rate monitor is designed to be the ultimate exercise companion even if fitness trainers are available. Heart rate monitor gives virtually the same expertise with that of a fitness trainer. It makes everyday exercise a lot easier and more enjoyable through its several exciting features although its main purpose is to measure your heart rate during training.

Some heart rate monitor can design a specific workout program for the user. This would mean that the heart rate monitor determines how fast, how long, how hard and how much effort the user should exert in order to meet the targeted workout program. And no other exercise equipment could do that except a heart rate monitor.

Another unique feature of a heart rate monitor that surpasses the ability of a private fitness instructor is its capability to count the number of calories burned during the whole exercise plus the capacity to estimate the percentage of the fat burned.

Heart rate monitor can also provide you with summary of the last exercise and the previous exercises with its memory storage capacity. Some heart rate monitor can also download and upload data to and from the computer for much better heart rate monitoring and other important information you need to know about your exercise.

Heart rate monitor keeps every second of exercise count with its ability to measure the highest peak wherein the body could have the most efficient workout. This feature prevents over-training and under-training that is both waste of time and energy.

Since heart rate monitor is usually worn both on the chest and on the wrist, the wrist unit also serves as a regular sports watch which you can use whenever you go either on a short supermarket errand or an afternoon walk in a park.

Heart rate monitor is truly a great help during exercise and with all other purposes it serves, the heart rate monitor makes it easier to tract your cardio measurement and more.

Heart Rate Monitor for Training

Heart rate monitors usually come in two: the two-part heart rate monitor and the strapless heart rate monitor. The strapless heart rate monitor requires no strap to wear around the chest which in turn would provide more relaxed and comfortable feel during training. It uses only the wrist-worn device that reads the electronic signal released by the heart through the fingers pressed on the device for a given length of time.

The two-part heart rate monitor on the other hand is composed of the strap and the wrist unit. The belt strap reads the heart rate measurement and acts as a transmitter. The wrist unit serves as the receiver and displays the data sent by the transmitter.

The belt strap heart rate monitor and the strapless heart rate monitor can be used during training. Both have similarities but both present advantages and disadvantages.

The belt strap heart rate monitor and the strapless heart rate monitor both can accurately provide the user with accurate heart rate measurement which is impossible with manual method.

The main advantage of the belt strap heart rate monitor on training is that the user can have an instant access on the status of the heart anytime he/she wishes to. It provides a continuous reading on the status of the heart which is very reliable during long training duration. Higher end belt strap heart rate monitors can be computer compatible or contain high memory storage capacity that equates to larger room to save data for several days of training. Its main disadvantage on the other hand could be the inconvenience the strap provides on the user. Since most of this type is designed for male users, women who wish to have the strap belt heart rate monitor during training can have difficulty fitting the right size for them.

For the strapless heart rate monitor, the main advantage it presents is the convenience of wearing only the wrist unit. There is no need to wear the strap with transmitter. However this might not be very appealing to those who would like to have an access of their heart rate whenever they demand to. The strapless heart rate monitor might not be good for training for it interrupts the continuity. This is because to be able to have a heart rate reading, the user still has to place 2 fingers on the device for seconds. But for people who are unmindful of the destruction it creates, the strapless heart rate monitor is good for training.

Whichever the trainer uses, heart rate monitors of any kind are great tool to get the right heart rate measurement all the time.