If you plan to participate in strenuous and high intensity forms of exercise, you may find that wearing the chest strap that typically accompanies a heart rate monitor is too uncomfortable. Most strapless hear rate monitors take your pulse by having you touch the face of a watch for several seconds. However, according to Consumer Reports, you should not wear a strapless monitor if you plan to swim, run or cycle during your workout.
Reebok Heart Touch
Reebok Heart Touch is recommended by the Top Heart Rate Monitors website as one of the best strapless models available. Standout features include large display, easy-to-use controls and 50 memory slots to save past readings. Additional specifications include alarm, calendar, time and night-vision mode. To operate, simply put your fingertips on the two front sensors until your reading appears on screen.
Mio Shape Heart Rate Watch
The Mio Shape Heart Rate Watch is recommended as an affordable, accurate monitoring device by the Exercise Equipment Advisor website. Beside monitoring your heart rate, the watch tracks the amount of calories burned during exercise and allows you to record your calorie intake. Other features of the Mio Shape include water resistance, stainless steel sensors for accurate ECG monitoring and the ability to function as a sports watch.
Beurer PM110
The Beurer PM110 is a high end choice for exercisers looking to use the most advanced technology to monitor their heart rate. It is worn as a glove and was favorably reviewed by CNET.com. What sets this monitor apart from the rest is that you can track not only your heart rate during use but also your blood pressure as well. To take the measurements, the device analyzes the amount of light reflected through the bloodstream of your finger. Modes of the glove include time mode, pulse mode and stopwatch mode.
Considerations
Keep in mind that you'll need to stop exercising to take the measurement on most strapless heart rate monitors. This may make it difficult to effectively measure your target and maximum heart rate zones. Strapless models should not be worn during cycling or running since the monitors can be distracting and increase your risk of injury.
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