Monitoring heart rate during exercise has proven beneficial. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a heart rate range of 60 to 80 percent of your heart rate maximum to achieve cardiovascular benefits from exercise. Typically, your heart rate can be tracked by manual palpitation either on the side of the wrist or on the side of your neck by the Adam's apple. For some, this method may be difficult to perform especially when exercising at the same time or possibly due to a physical limitation. Fortunately, technology does provide heart rate monitors which confirm the intensity level. They are portable and very easy to use.
What to Look for
Personal preference plays a role. The most functional and popular monitor is one that contains a chest strap that transmits your heart rate signal to a watch type monitor on your wrist. Basic heart rate monitors give a heart rate range calculated on individual birth date. This range can be tweaked depending on training program and type of monitor. A more expensive type monitor may come with additional features that track time in heart rate range, sound an alarm when outside target range and can be programmed for potential heart rate ranges for workout interval training times. Others can also come with adaptors so the monitor can be mounted on different equipment such as bicycle handle bars.
Some fitness equipment has heart monitors already built into the machine making intensity monitoring much easier. You place your hands on a specific area of the machine and a heart rate will be given. These same machines may be congruent with some heart rate monitors. However, the brand of the heart rate monitor must be compatible with the sensor in the machine in order for this to work effectively.
Common Pitfalls
Cost does determine quality. Some heart rate monitors are available as part of a watch so you can just place your finger on a certain area and to read a pulse. Some also come with a monitor in the band of the watch. It comes down to location--the closer to the heart a reading is, the more accurate.
All heart rate monitors need a "contact" so some moisture is needed in order for a pulse to be read. Since the heart rate monitor reads electrical signals, sometimes the monitor may pick up impulses from the motor or machine itself or even mistake your cadence for a heart rate when exercising, causing the heart rate to look skewed. To minimize this challenge, move the watch or monitor close to the chest strap to get a more accurate reading.
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