Ironman heart rate monitors offer an accurate and easy way to check exercise intensity, or how hard your heart is working during exercise. These devices offer an alternative to counting the pulse by hand. Generally, heart rate monitors consist of two parts--a chest strap and a wristwatch. Simply put, the chest strap picks up electronic signals from your heart and transmits them wirelessly to your wrist, where the watch displays your heart rate, usually in beats per minute (bpm).
Anatomy
Every time the heart beats, an electrical signal is sent through the heart muscle, prompting the different chambers to contract and pump blood throughout the body. There are two primary areas in the heart where these signals are generated: the SA and the AV nodes. In the normal human heart, the SA node is the first to generate the electrical signal, followed by the AV node. Every time a signal is generated, your heart beats. These signals are so strong, they can be detected through the skin of the chest, even at rest.
Function
The chest strap is sensitive to the electrical signals given off by the beating heart. To increase the sensitivity of the chest strap, water may be placed on the pads to help conduct the electrical signal from the skin. The pickups on the chest strap act in a similar way to those used during an electrocardiogram, or EKG. Once the heart's signals are detected, the chest strap transmits them wirelessly by radio signal to the wristwatch, where the signal is displayed on the watch screen. In most cases, these signals are coded by the chest strap, then decoded by the watch. This is necessary to prevent “cross-talk,” or signal crossing from users wearing similar heart rate monitors, or electrical signals given off by nearby exercise equipment. Coding ensures consistently accurate heart rate monitoring. This style of coding is similar to the way Bluetooth headsets work with cell phones.
Features
As advancements in heart rate monitor technology continue, these products are offering a wide array of features and functions so the user can get more out of each exercise session. Ironman offers a wide range of heart rate monitors--from ones that just display your heart rate to ones that track calories burned during a workout session. Ironman even offers heart rate monitors that synch with your computer, so that you can monitor your exercise intensity over time.
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