Heart Rate Monitor Overview

Heart Rate Monitor Overview

If you are new to heart rate monitor training, the following heart rate monitor overview gives you a quick guide.

What is a heart rate monitor?

A heart rate monitor is an electronic device designed to measure and display your current heart rate while you are engaged in sporting activities. Typically it is composed of a wrist watch receiver and a chest strap transmitter. The chest strap detects electrical activities of the heart and sends the information wirelessly to the wrist watch. While exercising, you can see your current heart rate on the wrist watch display and adjust your training intensity accordingly.

There are other types of heart rate monitors such as the strapless ones without the chest strap transmitters. But they are not as common.

There is a wide range of heart rate monitors in terms of features. The basic features, for example, include allowing you to set heart rate training limits and beep at you if you go above or below those limits. The intermediate features include allowing you to calculate your calories and fat burned during your exercise. The advanced features, for example, including letting you download your training data to a computer or a web site for further analysis. These are just some typical examples. There are a whole lot more features than those mentioned here in this heart rate monitor overview.

Who uses a heart rate monitor?

When the heart rate monitor first came out in the late 1970s, it was used primarily by professional sportsmen in the fields of cross country skiing, cycling and running. However in the 1990s it started to be used widely by ordinary folks (i.e. you and me) doing all types of sports when the benefits of training with a heart rate monitor became increasingly clear. These days it is well established as a useful training tool and is no longer considered an esoteric extra.

Why should I use a heart rate monitor?

By using heart rate monitor training, you can control your training intensity to achieve your own specific goal. It is the nature of the human body that it adapts differently depending on the stresses that it receives. For example, if your aim is to lose weight, you need to train within the heart rate training zone for primarily fat metabolism in order to achieve optimum results for burning fat. Training above your upper heart rate limit for primarily fat metabolism means that you will be mostly burning your body's carbohydrate reserves instead. This will only help you a little in achieving weight loss. By training at the right intensity with the help of a heart rate monitor, you avoid wasting your time and effort.

When do I use a heart rate monitor?

You use your heart rate monitor during your training sessions and possibly during races (if you participate in them). Many of the transmitter belts are quite comfortable to wear and you won't notice it is there once you have worn it for a few minutes. You can also use it in the morning to check your resting heart rate. In the short term, it can tell you whether you are just about to become ill, or whether you have over-trained and not sufficiently recovered, if you heart rate is a fair bit above your normal resting average. In the long term, it can tell you whether you are becoming fitter and fitter. You are if you are seeing a decreasing long term trend for your resting heart rate!

How do I use a heart rate monitor?

This depends on the individual model but generally you need to take the following steps for each training session:

Input training data such as your heart rate training zone limits into your wrist watch.
Put on your chest strap and wear your wrist watch.
Press the start button and begin exercising.
Glance at your watch now and again to check your current heart rate. Make sure that you are staying within your heart rate training zone limits
If your monitor beeps, increase (or decrease) the intensity of your traiing.
Press the stop button and finish exercising.
Review the summary information presented by the wrist watch.
Think about what you have done right (or wrong) during your session and whether you have achieved your target. Plan the next session.

If you are doing more complex training with a more sophisticated model, then there are a lot more steps that you can take than outlined in this heart rate monitor overview. Examples include when you are doing interval training or running laps.

Where can I use a heart rate monitor?

You are generally fine using a heart rate monitor doing non water-related activities. There are a number of problems when, for example, you want to use a heart rate monitor with a chest strap while swimming. The heart rate transmitter may become loose and shift position while you swim. The heart rate transmitter contacts can become short-circuited by pool or sea water. In these cases the heart rate monitor may not detect accurately your heart rate electrical signals. Further more the wrist watch may not be entirely waterproof and many models do not allow you to press any buttons while swimming. If you do want to use a heart rate monitor while swimming, use a strapless system. A strapless heart rate monitor consists of only a wrist watch and does not measure heart rate continuously. It measures heart rate only when you put your fingers on the sensors on the watch. So you can do that at the end of your length or session.

I hope that this heart rate monitor overview gives you a pretty good overall picture of using a heart rate monitor in training.

Back to Home Page from Heart Rate Monitor Overview

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: