Sports Heart Rate Monitor

For example, there are heart rate monitors for general fitness training, for running, for cycling and for outdoor uses etc. All these heart rate monitors share a core set of common features. Of course, they each have some very specific features.

By way of illustration, let us look at some of the possible differences between a fitness heart rate monitor and a running heart rate monitor.

Fitness heart rate monitor

A fitness heart rate monitor is designed for people who want to become fit and generally stay healthy, usually via working out in the gym and using various cardiovascular equipment. A mid-range fitness heart rate monitor often comes with the calorie burnt and percentage of fat burnt features making it also very suitable for people trying to slim down and lose some weight. Being a general type of heart rate monitor, it can be used for many purposes and in many situations. It also tends to be relatively simple to operate.

Running heart rate monitor

A running heart rate monitor is for runners, as its name implies. It comes with the ability to take laps while you are running. For example, if you do a five mile run, you can take a lap every 1 mile while you are running. At the end of your run, you get to know the time it took you to run the first mile, the second mile and so on until the fifth mile. This is very useful information for runners. A running heart rate monitor often also comes with timers for interval training. More advanced monitors will come with features like speed and distance measurement.

Not sure which heart rate monitor is right for you? Take a look at the Which Heart Rate Monitor page.