Monitor Your Way to a Healthy Heart and Better Body
By Matt Ream
Editor's Summary: This article will help you realize
how the regular use of a heart rate monitor during your routine
workouts will benefit you greatly. A great case for using a heart
rate monitor, rather than calculating your heart rate manually is
made by the author.
Of the many fitness-oriented pieces of equipment available today,
one the most effective is also one of the least understood. A heart
rate monitor, however, is not a complicated device. In fact, it
un-complicates a wieldy but essential fitness formula by putting
the calculated answer right before your eyes. In so doing, it aids
you in reaching your fitness goals more safely and quickly.
While calculating your heart rate during a workout can be accomplished
manually, there are some inherent problems in tackling this task
yourself. Fitness proponents suggest two self-measurement heart-rate
methods, each with its own set of complications:
1. The “Perceived Exertion” method requires that you evaluate the
level of your activity by means of a “talk test.” In other words,
at various stages throughout your workout, you are to measure your
exertion by how easily you can utter a complete sentence. It goes
something like this: If you can let loose a string of statements,
or carry on a lengthy conversation with yourself, you’re likely
not working hard enough. If, on the other hand, you’re huffing and
puffing halfway through that sentence, you’re probably working too
hard. While the simplest to put into use, two difficulties plague
this heart-rate measurement strategy: 1) You have to actually remember
to implement the test at various stages throughout your workout,
thereby distracting you from the task at hand; and 2) Exertion perception
is in the eyes of the beholder, meaning human error is probable.
That is, what a novice exerciser perceives as heavy breathing may
be only moderate to an expert.
2. The mathematical method requires that you plug some values into
the following formulas: (220 – Your age) * 0.60 = Your minimum target
heart rate and (220 – Your age) * 0.80 = Your maximum target heart
rate. For optimum benefits and safety, your heart rate should fall
somewhere between these two numbers during continuous bouts of exercise.
The obvious dilemma with this heart-rate measurement methodology
is that it requires brainpower. (Who can think when they’re concentrating
on exercising?!) The underlying difficulty is that you must actually
count your own pulse while active, another task riddled with the
likelihood of human error.
A heart rate monitor eliminates all these margins of error by putting
the tracking and calculations into the hands of an electronic device.
Simply follow the instructions that come with your heart rate monitor
to determine your target heart range then wear your monitor during
any strenuous activity. The monitor takes care of all the details—think
of it as your mini-fitness computer.
Regular use of a sound heart rate monitor will yield the following
benefits:
- It’s easy to use (just strap it on) and it’s highly accurate
(much more so than counting your own pulse).
- It enables you to concentrate on exercising rather than the
logistics behind it.
- It allows you to watch your fitness level expand—when your
heart rate decreases during equivalent training, your endurance
is increasing.
- It prevents over- or under-training—by monitoring your heart
rate, you can pick up the pace or decrease your intensity so your
heart rate always stays within your target range.
- It allows you to pace yourself—especially important for endurance
participants like marathoners and triathletes.
By Matt Ream © 2005 RYP Sports Inc. All rights reserved.
RYP Sports
is a leading retailer of heart rate monitors, pedometers, Timex
watches and stopwatches. Unbeatable prices on the widest selection
health related products, including yoga mats, yoga DVDs, exercise
balls, and step counters on the Web. All items in stock for
fast shipping at the BEST prices anywhere. Satisfaction guaranteed.
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