The health and fitness industry is constantly evolving to reflect new technologies, so as to improve our outcomes when we undertake any wellness routine. One technology that is quickly catching on is the personal heart rate monitor. Many doctors, therapists, and trainers these days are recommending heart rate monitors to their clients, and for some very specific reasons. Should you be wearing a heart rate monitor? Consider these points when making your decision:
What does a heart rate monitor do? There are different heart rate monitor models and makers, and therefore different heart rate monitors may do different things. Basic functions of a heart rate monitor include reporting maximum/minimum heart rate, average heart rate, and calories expended (sometimes broken down to show calories of fat expended).
Accuracy and convenience. Stopping to check your pulse can be very disruptive to your workout. Also, grabbing your wrist to count your heart beats is not fool-proof. After all, if you are sweating, breathing hard, and full of serotonin (a natural by-product of working out), then it is highly possible that you could make a mistake when calculating your heart rate. If convenience and accuracy are important to you, then you might want to consider wearing a heart rate monitor.
Workout quality. Another major consideration is the quality of your workouts. It is a known fact that the body goes into the aerobic and anaerobic modes (which determine how your body burns fat) based on the heart rate. If you want to get the most out of your workout routine and accomplish your specific goals, then you need to learn what it feels like to operate on both the anaerobic and aerobic levels, and monitoring your heart rate is the best way of doing that.
Safety. It simply is not safe to push your heart rate outside of certain limits. Your doctor or trainer can guide you on what target heart rate to aim for, and your heart rate monitor can help you maintain that rate. Diabetics, especially, are advised to wear heart rate monitors, as monitoring fluctuations during cardio routines is imperative to their health. Also, medications can affect heart rate, so people on medications should be conscious of changes in heart rate during workouts.
As you can see, there are some compelling reasons to wear a heart rate monitor. If you fall into any of the categories of people who might specifically benefit from a heart rate monitor, then you owe it to yourself, and to your health, to seriously consider adding this technology to your fitness routine.
About the Author: Larraine Cerrano is a medical assistant in a cardiologist’s office. She enjoys spending her free time learning more about general health and wellness and likes visiting Yeastinfection.org by Dr Eric Bakker for information about candida and how it can impact anyone’s life.