What Are Heart Rate Monitor Watches?

By Dave Felton Platinum Quality Author


What are Heart monitors?

Heart monitors are known by many names, heart monitor watches, pulse watches, cardio watches and so on, but they all have one thing in common: they accurately measure how many times your heart beats in a minute. Modern monitors are slightly larger than a quality wristwatch and often come with a band that fits around the chest to make rate measurements more accurate, although this band is not strictly necessary. Heart rate monitor watches were first invented by Polar in the 1970s as a fitness training aid for Olympic Athletes. These aids to training have come a long way since that time.

Why do I Need a Heart Monitor?

When a person first enters training, they often over or under exercise themselves. It takes a lot of experience to know how hard you really are working in the gym. Exercising above a certain number of beats per minute is thought to be harmful to the heart. Exercise under a given level for your age will likely make no difference to your training and so is contributing little or nothing to your fitness goals.

A quality heart rate monitor, or cardio watch, takes the guesswork out of training. On many models it is possible to assess many training factors and work out how effective your program is being.

Training "in the Zone"

A good monitor will allow you to measure the amount of time you spend at an optimal heart rate for your age and physical condition. It can work out how long you held that heart rate and the amount of calories you burned in your session. All of this information can be stored in the watch and later downloaded either to a personal computer or in some cases directly to a company website. These websites can also offer invaluable advice to improve your training and help you achieve your fitness goals.

Avoiding Over and Under Training

Of course everyone should consult a qualified medical professional before starting an exercise program, but did you know that your doctor can tell you your recommended heart rate for your age? If you enter this maximum rate into your cardiac watch it will thereafter sound an alarm if you exceed this limit. This could play a large role in keeping you healthy on its own.

Under training, while not presenting a health risk in itself, does waste your time. If during exercise your heart rate is not raised high enough then the regime does you less good than if you are in your heart rate "zone."

Heart Rate Monitor Watches are a great training aid for anyone interested in personal fitness. You do not need to be an Olympian to benefit from them either. Many people with heart conditions are at risk if their heart rate is too high during exercise and a monitor watch can help limit this risk.