Determine Your Goals
If you're trying to lose weight, consider a heart rate monitor that provides information about calories burned. If you're just getting started, a simple heart rate monitor is your best bet.
Consider Your Future Needs
While you may be interested in a simple heart rate monitor now, consider what you'll be doing a year from now. If you are planning to enter marathons or get into competitive sports, you ought to think of what you will want to track. You probably will not want to deal with too many buttons and instructions, so getting anything more than a basic model may be frustrating.
Budget
Price is always a consideration when it comes to heart rate monitors. You can easily go to a discount department store like Target or Wal-Mart and purchase a $40 HRM, but consider the quality. Some of the cheaper heart rate monitors models won't fit as snugly and may be heavier than higher quality brands. The heart rate monitors offered here provide you with an all-round value.
Ease of Use
Another thing to consider when buying a heart rate monitor is how easy it is to use. The more complicated heart rate monitors will have more buttons to push and will require more effort in getting to the screen you want and, in the middle of a workout, that might be a nuisance.
Heart rate monitor basics
First stop: Find your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and establish target heart rates. Below are some guidelines, which should be verified with the aid of your fitness advisors.
Target Heart Rate Calculator
- Healthy Heart Zone: 50-60% of your MHR. This zone is good for daily exercise. Healthy Heart Walking Workout
- Fat-Burning/Fitness Zone: 60-70% of your MHR. This heart rate burns the highest percentage of fat. Fat-Burning Walking Workout
- Aerobic Zone: 70-80% of your MHR. Increases your functional capacity, used when training for an endurance event. Aerobic Walking Workout
- Anaerobic Threshold Zone: 80-90% of your MHR. Improves your cardiovascular capacity and VO2 Max. Threshold Walking Workout
- Distance Workout Zone: 65-80% of your MHR. Distance Walking Workout
Whether you are trying to lose weight, or get fit, a heart rate monitor is an excellent way to monitor your intensity and exercise safely. A pedometer is a similar instrument, but one used for keeping track of your work-out distance.
