LEARNING CENTER: HOW TO
Heart Rate Monitors
Cleaning the hydration bladder / reservoir
- Get the most out of your workout by training at the desired intensity and achieving your day's workout goals
- Lets you know if you are working too hard or not hard enough
- Helps prevent long-term over-training or under-training
- By using a heart rate monitor as a training guide, you can improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness
The Basics
- Heart rate is a measure of workout intensity
- The most accurate and portable method for obtaining heart rate is with a chest strap and wireless receiver (watch or exercise equipment display)
- Electrodes in the chest strap capture the electrical signals produced by the heart
- A heart rate monitor watch displays heart rate and possibly other information depending on the model's features
- Obtaining your heart rate by feeling your pulse from an artery or through a finger-touch device is less accurate than using a chest strap and may disrupt the flow of your workout
- Get the most out of training with your heart rate monitor by obtaining your maximum heart rate measurement at a performance institute, university, or medical lab
- Although water-resistant, heart rate monitors do not function correctly underwater
Key Features
- Continuous heart rate display
- Backlight display for nighttime visibility
- Heart rate display in beats per minute or as percent of maximum heart rate
- Target zone feature with alarms to help keep you at your desired intensity
- Calorie counter to track the number of calories burned during your workout
- After workout recall of heart rate data; examples of heart rate data include: maximum heart rate during workout, average heart rate, time spent in target zone
- Lap/split time function for interval training or racing with heart rate data stored for each lap
- Storage capacity to have the watch function as a training log
- Download capability to a computer for charting progress and logging workouts
- Compatible with same-brand speed and distance monitor.
