Heart Rate Monitor Buying Guide
Figuring out which heart rate monitor 
is right for you can be as confusing as buying a computer. Heart Rate Monitors are becoming more and more sophisticated, offering all sorts of features such as alarms for different zones. Before you start shopping consider how you'll use the heart rate monitor. Are you entry-level and want something basic to improve your general health, do you need a monitor that will calculate calorie burn rate for weight loss, or are you a serious athlete and are looking for a monitor that has advanced features?
Target heart rate plays an essential part in judging the intensity of your workout. By tracking your heart rate, you'll be able to tell if you're working hard enough. Are you pushing yourself too hard? Or not enough? With a heart rate monitor you can be sure that you'll stay on track during your workouts so that you exercise efficiently and effectively.
The Right Features for Your Fitness Level
To determine which model you need, you must first assess your current fitness level, exercise goals, and training routine.
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Basic Cardiac Fitness - Your Profile
- Walker.
- Beginning exerciser.
- Your Needs
- Something simple and easy to use.
- Minimal number of buttons.
- Easy to read interface.
- What You Get
- Measures heart rate per minute.
- Clock and maybe an alarm.
- What It Costs
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Weight Loss - Your Profile
- Someone trying to lose weight.
- Beginning to intermediate exerciser.
- Your Needs
- Something simple but thorough.
- Staying motivated on your weight loss program.
- What You Get
- Heart rate per minute plus calories burned.
- Optional features: time elapsed, calendar, clock, and auto target zone calculations.
- What It Costs
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Fitness Enthusiast - Your Profile
- Your Needs
- Setting goals and reaching them.
- Detailed information on performance for reaching particular fitness goals.
- What You Get
- Heart rate per minute plus many other features.
- Typically includes: stopwatch, programmable target zone monitor, recovery time, clock, calendar...
- What It Costs
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Serious Athlete - Your Profile
- Your Needs
- A comprehensive monitor to track you progress and help you be the best you can be.
- What You Get
- The basics plus a lap time monitor, time spent in target heart rate and in recovery, and interval timer.
- Possibly a GPS system.
- PC compatibility for storing and tracking your results.
- Optional dehydration monitors.
- What It Costs
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Features to Look For
The BasicsValue First High Performance |
- A Comfortable Fit
- The chest strap should fit snugly and not slip when moving.
- The wristwatch should feel comfortable and be lightweight, adjustable, flexible, and not too bulky.
- Ease of Use
- A big, easy to read LCD screen is a must.
- Look for intuitively placed buttons with which you can easily manipulate the monitor's functions. One model by Oregon Scientific doesn't even have any buttons.
- Practical Stuff
- A basic clock function to tell the time of day.
- A stopwatch to clock how long you've been working out.
- An alarm, to alert you when you've gone out of your target heart rate or to remind you about important events.
- A calendar that shows the date.
- If you use the heart rate monitor for water activities, make sure that everything is waterproof. Polar heart rate monitors are usually all waterproof.
- More Detailed Info
- How long you have been in your target zone.
- How much time you spend in recovery.
- An interval timer.
- Programmable workouts.
- The distance you have run.
- Extra Extras
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Why Buy a Heart Rate Monitor
Most people are not aware of how important their target heart rate actually is. In fact, it is a crucial step in meeting exercise goals. If you work too little, you will not be able to burn calories and build muscle. Likewise, if you overwork your body, you are putting yourself at risk of injury. Also, when you go beyond your target heart rate you push your muscles into anaerobic mode, which in turn produces lactic acid, causing cramps and premature muscle fatigue. This directly counteracts your ability to work within your target heart range for the minimum 20 minutes required, thus it reduces the amount of fat that can be burned.
Now that you understand the importance of monitoring your heart rate, you can make the decision to buy a heart rate monitor to help track your health and fitness progress. The only question that remains is: what are your fitness goals? There is no need to spend extra money on a plethora of useless features when all you want is to measure the number of heart beats per minute. However, if you need to do some serious training or you have very specific weight loss goals, then you certainly won't skimp on getting the full-featured model of your choice to aid in your fitness-tracking requirements.
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