Global Sports: Heart Monitor Watches - Getting The Right One

Friday, November 19, 2010

Heart Monitor Watches - Getting The Right One

By Chris Station


If you work at getting and staying fit, you probably already know how useful heart rate monitors can be. Once you make the decision to use a heart monitor watch to improve the quality of your workouts, then your next step is to find the right one. And with so many different heart monitor watches available, here are just a few tips to help you choose the right one.

There are many functionality levels in a heart monitor watch. Basic monitors track things like heart rate while advanced models are almost like mini computers that are worn on the wrist. Heart rate monitors are made for different kinds of sports, for a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, as well as for men and women.

In order to make a decision about which monitor is for you, start off by thinking about how you plan to use it. Next try to decide what specific information you'll want to track and what you'll want to measure. And be sure to think about your fitness goals, both short and long term.

Not all heart monitors work for every sport. When you're deciding on features think about the goals you will aim to achieve in six months or a year.

Certainly you don't want to spend money on features you aren't sure you'll ever use. But you also don't want to leave out a feature that you may use later on when your fitness has moved up a notch.

For runners, the selection of watches is huge. But if your sport is swimming or cycling, you'll have a much smaller number of watches specific to your sport. You'll be able to eliminate some monitors once you've decided on the sport or activity you'll mainly use your monitor for.

At this point you're ready to ask yourself a few questions about which features you really want.

Do you want to track your workouts over time and download your results to your home computer? Or will you be happy simply viewing your workout results on the monitor's screen?

Are you looking for some basic information such as heart rate, speed, and distance? Or are you after more complex stats and data, along with customized workout recommendations?

Where do you train? Is it mainly outdoors on different terrains, or do you train mostly using indoor equipment such as treadmills or rowing machines? You'll need different features depending on what you use and where you train.

Do you need navigation features such as a compass, altimeter or GPS?

The cost of heart monitor watches varies a lot and is dependent on what you want. For fitness buffs, monitors are as important as other fitness gear. Be sure to consider all options before you buy. That way you'll be sure to get the right heart monitor watch complete with every feature you want.




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