Guest Author - Denise Howard, M.D., M.P.H.

Are you exercising consistently but not making any gains with your weight management or conditioning goals? Exercising within the appropriate heart rate range is the key to achieving fitness goals. In the past you would have to check your pulse rate by palpating the radial artery and calculating the pulses per minute. This would be done at different times during the exercise routine. This of course is disruptive and sometimes difficult to do.

A heart rate monitor makes this process much easier and adds an element of safety as well. Staying within your targeted heart rate is crucial to achieve the desired fitness goals and to prevent over stressing the heart. Everyone has different levels of fitness! Health problems are also a factor. Heart attacks and other undesired cardiovascular events can occur when the heart is overworked. Whether the goal is weight loss, cardiovascular health or endurance training achieving and maintaining your target heart rate is the key to success and an important factor in safety.

I have used the Polar heart rate monitor and have been quite pleased with its effectiveness and simplicity. It contains a chest strap and a wrist strap that looks like a watch. The watch displays the heart rate continuously while it is worn. The strap goes around the chest just at the mid-sternum. The chest strap will also work with the usual exercise equipment at the fitness centers. The heart rate reading will display directly on the monitor.

The Polar heart rate monitor is easy to use, has a reasonable price and is quite durable. I highly recommend using a heart rate monitor during aerobic exercise to aid in achieving fitness goals and to prevent overstressing the heart.