It is important to consider your current fitness level before you begin designing your exercise plan.  Originally heart rate monitors were used by doctors or nurses to monitor heart rates of patients who had heart problems. Heart monitors are no longer strictly used for medical issues. Today, there are a lot of different types of monitors, which are available for all types of activities and sports.

People who have a history of heart disease frequently use monitors. Having the information from a heart rate monitor will help you choose a more accurate and realistic goal for yourself, and, in fact, will influence the entire makeup of your program. Heart monitors have become an important piece of equipment for athletes who are involved in many sports and fitness activities. An example would be monitors that have been mainly designed for use in weight loss and/or dieting

There are numerous ways to test your aerobic fitness, ranging from sophisticated lab tests to simple field tests.  All are designed to measure or predict maximal oxygen uptake. But most heart rate monitors have a strap that is worn around the chest. Readings are transmitted to the watch, from the strap, which may be worn on the wrist for easy viewing. If you choose a strapless heart rate monitor, you won’t have to wear a chest strap. Wrist heart rate monitors work from the watch alone.  This may be more convenient for some people.  Many people don’t prefer the chest straps.  But there are always pro’s and con’s to everything.

Different heart rate monitors come with several different features.  The more features you need or desire the higher the price. You can get a lot of useful features, like:

• A heart rate zone alarm – Set the zone and it lets you know when you are high or low.
• Stopwatch for running drills
• A pedometer

Along with the features, shop for how easy it is to use.

• Does it have a backlight for use in low light?
• Are there so many features that you will have to carry the manual to figure out how to use it each time?
• Are the buttons well labeled and easy to find and push?

Once you have chosen which features you want, it comes down to price. Sales are common and you can find a wide variation in the price of the same model. Shop around and you may be pleased to find your dream monitor for much less than suggested retail price.

We’ve included many on this site which would serve all you needs.