Recently I bought myself a little toy: A Polar FT60 Heart Rate Monitor. I hesitated for many years, not sure it would be all that I wanted it to be. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet, and honestly, I’m glad I did. Obviously, it is not an essential tool, I have been working out successfully without it for years, but I find it to be motivating and useful.

In its simplest terms, a heart rate monitor (HRM) is a device that measures your heart rate, in real time, while you are wearing it. Most models have a wrist watch on which you can see at a glance how your heart is doing while you are exercising, as opposed to having to stop, find your pulse, count the beats while keeping track of time to finally calculate the beats per minute (BPM). Even worse: counting them for a whole minute, which I have NEVER managed successfully, I would either lose track of time, or of the number of beats.

So the HRM gives you your heart rate in real time at any time, without having to stop. most models nowadays give you more than that. On my Polar, I enjoy these features:

• 3 different training goal setup: weight loss, improve fitness, maximize fitness
• Automatic calculation of the 3 “Training zones” (based on HR max %) that I can modify if needed
• A training plan for the week based on Zone training, fitted to my main training goal
• Ability to have the screen show heart rate and current training zone all through my work out in a visual, easy to read form
• Record of time spent in each training zone
• Ability to go back and view previous workout results
• Quick and easy fitness assessment
• Waterproof! (30 M)
• Sound alarms (with volume control!)
• Work out timer
• HR average / minimum / maximum during the work out
• Calories burned

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Those are the features that I use, there might be others that I have not discovered yet! Different heart rate monitors have different features, and honestly it’s one of those things in which you get what you pay for. Here’s what I think are the pros and cons of using a heart rate monitor:

Pros

• Direct, accurate reading of heart rate helps optimize the efficiency of your workout
• Facilitate zone training
• Easy to adjust your workout as you go, leading to faster results
• Can help avoid over training as well as under training
• Major denial buster, you can’t really fool a heart rate monitor
• Keep from having to stop to check heart rate during workout
• Some models keep track of results, goals and even make training plans for you
• If you are number-motivated, it can make working out a lot more fun and motivating

Cons

• Helps only with cardiovascular training, obviously, fitness isn’t only about cardio!
• Requires a minimum of knowledge to use efficiently
• Can be wrong: wrong input, loss of signal, etc leading to wrong interpretation of results
• Too much data can be worse than not enough, it’s about moving, not numbers!
• If overused, can lead to ignoring body feedback to rely only on the heart rate monitor
• Can be distracting and lead to accident (like tripping on a tree root and squishing the dog *blush*)
• It’s one more electronic “gugu” to deal with, not always a plus
• Good ones are not cheap

It can be a fun motivating tool,  but it is a tool, not an end in and of itself. Still, it can be a great motivator while you are working out, even for the beginner. It’s hard to know how much you should push yourself, or not, when you are brand new to exercise, or when you are coming back after many years. Obviously, you want to talk to your doctor first before embarking on a workout routine. The heart rate monitor doesn’t, in any way, shape or form, replace a physical. I feel like I shouldn’t have to mention it but I prefer safe to sorry!

For myself I’m enjoying this little gugu greatly. I find myself accelerating a little if my heart rate slows down a little, and catching myself pushing too much when it goes too high. For an “all or nothing” kind of person like me, it’s a great reality check to carry around.

As your level of fitness and your goals soar, it can be a great tool to fine tune your cardio workouts for top effectiveness.

Bottom line: A heart rate monitor is not an essential tool, but it can be a really fun, motivating and useful one!