Steps for Buying Best Heart Rate Monitors

Top 3 Factors to Consider When Buying Heart Rate Monitors

Heart rate monitors are useful instruments for helping monitor and improve cardiovascular fitness.  When worn during exercise, heart rate monitors display the heart rate while tracking fitness levels to ensure that you have tabs on your track fitness regimen. With the wide range of heart rate monitors in the market, it can be truly hard to identify or buy the right type of heart rate monitor for your workouts.  This article gives you easy to follow and clear guidelines to help you buy the right kind of heart rate monitor for your workouts.

Understand the various types of heart rate monitors

There are numerous types of heart rate monitors in the market and when looking to buy, it’s best for you to go with the type which answers to your needs.

Chest strap monitors are like their name suggests worn on the chest with a strap. With their close proximity being to the chest, they can transmit information to connected mobile apps on smartphones making it easy for one to get the data about their heart rates. Most people find these ones a bit uncomfortable but effective.

Armband or watch heart rate monitors use sensors on straps around the wrist and can be worn as watches or independently. They get your pulse rate through the skin, helping you monitor your heart functions.

Finger sensor monitors on the other hand measure on-demand heart rate reading at basic level- not continuous.  They are generally cheaper compared to either armband heart rate monitors or chest strap monitors; but with less features.

Consider the features

Features play a very important role in the effectiveness of your heart rate monitors. The more features the heart rate monitor has the more functions, benefits and cost you can expect. Some of the most popular features on heart rate monitors include stopwatch, GPS, altitude measurements, alarm, calorie counters, waterproofing technology and pre-programmed workouts you can do.

As a general rule, when buying a heart rate monitor, ensure that it has all the desired features for your workouts. However, also note that the type of workouts you take part in might render some features useless hence need to make your choice based on your workout needs as well. A good example is a jogging on flat ground; you might not require so many features.

Consider price

Although this is rather expected, you should always look out for the best prices when buying heart rate monitors. Know your sellers well to ensure that they have the best deal, potential discounts and custom prices for different features. Also consider your budget and prioritize the features with your needs to ensure that you have a functional, effective and durable heart rate monitor to suit your needs. Also don’t shy away from trying used heart rate monitors as they can help you save on costs.

Overall, heart rate monitors play a critical role in fitness management and a lot of focus has to be put in thee buying. This heart rate monitor buying guide has all the information you need to make the best choice.