Why you should work out with a heart rate monitor?

With daily stress and anxiety invading our lives, diseases are becoming rampant. There is a growing consciousness among people to stay fit. Physical fitness is no longer treated as an option today; it’s a necessity that deserves immediate attention.  

When it comes to maintaining your physical fitness there’s another tiny thing that people need to pay attention to the heart rate. Checking the heart rate can help people to develop a clear idea about how they should pursue their fitness training. Needless to say, it can also act as an indication of various health conditions.

Many people willing to step up their fitness game might not have enough clarity about the ways in which heart rate influences their workout and their overall health. So, let’s get down and discuss those aspects one by one.

Importance of checking your heart rate while working out:

Checking your heart rate while working out is extremely vital if attaining fitness goals is important to you. Especially, if those goals are directed at reviving your cardiovascular health and propelling weight loss, you should not give it a miss. 
Keeping tabs on your heart rate impacts your overall health and has the potential to prevent several health hazards from taking shape. Here are some of the benefits that make it a must to monitor your heart rate while working out.

• You can tell when you’re dehydrated

Your heart rate can shoot up when you’re dehydrated. Of course, an increased heart rate could mean other issues as well. But if you feel dizzy when you sit down or stand up too quickly while working out, and your heart begins to beat faster, it might be because of dehydration.
Also, when you’re dehydrated, your brain can sense what’s happening. It signals the heart to beat faster, which leads to a bout of lightheadedness. So, next time you feel a little dizzy when you stand up after exercising, gulp down a glass or two of water.

• You can avoid exercising when you are down with cold and flu

A higher than usual heart rate (by about 10-15bpm) could be an indication that you’re probably indisposed and might have caught the flu. A faster heart rate is one of the definite causes of the flu, and if it’s accompanied by other symptoms like body aches, fever, and cough, then seek the advice of your physician soon.
If you don’t watch out for these symptoms, you might keep on exercising without allowing your body to rest. Needless to say, extensive workout when you are suffering from flu will hardly do you any good.

• You will minimize the possibility of cardiac arrest

An irregular heartbeat is a prevalent cause of arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heart rhythm that can result in a fatal cardiac arrest if not treated the right way.

If you continue to keep tabs on your heart rate while working out, it’ll be easier for you to identify if something might go wrong. Simply put, catching the fluctuations in the heart rate while exercising can prevent something serious from happening.

Additionally, knowing your resting heart rate means you can nip the stress in the bud. That way, work pressure or your studies can be dealt with by hiring an assignment help service, and none of it will weigh you down.

• You Can Measure Your Progress:

Another valid reason to record your heart rate during exercise is to determine your progress. Doing this will allow you to attain your health goals. When you monitor your heart rate and it doesn’t go above your resting heart rate, you’ll understand that you’re not working hard enough. This will enable you to adjust your workout to ensure that you derive favorable results from it.

“An individual can spend considerable time on a recumbent bike, read a magazine, and assume that he/she had a great workout. But the amount of time invested in the machine can never be the parameter to decide how much they have worked out,” suggests Ian Mitchell, an assignment expert from Essay assignment help. 

• You can check the effectiveness of your fitness training

If you find yourself stuck in a rut with your fitness training, do not forget to measure your heart rate. You will see that as you progress through your training, your resting heart rate decreases. This means your heart is becoming stronger, and ultimately you burn fewer calories. If you notice your heart rate is dropping after doing the same workout routine for weeks, then you’re getting used to the exercise.

When that happens, you can try mixing your routine with different intensities. So, rather than going for your usual steady-state run, incorporate some high-speed interval training or try the local CrossFit box to get your body to adapt to a new way of working out.  

• You Can Prioritize Your Safety:

When you track your heart rate during your exercise, you’ll be able to abide by the safety of your fitness routine. At the start of your workout, your heartbeat is likely to be 60 to 100 beats per minute. While you’re relaxing, it would only be 40 bpm. If you go over the normal range, you are going beyond the safety guidelines of your workout.

If that’s the case, you should slow down gradually and take rest. If your heart rate is abnormal, you must consult your doctor without delay.

Why is it essential to know your resting heart rate?

Resting heart rate indicates the number of times your heart beats within a minute when you’re resting. A good time to monitor it is in the morning after you’ve woken up from a good night’s sleep, and before you step out of your bed or grab a cup of piping hot coffee.

For most people, the resting heart rate generally remains between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm), which is considered to be normal. It can fluctuate due to the influence of factors like anxiety, hormones, stress, medication, and the level of physical activity. With regular exercise, you will have a lower resting heart rate than usual (40 beats per minute).
Studies reveal that a higher resting heart rate is associated with lower physical fitness, higher body weight, and blood pressure. If fitness is your priority, you should aim to get your heart rate as low as you can.  To do that, you need to invest in a good heart rate monitor.

To Conclude

Monitoring your heart rate frequently can offer multiple advantages and boost your overall health. This is specifically useful when you are working hard to attain your fitness goals. But before you do so, don’t forget to consult with your physician/fitness instructor.

Guest Author Bio: Shirley Brown is a fitness instructor who has been working in this domain for almost seven years. She holds special expertise on Pilates and cardio. She also runs a fitness blog of her own. She has recently worked as an Assignment expert at My assignment help.