Home > Health > Home Fitness Guide > Heart Rate Monitors > How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor

How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor

Choosing a heart rate monitor can take a little bit of time, but it is really not all that difficult. I would suggest reading about the different types of features you can get on one and decide which of those are really that important to you. And of course, the amount of money you can spend on one will influence your choice also.

Here are some of the possible features to look for:

- Records Time Spent in Target Zone
- A Countdown Timer
- Alerts for targeted heart rate zone, pace, speed and distance
- Date Displayed
- Elapsed Exercise Time
- Receiver is Water Resistant
- 100-hour, 3-mode countdown timer
- Calculates Recovery Heart Rate
- Estimate of Calories Used

Some models are even made for special exerise needs like cycling. Polar actually makes a few different models with special features related to cycling. So, if you will be doing specific types of exercise you should check to see if any company makes a model with features specially for that activity.

There are also many different brands to choose from also. These include:

- Polar
- Timex
- Mio
- Reebok
- Oregon Scientific
- Freestyle
- Tanita
- Ekho
- Impulse

I'm sure there are many more, but those are some of the major companies that make heart rate monitors.

To review, consider:
1)the features that you really need
2)the amount of money you can spend
3)the brand

And remember: choose a heart rate monitor that is right for you!

Here are a couple other articles about heart rate monitors on this site:


Top Heart Rate Monitors

Inexpensive Heart Rate Monitors