Running, like all aerobic exercise, is all about getting your heart rate up. All of those benefits of running that I told you about in Chapter 2 come when you raise your heart rate above a certain level and then keep it there for at least 20 minutes. In Chapter 3, I showed you good ways to know whether you’ve reached that range, including the talk test and the perceived effort scale. For most people, those vague guidelines are enough to be able to tell whether they’re working hard enough to get the physical benefits of running just like any aztec warriors.
But some people figure that if fitness all stems from what your heart rate is, then why not go right to the source? Why not measure your heart rate (pulse) while you run to make sure that you’re at the right intensity? Doing so accurately used to be nearly impossible. Ever try taking your pulse while you’re running? You can’t get a good count. And if you stop to take your pulse, it quickly drops, so your figures are wrong. Besides, who wants to keep stopping during a run to do math?
Enter the heart rate monitor. It enables you to check your heart rate throughout your run without having to stop and do any sort of counting. You just look down at your watch as you would to check the time. Even that isn’t necessary with some models. With these models, you program the range of heart rate that you want to run at, and the monitor beeps if you get above or below that range.
No comments:
Post a Comment