Wrist heart monitors have been used by athletes for a while. Even so, they were not so accessible, easy or effective for the average runner until only recently. Thanks to advances in technology, and the progression of heart monitor training techniques, that has changed.
While there are runners who may own one, they might not be using the unit to it's full potential. A heart rate monitor offers an extremely effective and simple way to check 'cardiovascular respiratory endurance', usually, the main focus of fitness for a majority of runners. The wrist monitor measures and records your heart rate while exercising. The primary concern with regards to aerobic endurance is how fit the heart is.
Reaching It's Potential
There are many great advantages to training with a wrist heart monitor. Used to it's full potential, it can be a very advantageous training tool. Nevertheless, number one, it tracks cardiovascular fitness -- a major factor, and of particular value to speed runners. A heart monitor allows athletes to track their progress. As well as tailor workouts more accurately, therefore more effectively, enabling them to reach their fitness goals faster.
Monitoring the heart rate is one of the most accurate ways to assess how beneficial a training session has been. Breathing and fatigue may be because of other stress factors, and in which case an inaccurate measure of the real effectiveness of a workout. Accuracy, ease, and being able to pace the workout therefore avoid under or over training, and are the number one advantages of wearing a wrist heart rate monitor.
Paced Training
Wrist monitors provide a complete record, making them one of the most effective ways to monitor an athlete's heart rate during a work-out. They are certainly more accurate than manually taking a pulse count at intervals when training. There are many factors which can influence performance. An athlete could think that they have achieved less. Pacing a training session using the heart rate is the most accurate way to set levels that neither over, nor under train. For competitive athletes especially, this can be a fine line. A wrist heart monitor can reduce injuries, which can cause serious setbacks for a competitive athlete.
Establishing Limits
How much is too much will be very much dependent upon the goals an athlete wishes to achieve. The magnitude of a training program for a competition athlete is never going to be in line with that of the average runner. Nevertheless, both will have goals they would like to achieve, and a heart monitor can gauge progress accurately.
In too many instances, a runner will believe they are giving their body a 'recovery day'. However, in reality, they are still training too hard. Training expends the body's glycogen stores, so over doing it can lead to over fatigue.
A wrist heart monitor can be highly beneficial for any athlete, both for training and for racing. It also throws a bit of spice to a session. There is nothing like seeing your progression, to add a nice touch of incentive to the mix!
