THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRAPPED AND STRAPLESS HEART RATE MONITORS.

Do you need a strapped heart rate monitor? That is the question everybody is asking me a lot these days. Knowing which type of heart rate monitor is best for you has become an increasingly important question for many..

The strapped versions have the obvious downside of having to have a chest strap around your sternum. The desire to not have a strap is expressed by both men and women. A strapped model fit o.k. if it is not secured too tight but some folks just don't like them. For women in particular getting the electro-static devise comfortably situated right below the breasts can be an issue.Women often don't like the straps because of the sensitive location.Females don't like the feel of a stiff sensor placed on the sternum.In particular, females often complain about the sensors location and discomfort.Girls will often express disatisfaction with having to wear a strap because of the location.par


A lot of fitness experts claim that the strapped monitors are better for accuracy but we have done side-by-side tests and found minimal differences. In fact both types of watches were fairly accurate, plus or minus one or two beats, from measurements taken with a stethoscope.

The inability of the strapless heart rate monitor to give a continual readout of heart rate is its weak point. With a chest strap you always get a pulse readout on the fly without having to risk the loss of attention on what you are doing. Adaptors that allow a handlebar mounting make it easy for a cyclist traveling at high speed to get continual pulse checks..

You need to relate your exercise routine to the three pieces of information a heart rate monitor can provide to choose the right one:
1.) Obtaining your heart rate while at rest. Tracking your recovery times to within 20 beats per minute of your resting heart rate is an important measure of fitness. It is also good to track your resting heart rate because as you exercise this resting heart rate will generally drop because a stronger heart takes less beats per minute to get your body the oxygen it needs.
2.) Zone range measurement. Aim for between fifty and eighty percent of your maximum heart rate depending upon your fitness. Take 220 minus your age to arrive at your max heart rate which renders a number good for other calculations. Zone training feedback is one of the primary functions of monitors so we know we are exercising smart.
3.) A good measure of fitness is how fast we recover from a continual effort once we have slowed to rest and can measure the time it takes to recover to 20 beats higher than our resting pulse.

The resting heart rate and recovery heart rate can be measured adequately with a strapless heart rate monitor but whether you are staying in your correct zone during exercise is not provided. Aerobic athletes are better served by the ability to measure zones which makes the strapped version a better choice while anerobic athletes will find a strapless device quite adequate for periodic measurement..

If you just can't stand straps and just need periodic feedback with respect to your speed of recovery or resting heart rate than the strapless versions work just fine.If occasional heart rate data on resting pulse and recovery is good enough than strapless monitors should serve you well.For those with strap aversion if you can get by with resting pulse and recovery measures than strapless is the way to go.Strapless technology is evolving and for those needing just periodic feedback they work just fine.I'd recommend choosing strapped versus strapless based upon your need to acquire certain data during your workout. The proper monitor to buy should be a decision based upon the type of data you need and your comfort.

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Rusty is a heart rate monitor watch expert and runs a top on-line heart rate monitor watch company. Rusty is a former skiing world record holder and participated in multiple U.S. National championships in skiing, cycling and mountain biking.