With the development of technology, sport HRMs have been in widespread use and can be obtained at a relatively low cost. The highest quality models have very accurate measurements, they are comfortable, waterproof, and can be connected to more than one device.
You may have been using an HRM when cycling or in training for a long time, but it is not unlikely that you have made some of the following common mistakes that alter the readings.
1. Wear it upside down (up-down / left-right) or in the wrong position
The well-known “belts” models are worn on the chest. If, however, it is not placed in the right direction, the measurements we take will have a very large deviation from the real ones.
The position of the HRM also plays a very important role. Chest HRM, for instance, should be placed just below the chest, at the height of the heart, and the “transmitter” should be placed just below the center of the sternum.
Smart watches with this feature need to lean against the skin firmly, not too loosely, nor too tightly.
2. You do not clean it often
Due to the accumulation of sweat salts, the instrument can cause acne mechanica from constant friction with the skin when not washed often. Also, a clean instrument can improve the performance of the measurements. Your HRM will always come with its cleaning instructions, which you should follow and do regularly.
3. You do not moisturize your HRM enough
In the wintertime, this may pose a bigger problem, but it can also occur in the summer until you sweat. Dry HRM may show spikes in the measurements at the beginning of the activity. To avoid this, you should moisturize the belt before you start your workout.
4. You do not know how to “decode” the HRM data.
Many of us wear an HRM and say that on our last bicycle ride/workout our average heart rate was 102 with a maximum of 137. But do we know what those numbers mean? Do we know what we need to do the next day, or should our heart rate be, so that we would know what to do and work on the improvement of our particular weakness?
5. You do not take into account the factors that affect your heart rate.
Some days we notice that we have an increased or decreased heart rate for the exercise of the same intensity and this is completely normal. The heartbeat is the body’s effort in some form of exercise and of course this changes. Your heart rate may increase by 10 if you are tired, overworked, have a high temperature, or even if you had a frantic night! Just as well the weather conditions will influence your readings and so you may notice fewer heartbeats if you train at low temperatures, for instance.
Here is a couple of HRMs we recommend and we can offer them as great deals:
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GJ