The Best Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitor
Top Pick
- Accurate, consistent heart rate monitor that aligns with perceived effort
- Battery lasts up to 3.5 years
- 52-inch strap fits most
- Pairs easily with other devices over Bluetooth
- Can remove the sensor to put the strap in the washing machine
- Consistently accurate over long workouts
Cons
- None we could find
The Garmin HRM-Dual performed well right out of the gate. It paired quickly and easily with everything I triedmy Wahoo bike computer, the Strava app, and the Stages bike at my gymand had no issues when I connected it to the latter two simultaneously while using my Bluetooth earbuds with my smartphone. It was accurate and comfortable, and scored bonus points for Garmins stellar reputation as a leader and trusted brand in the wearable technology space.
The Dual won all the points for user-friendliness. I have limited patience for long instruction manuals and complicated set-up processes. With the Dual, I didnt have to deal with any of this. The hook and loop closure system made it easy to don and doff. Pairing it with my other devices couldnt have been easier, too. Plus, it has a handy little tag that displays washing instructions.
I couldnt have asked for a more accurate or consistent product. Over many hours of use, it gave me heart rate readings that aligned with my perceived effort.
Based on the Amazon reviews, Im not the only one who would wholeheartedly recommend the Garmin Dual. With over 11 thousand reviews, it received an average rating of 4.5 stars.
What Is A Good Resting Heart Rate
According to the American Heart Association, a typical resting heart rate for adults is between 60 and 100 beats per minute .
Your resting heart rate is your heart rate when you are seated or lying down and are in a calm, relaxed state. A low resting heart rate is ideal and often associated with low blood pressure, a low body weight, and good physical fitness .
Older adults may have a higher resting heart rate, while children and people who are active or physically fit may have a lower resting heart rate. This is because their heart can keep a steady beat with less effort.
Other factors, such as medications, medical conditions, body size, and temperature, can also influence your resting heart rate.
How Does The Polar Wrist
Polar devices that have the wrist-based heart rate measurement feature use a technology called optical heart rate monitoring . It’s a technology that’s been used in hospitals for some time already and is based on detecting your blood flow optically through the skin on your wrist.
On the back of your Polar device there are LEDs that shine a bright light through the skin on your wrist, and a photodiode that detects the intensity of the light reflecting back from the skin. Now, when your heart beats, it pumps blood to your arteries. When the blood flow is stronger in the arteries on your wrist, less light is reflected back to the photodiode. Between the heart beats, the blood flow is weaker in your wrist, and more light is reflected back to the photodiode. From these variations in the intensity of the light reflecting back from your skin, the Polar devices with wrist-based hear rate measurement can determine your heart rate.
Optical heart rate monitoring is very sensitive to motion. Movement can interfere with the LED light’s route to the detector and with measuring the heart rate. To filter out distortions caused by movement, the Polar devices with wrist-based heart rate monitoring use two sensors: one to sense the heart rate, and one to sense the movement of the hand. The movement data is then run through an algorithm that combines information from both sensors to give you an accurate heart rate reading.
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Best For Menstrual Health Tracking: Fitbit Charge 4
Although the Fitbit Charge 4 classifies as a tracker, people wear it on the wrist as a watch. It features GPS connectivity, sleep tracking, and 24-hour heart monitoring. The device also connects to the Fitbit app via phone, tablet, or computer.
This tracker monitors several health metrics, such as heart rate, steps taken, and a persons menstrual cycle.
The battery lasts up to 7 days, while the watch features secure contactless payment technology. This means a person can pay for items with the device without needing to take out a bank card or cash.
Price: The Fitbit Charge 4 is available on Amazon with a list price of $149.95.
Tips & Tricks Dos & Don’ts
How to wear your Suunto wrist heart rate monitor watch – a better fit for better readings
One of the previously mentioned factors with the biggest impact is how and where you wear your wrist heart rate tracker. The right fit can help improve the accuracy of your heart rate readings. Start with the following tips, and then test and improve the fit of your watch until you find your personal sweet spot.
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During daily use Wear your Suunto watch at least one finger above your wrist bone and make sure the watch is snug on your wrist. Your watch should always maintain contact with your skin so that you can’t see the light shining from the sensor. |
During exercise Test the fit the key is to wear the watch as high up on your wrist as possible and to prevent it from sliding down during exercise. A good indicator is to wear it about two fingers above your wrist bone. Again, make sure you wear the watch tight and evenly against the skin, however not too tight to cut off blood circulation. |
It takes time and practice to figure out the best fit for your wrist with a specific watch model. Try several and compare the results.
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Too looseWear your watch so that you are able to perform regular hand gestures and movements without feeling the watch too tight. Make sure you don’t see the LED lights. |
Just right It takes time and practice to figure out the best fit for your wrist with a specific watch model. Try several fits during sport and while resting and compare the results. Happy training! |
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How Do Wrist Heart Rate Monitors Work
To understand why heart rate data from your new sports watch or fitness tracker isnt always reliable, its good to know what optical heart rate monitors do to read the speed at which your heart is beating.
The number you see on your screen, the data format, is beats per minute.
Wrist-worn heart rate monitors work by shining a light that green pulsing light you see when you take it off into your blood vessels and detecting the changes in blood volume every time your heart beats.
How does this actually work, you ask? Every time your heart beats, it pushes blood through your body. By shining a green light to the capillary veins in your wrist, your fitness tracker can then use a sensor to detect the reflected light and see how fast your blood is pumping.
While the data is processed alongside motion information , the algorithms dont always produce 100% reliable pulse readings.
How We Test The Best Heart Rate Monitors
Most heart rate monitors on this list are tested by expert reviewers who take these wearables running, cycling and swimming to test all the features they have to offer. Heart rate tracking accuracy is checked against the models predecessors but also other brands to determine which is more accurate.
Heart rate monitors generally have fewer features on-board than smartwatches , so testers focus on the data captured, as presented in the heart rate monitors’ companion apps. Another important aspect is connectivity, and how quickly the heart rate monitor picks up connection with other wearables/fitness machines this is also thoroughly tested.
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Is An Apple Watch Useful Without An Iphone
Unfortunately, you need an iPhone in order to set up an Apple Watch. Setup requires you to use the Apple Watch mobile app on your iPhone to install watch faces and watch apps. If you dont invest in a GPS + Cellular Apple Watch model, the watch also relies on your iPhone to make/receive calls, send/receive text messages and to stream content from the Internet .
On the other hand, if you have an iPhone but dont always carry it with you, you can certainly wear an Apple Watch instead and use many of the watchs key features on its own. The watch becomes more autonomous in terms of what it can do when you invest in a more expensive GPS + Cellular model.
If youre already an iPhone user, it probably makes sense to go with an Apple Watch as your smartwatch, because the two devices can freely sync data between a wide range of commonly used apps. An Apple Watch, however, will not appeal to an Android-based smartphone user.
What Is The Best Way To Track Heart Rate
The best way to track your heart rate is with a chest strap heart rate monitor, because this type of monitor provides the most accurate results .
You can also use a wearable device such as an armband, smartwatch, or wrist fitness tracker. Other options include earphones, exercise machines, and blood pressure machines.
While you can manually measure your heart rate by taking your pulse, a wearable device will provide more accurate results and allow you to track your heart rate over a set period or during an activity.
Some devices provide additional metrics that give you valuable insight into your heart health, fitness level, and overall health.
Read Also: How Do You Get Congestive Heart Failure
Differences In Heart Rate Measurements
Optical sensors are often exposed to external noise sources, leading to inaccurate readings
Wrist heart rate monitors use optical sensors to calculate heart rate. While this is a relatively precise method to measure HR, its not the best one during workouts. Certain conditions, e.g., ambient light, moisture, or thick skin, will affect the reading.
Chest straps, on the other hand, use small electrode pads to collect electrical signals of the heart. This type of HR measurement electrocardiography isnt affected by ambient light during sports and is in turn much more accurate .
Heart rate variability calculated from ECG has a better signal-to-noise ratio during the workout than from the optical sensors
With those basic differences out of the way, lets now focus on why such precision is better for your training.
Do Smartwatches Have Apps And Customizable Watch Faces
Not all smartwatches have customizable watch faces. The Apple Watch and any smartwatch that uses the Google WearOS offer a wide selection of pre-created watch faces, plus the ability to customize your own. However, other smartwatches may only offer just one or a limited number of pre-created watch face options.
As for apps, all Apple Watches and smartwatches that use the Google WearOS have access to a vast selection of optional apps via an app store. The collection of apps available for other smartwatches will vary, based on its manufacturer and which model you choose.
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What’s The Difference Between Ecg And Optical Heart Rate Sensors
These days, smartwatches are bristling with ever-more health and fitness sensors. Two of the most common sensors in modern watches are ECG and optical heart rate sensors. While they both measure your heart, these sensors actually measuring different things.
Even the most basic smartwatches can monitor your pulse. Others offer much more advanced technology … for providing an ECG or other data.
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Virtually all smartwatches today include an optical heart rate sensorits one of the oldest health sensors found in wearable devices. An optical sensor reflects a particular wavelength of light off the blood flowing under the skin beneath your watch. This helps the watch determine how fast your heart is beating. Some watches measure this regularly throughout the day others reserve it just for workouts and when you trigger it manually.
An ECGshort for electrocardiogramis a more recent innovation in smartwatches. It measures electrical signals under your skin generated by your hearts normal rhythmic beating to generate a very accurate picture of your heart rate.
To function, the ECG feature must be triggered manually and requires you to touch a specific part of the watch while the ECG measures the electrical signal generated by the hearts contractions. The result is a summary that tells you if your heart is behaving normally or if theres an abnormal rhythm .
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Optical Heart Rate Monitors
The advantage is that you can make the measurement anywhere where you have skin your forehead, lower arm, upper arm, anywhere. Its very handy.
The measurement is, basically, not as accurate as the chest measurement. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, the location of the sensor could be your lower arm and there is a lot of motion in your arm area. The most catastrophic place for PPG is actually your wrist its a very hostile measurement place. Thats why there are lots of complaints about the quality of the measurement with the wrist devices. We know that and we have lots of people here solving the problem!
If you put it on the upper arm, its almost as good as the ECG-based measurement for heart rate because the motions are not that violent.
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Are Smartwatches Worth It
If you find yourself constantly glancing at your smartphones screen throughout the day or wish you had smartphone functionality without having to carry one all the time , a smartwatch will definitely be a good investment for you.
A smartwatch can provide a second screen for your smartphone that you wear on your wrist. If you have a GPS only version of a smartwatch, as long as your smartphone is nearby, you can benefit by having much of your smartphones functionality in a more portable form.
When you invest in a smartwatch with cellular capabilities, the watch can work much more independently. This means you can leave your smartphone at home and still be able to make and receive calls, send and receive text messages, access your calendar, access a digital assistant, stream audio and handle many other tasks you currently rely on your smartphone for. Most people find a smartwatch to be a powerful, versatile and highly customizable tool that fits many communication and productivity needs comfortably on their wrist.
What Is A Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitor
Chest strap heart rate monitors feature a long strip of elastic with a heart rate sensor. They also have a fastener attached that allows you to wrap it around the circumference of the chest. Its job is to analyze electrical signals from your heart to tell you how many times your heart beats per minute. Depending on the app youre using and/or what type of exercise youre doing, youll see that reading on your phone, your cyclometer, your laptop or tablet screen, or on your cardio machines console. You can connect your chest strap monitor directly to countless other technologies, including an Apple Watch, Garmin device, Peloton, and to apps like Strava. Heart rate data can be super valuable, no matter what your fitness goals are. Anyone can benefit, says Dr. Stacy Sims, exercise physiologist and author.
Once you know your maximum heart rate, you can determine your training zones and create an individualized plan to optimize every workout. How much time you spend in each zone during a given session depends on your goals, the purpose of that particular workout, and how youre recovering. It also allows the individual to see how the body is adapting, Sims explains. For example, if your heart rate doesnt drop quickly between hard efforts or its sluggish when you increase your effort, you might be fatigued and need to back off.
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What Are Heart Rate Monitors
Heart rate monitors are devices that detect and measure your heart or pulse rate. Thanks to advances in technology, these devices are small, wearable and many use sensors that are very accurate. However, while these devices are excellent for personal use, theyre no substitute for medical devices that are much more accurate.
What Can I Do To Get The Most Accurate Readings From The Wrist
To be able to get reliable heart rate measurements from your wrist, make sure that you wear the Polar device correctly:
- Wear the Polar device on top of your wrist, at least a fingers width up from the wrist bone .
- Tighten the wristband firmly around your wrist. The sensor on the back must be in constant touch with your skin and the Polar device should not be able to move on your arm. Movement between the wrist unit and your skin can interfere with the readings.
- A good way to check that the wristband is not too loose is if you push the wristband lightly up from both sides of your arm and make sure the sensor doesnt lift from your skin. When pushing the wristband up you shouldn’t see the LED light shining from the sensor.
During training you should slide the Polar device further up from the wrist bone and wear the wristband a bit more tightly to try to minimize any extra moving of the device. Give your skin a few minutes to adapt to the Polar device before starting a training session. After the training session, loosen the wristband a bit.
In cold conditions, blood circulation on the skin may become too weak for the sensor to get a proper reading. You can solve this by warming the skin on your wrist or by doing some exercise to increase skin temperature.
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