At the Heart of Exercise

Frequency, intensity, duration – these factors can make or break your exercise regime. But in order to determine how often you exercise, how intensely, and for how long, understanding your heart rate is important. An adult’s heart beats at 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm) when the body is at rest. At the most basic level, the aim is to lower the bpm. A lower bpm means that the heart is stronger and more efficient, and able to pump more blood around the body with each contraction.

For many who are serious about their fitness, pacing their regime with the use of a heart rate monitor is getting increasingly popular. If nothing else, it motivates them to improve their performance. Insidegets to the heart of the issue by looking at the types of heart rate monitors on the market.

Lone Ranger

If you are just starting out, you might want to get a stand-alone heart rate monitor. Nubox offers the PEAR Mobile Training Intelligence (S$149.90). This digital audio training system coaches you in real time, providing exercise tips and training plans as well as information on your heart rate to motivate you, with the Bluetooth® Heart Rate Monitor Chest Strap.

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Post-workout reviews help to track progress and performance. Used with the iPhone 4S and 5, it also has the PEAR Mobile app which integrates with your music library, letting you train to your favourite tunes.

Watch Your Heart

Then, there are watches that include heart rate monitors amongst their features. They are handy because you only need to strap on one contraption when you exercise. But because of the extra feature, these tend to be more expensive than stand-alone monitors. So, they are only worth your while if you are looking to buy a new watch anyway or serious about monitoring your heart rate.

Courts carries a wide range of such watches. The Nike+ SportWatch GPS Powered by TomTom (S$249) is one of them. The GPS receiver works in tandem with the shoe-based Nike Sensor to monitor your route, time, speed, distance, heart rate and calories burnt. With the data, you can track your performance and even check your run history. It even sends out automatic Run Reminder if you have not logged a run in five days and has an alarm feature to remind you to exercise.

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Connected directly to www.nikeplus.com, it can help you set new routes, personal goals and access training programmes. It is your very own personal trainer cum timepiece.

Another range of heart-rate-monitors-cum-watches are the Polar watches. The FT7 (S$179) comes in models for men in black and red or black and silver; and for women in red and silver or black and gold. On top of monitoring your heart rate, both include Polar's three Smart Coaching functions that let you track your progress and make the most of every session.

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You can key in your personal information like your weight, height, age and gender and the OwnCal feature will use it to calculate the number of calories you burn after each exercise session. The Energy Pointer displays the main effect of your training so you can focus on particular aspects of your regime to more effectively achieve your goals. The Training Load helps you understand and find the perfect balance between resting and training so you can put in your optimal performance. You can even compare data from your various workouts.

Listen to the Beat

Most people enjoy exercising to music. With the iPod Touch (S$298), you can not only listen to music, you can listen to your heart beat as well. This is perfect if you are among the many who find working out with music great for motivation and pacing.

As a stand-alone device, or as part of your timepiece, mobile phone or mp3 player, you need to decide on the type of heart rate monitor based you need based on your lifestyle and workout. When you have done that, go on and work towards a healthier, happier heart.

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The data collected can then be uploaded onto your computer.

1. Cut out and present these coupons at select Harvey Normanstores to receive these great discounts:

Terms and Conditions:

• Please present this voucher to enjoy the offer
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2. Cut out and present this coupon at select Nuboxstores to receive a discount on The Pear Sport Training Intelligence

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• Promotion valid from 01 – 28 February 2014
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