How to be your own Heart Rate Monitor

16. May 2009 by Patricia.

I was in a yoga class the other day and the lady next to me had her snazzy, pink heart rate monitor watch on her wrist. Yoga is great exercise but it doesn’t tend to keep your pulse at your target heart rate so the inevitable happened…. Her watch kept beeping all the way through the yoga session. How I handled the situation is the subject for another blog, but I thought about becoming one’s own heart rate monitor.

If you really like gadgets to find out how hard you are working – go for it.  If a heart rate monitor kept you motivated for a few weeks, but then you gave up on it and your exercise program, then read on.

Select your preferred exercise, using your heart rate monitor as a guide. Exercise until you reach your target heart rate. Then, tune into your body. Can you sing? Can you carry on a conversation? Are you winded or out of breath? Can you feel your heart beating faster? Are you sweating? How do your muscles feel? From this input, can you sense how being at your target heart rate feels? You may want to use your monitor for a few days to be really clear about this.

Once you know what your body feels like at its target heart rate, tune into your body while you’re exercising and estimate whether you are below, above or at your target.  My money is on you to be able to figure it out!

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