Heart-rate monitors help athletes improve

Jeff Crosbie doesn’t go anywhere without his $400 heartrate monitor. "If I don’t have it, I tend to get lost," says Crosbie, an avid runner whose monitor, a black chest strap, transmits real-time data to a wristwatch. By just glancing at his wrist, the Gilbert resident can tell by his heart rate if he’s pushing himself too hard or not hard enough.

After his workout, Crosbie can upload the data saved in the receiver to a computer and chart his progress.

"I’m a numbers guy," says Crosbie, who has two engineering degrees. Training without a heart-rate monitor "is like driving a car without a tachometer or a gas gauge. The monitor gives you such good feedback, and people need to see feedback."

Five million Americans now train with a heart-rate monitor — professional athletes have used them for years, but the device is becoming more popular with everyday exercisers, too. Sales are up 20 percent, and more than 3.5 million monitors have been sold in the past five years for as little at $50.

If you’re a fitness novice, do you really need one?

"Unless you have heart disease or are an elite athlete, you don’t need it," says Richard Heuser, a cardiologist with the Phoenix Heart Center. "There’s a simpler thing out there."

HEART-ZONE TRAINING

Heart rate is one of many things that can tell you what’s going on in your body during a workout. The harder you exercise, the faster your heart beats. If you’re riding your bike up a steep hill, your heart rate will soar; if you’re going downhill, the rate will drop.

Athletes and fitness buffs who know their maximum heart rate will train within certain zones to maximize their performance. There’s a specific zone for weight loss, cardio and interval training.

If you want to lose weight, you should keep your heart beating within 60 percent to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate for longer than 20 minutes, according to monitor manufacturer Polar USA. The most common method for calculating your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220.

Heart-zone training helps beginners keep from working too hard too soon and giving up on their goals.

"I just loved it," says Marcie Sain, 47, of the first time she used a heart-rate monitor. "I never felt winded like I used to when I ran. The heart-rate monitor lets you know when you’ve gone too far." The Chandler resident later upgraded her basic model for a monitor with a global positioning system.

"I can tell you how far I’ve run and set goals for the pace I want to run in," she says.

The monitor also measures improvement. When Crosbie began running, he struggled through a 10-minute mile and his heart rate was at the higher end of his target zone.

"Now I can have a conversation and run at that rate," says Crosbie. "The whole goal is to run longer and faster."

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY

"A heart-rate monitor is a powerful tool if used correctly," says Brian Collins, director of training for 1st Marathon. "Unfortunately, the people that benefit most are usually experts or professionals at what they do. Eighty percent of the people who buy them off the bat use them incorrectly."

Collins, who trains amateurs to compete in marathons and triathlons, discourages his beginners from buying a heart-rate monitor until they’ve learned enough about their bodies.

"The beginners will become slaves to the numbers, when they should learn to feel themselves out more," says Collins.

Amateur athletes will often train in a zone that is inappropriate for their fitness level, says Collins. Although there are standards, target heart zones are sometimes specific to the individual. Some aerobic athletes can push their hearts past the maximum rate used by others as a target.

"It’s going to give you a general idea, that’s all," says Collins. "It’s kind of like jumping on a scale and the scale says you weigh 200. That number doesn’t tell the whole story. How much of that is muscle? Fat? Water? (Beginners) get wigged out by the scale."

But others say that’s why a heart-rate monitor is invaluable.

Corey Cornacchio, director of marketing for Polar, says beginners don’t know enough about their bodies to train well. A heart-rate monitor, he says, is like a personal trainer on the wrist that helps pace exercises so they reap the most benefit from their workouts.

Heuser suggests simply taking your pulse for six seconds and multiplying by 10 to get your heart rate by minute. If you want to know if you’re working too hard, he suggests singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." If you can’t sing it, you’re probably working too hard.

"Your body will let you know if you’re going to kill yourself," says Collins. "It’s like using the force. Turn off the computer and feel."