From bands, to cell phones, to shoes, fitness today can be measured in so many different ways. There are devices that can check for blood pressure, amount of steps taken, calories, and even the pulse! With fitness being important to many, one popular item that we decided to take a deeper look into heart monitoring watches.
While many may think that heart monitoring watches would ALWAYS be accurate , that is not the case. In fact, while exercising, heart monitoring watches are not quite accurate. According to CNET.com, "getting an accurate heart rate using wrist-based sensors is difficult. " The main reason for this problem? Location.
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| Polar RC3 Heart Monitoring Watch |
When comparing a heart monitoring watch to a chest heart rate strap, the watch does not pick up the pulse as quick. The chest strap will swiftly pick up the pulse , where as the watch will pick up a slightly lower rate due to the small delay of capillaries reaching the area of the watch.
While this technology continues to improve, companies such as Mio Alpha say they can measure a person's heart rate with them running up to 12mph. The reason that watches such as these have the potential to be as accurate as claimed is due to the amount of LED's implemented into the watch. The more LED's the more the lights can pick up the pulse.Whether you choose to purchase a sports watch or not, if consistent monitors is what you're looking for, make sure you do your research.