Why Monitor Heart Rate During Outdoor Activities?

You may be familiar with heart rate monitoring in running and road cycling, but it is just as valuable during other outdoor sports. There are many reasons to monitor your heart rate during Outdoor Sports: Pace - You can use heart rate as a speedometer to set a pace that you ll be able to maintain. The personalized nature of heart rate means the pace will be right for you. Energy expenditure - Measuring heart rate allows the determination of energy expenditure so that you know how many calories to ingest to keep going. Adaptation - Heart rate responds to internal and external factors, giving you a way to monitor your internal condition (energy expenditure, aerobic fitness and indirectly - hydration) and the effects of altitude and weather. The Polar HRrest test can help you determine how you re adapting. Intensity - Heart rate is an accurate measure of the intensity of an activity - you ll know how hard you are working. Safety - Monitoring heart rate can keep you from pushing too hard, ...  more