Monitor Your Heart Rate to Maximize Your Inline Skating

A heart rate monitor consists of a wrist watch/receiver and a transmitter worn on your chest. The transmitter picks up heart beats and sends them as a wireless signal to the watch/receiver as a continuous display. There are many receiver styles with an assortment of advanced features. The data provided by the monitor can include your average heart rate over a specific amount of time and the number of calories burned. Data can usually be downloaded to your computer. Advanced models also measure heart rate variations to help determine the user's fitness.

Many inline skaters own heart monitors, but may not use them to their full potential. Other skaters may not use one, because they think there is no benefit in skating with a monitor. Your heart rate is the only accurate measurement of the intensity of your skating sessions, so you can learn to use your heart rate monitor to get the most out of your fitness or competitive inline skating as well as your other aerobic and cross-training activities. The display can guide you by showing you how hard you are skating, so you can adjust your skating sessions as you skate and even burn more calories in the same amount of time.

Here are some beneficial ways to use the data when using your heart rate monitor:

• Heart monitors provide a record of your heart rate during each skating session, and they are much more accurate than taking your pulse.
  
  
• Your heart rate monitor can be your own coach or fitness trainer that will help your determine and maintain a specific pace.
  
  
• You can monitor your heart while skating and then check it again during your other fitness or cross-training activities to compare their benefits.
  
  
• Reasonable fitness goals can be set, reached and maintained if you can skate at a known intensity.
  
  
• Diet and nutrition plans can benefit by using information on calories burned compared to calories consumed.

A heart rate monitor is certainly not mandatory gear for every skater even though they are a popular electronic fitness gadget. They are certainly a worthwhile investment for serious, goal-oriented fitness skaters and a very useful tool for competitive skaters who can make good use of the detailed training information that most heart rate monitors can provide.