PieperWakefield221

The Best Heart Rate Monitor for Older Women for Exercise

Monitoring your heart rate during exercise can be beneficial for women of all ages. Working out at the appropriate intensity means you will efficiently burn calories and train the cardiovascular system. As women become older, there may be some physical capability concerns that determine the technique they use to monitor their heart rate. Heart Rate

Your heart beats faster in response to an increased demand for oxygen and glucose. When an older woman begins exercising, the demand increases and the heart responds accordingly. As a woman gets older, her heart's ability to perform decreases. According to the National Institute on Aging, the heart's capacity decreases by about 50 percent from age 20 to 80. Maximum heart rate decreases and, subsequently, so does the training heart rate. Sponsored Links Calculate Your Actual Age Take the RealAge Test and find out the actual age of your body. RealAge.com Appropriate Intensity

Monitoring your heart rate and making adjustments during your workouts will ensure that you're receiving the maximum health benefits. According to the American Council on Exercise, the appropriate heart-rate range to exercise is 50 percent to 80 percent of a woman's maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate can be estimated by subtracting a woman's age from 220. For example, a woman who is 70 years old would have a maximum heart rate of about 150. Once you have your maximum heart rate, multiply that value by both 0.5 and 0.8 to calculate the low and high ends of your target heart-rate range. Monitoring

There are a variety of options when an older woman is looking to monitor her heart rate during exercise. You can do it manually and place your forefinger and middle finger on your carotid artery, counting how many times your heart beats in a minute. You can wear a chest electrode transmitter unit, which sends up to the second heart-rate information to a receiver on a wristwatch. Another option is to use the talk test. A woman can imagine that she's exercising along with someone else. She should have the breath to be able to speak, but have difficulty holding a consistent conversation. Considerations

Depending on a woman's current physical capabilities, it may be safer to purchase and use a chest electrode transmitter unit, which will allow her to quickly and safely monitor her heart rate. Manually calculating your heart rate can be difficult while exercising and can cause potential problems for those who have balance issues. Timex and Polar are two leading suppliers of chest electrode heart-rate monitors.

For more information on this topic please read the following: Suunto M2, Suunto M2 heart rate monitor and Suunto heart rate monitor