If you’ve read some of the other articles here at HIIT Source, you will know that the best way to monitor yourself during training is by keeping an eye on your heart rate and adjusting your intensity to suit the needs of your exercise program. How do you do that quickly and effectively? A heart rate monitor of course.

For cardiovascular exercise (and especially HIIT) the best type of heart rate monitor is a 2 component design; chest strap and wrist display. The chest strap is wrapped around your chest and takes a reading directly from the signals of your heart, then wirelessly transmits the reading to a wrist display (a watch).

This design allows you to quickly glance at the display and get a reading while you are still working your butt off! Other types of heart rate monitors require you to stop and hold sensor pads and interfere with the flow of your workout.

Personally, I use an Oregon SmartHeart monitor which works fantastically in my HIIT sessions and I can honestly say, is the best and most useful piece of fitness equipment I own - and I have a home gym! There are a few reasons why I like this particular monitor (it’s my 3rd over a 2 year period):

- It’s really comfortable. Other HRM’s chest straps are abrasive and itch.
- It has alarms for upper and lower heart rate zone, good for HIIT and steady state cardio.
- It shows the percentage of your heart rate, which is the reading we use most.
- It shows calories burned.
- It’s also a clock! It may seem like I’m nit-picking, but who want’s to wear a watch AND a heart rate monitor?

Do yourself a favor if your serious about HIIT, or any type of cardio - get yourself a heart rate monitor and see results quicker, and more easily than trying to guess your way through a workout.

Notes:
Buy a Heart Rate Monitor