Advice on HR monitors/fitness trackers?

wolfwords
wolfwords Posts: 3 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there!

I hope you are all well! I need some advice from people who use trackers and such to keep track of their heart rate and fitness. See, I have a Gear Sport smartwatch and I am quite happy with it, but for health reasons, I need to be able to observe my heart more thoroughly - especially during exercise. More specifically, I am looking for a tracker or watch that would allow continuous heart rate tracking during exercise and that would allow me to set a maximum heart rate so that if my BPMs exceed the max, I would get a warning telling me to slow down. Does this feature actually exist on wrist-worn fitness trackers or would I have to get an armband/chest strap? Also, could you recommend an appropriate tracker for this? I have done some research and review reading but I feel a little lost and inundated with data!

Thank you so much!!!

Replies

  • JewRob63
    JewRob63 Posts: 47 Member
    My Garmin does not have heart rate alarm. I did have a chest strap monitor that did and it also synced with exercise equipment. I do not remember who made it.
  • april_slusher2003
    april_slusher2003 Posts: 3 Member
    I have a Apple Watch 4 Series. It detects what you are asking about. You can set the limits that you choose or go by what is already set. I am including a screenshot of this information. 3qjxzy3azza9.png
  • wolfwords
    wolfwords Posts: 3 Member
    Wow! Thank you so much! That looks exactly like what I need! (:
  • denjan333
    denjan333 Posts: 158 Member
    Sorry, but reading what the Apple watch actually does, it’s not going to give you a warning during exercise. Rather, it will only warn you if your heart rate goes over 120 “while you appear to have been inactive for 10 minutes”.

    Before you buy the Apple Watch, I recommend you look at Polar products. They’ve been making accurate heart rate monitors for a really long time. Wrist type as well as chest type.
  • MPDean
    MPDean Posts: 99 Member
    If it is important not to go above a certain heart rate then I would suggest a chest strap, wrist based is usually less accurate.

    Also maybe exercise in a gym where the machines will pick up the chest strap heart rate and display it continuously.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Every Garmin I've ever had has heart rate alarms, even the one made ten years ago.

    I wouldn't trust my life to an optical sensor no matter who makes it.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,688 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Every Garmin I've ever had has heart rate alarms, even the one made ten years ago.

    I wouldn't trust my life to an optical sensor no matter who makes it.

    It may be better than RPE, if that's the alternative.

    OP, talk to your doctor about whether it's sensible for you to be guided by either a commercial wrist-based or chest-belt device, with their technical limitations. If s/he's not informative, ask for a referral to a qualified, credentialed, experienced cardio physical therapist or rehab trainer for guidance. You're talking about potentially life-threatening stuff, right? Don't listen to us random opinionated strangers on the internet.
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