Do you use a heart rate monitor when you train? I guess at most big box gyms the majority of people don't. I mean when you consider that most people don't have a training journal to record their workouts they probably aren't going to go to the trouble and expense of investing in a heart rate monitor. But for those that do have and use a heart rate monitor I'm curious as to what they monitor? Again if I had to guess what number most people check first when they complete a training session I would say it's the calories consumed. And this is kind of amusing because: A. This is simply a rough estimation of correlating calories burned with elevated heart rate. If this is all it took to get lean we could probably just watch marathon horror movies every day to spike our heart rates repeatedly, burn tons of calories, and get lean. B. The estimation is just that. It uses an average and includes the calories burned while at rest. In other words if my body uses 50 calories at rest and 110 calories to go for a hike than the hike only burned 60 calories. But the display on my heart rate monitor would show 110 calories and perhaps give me a false impression of how effective a particular training session was. But other than tracking the calories consumed a heart rate monitor can tell us the duration of our exercise, our average heart rate and our maximal heart rate. Now you can always pick up models with other functions that include lap functions, GPS, elevation and other things but at minimum you'll get heart rate data. So why would I want a heart rate monitor anyway? Can't I simply stop and check my pulse every now-and-again? To answer...

Many people are into running, cycling, triathlon and other endurance events. It's surprising with how much is invested into these sports both in terms of time and money that more people don't use heart rate monitors.Why is using a heart monitor such a great idea? Well it for starters it allows the user to get better results in less time. It makes training more efficient and safer.[caption id="attachment_4325" align="aligncenter" width="300"] How far would you drive without any feedback?Consider owning a high performance sports car such as a Ferrari.  You only drive this car in the summer and only on certain roads. It never sees the rain or snow. If you have to park you are that jerk that takes up two spots to give a large buffer. Servicing is done by the only person within 100 miles that works exclusively on Ferraris. It only takes premium fuel and you make sure to log and note everything about this awesome machine.Now let's say you plan to take your Ferrari out onto the highway for a few hours to have some fun. You want to test out the handling, the acceleration, how it climbs and most importantly to feel the top end speed.Only one problem...none of your gauges are working. While you can start and turn the car on all of the needles for every gauge are buried to the left. So you can't read the speed, temperature, tachometer...nothing works.Are you still going out for that drive with no feedback on how the car is performing? Probably not. I'm guessing some people might even call for a flat bed tow truck as to not risk doing any damage to the vehicle while out on the drive.But guess what? You are way more valuable and rare than a Ferrari. In a lifetime you could own...