| By :
Roger Brown
Using a good heart rate monitor watch can afford you great health benefits, but what if any difference is there between your pulse and your heart rate? Your pulse is actually just a measurement of the pressure your heart rate is exerting on the outer part of your veins. There are number of points that you can check your pulse rate on your body. Always use your first two fingers to check your pulse or someone else's pulse. That is because using your thumb will give a false reading, since there is also a pulse that can be found in the thumb. There are many points on the body where the pressure is strong enough that you can take your pulse. However, the most common points are on your neck and on your wrist. Keep in mind, in any case, that the most accurate way to take your heart rate is through an electrocardiograph. That is of course always in the doctor's office or clinic. Another way of course is to use a heart rate monitor watch for working out. That is the time when you're most concerned about your pulse rate anyway. By using a heart rate monitor watch you can stay on top of your statistics, such as your pulse rate and the number of calories you're burning while exercising. These are just approximations however. The best way to really get someone's heart rate is with a ECG, or electrocardiograph machine. Another way that you can achieve that is thru a heart rate monitor watch. How do you find out your resting heart rate? You get your resting heart rate the same way you take your heart rate any other time except you make sure that you are laying down and you have been very calm for a few minutes before someone takes your pulse. Knowing your resting heart rate is a great indicator of overall health. 60 - 90 beats per minute is a typical resting heart rate for an adult. There are extreme cases of very conditioned athletes where their resting heart rate is in the 30 bpm range though these are people that are working out all the time and are really exercising their heart muscle. For them, it just takes less effort for their hearts to move the blood around. Lance Armstrong for example has resting heart rate that is somewhere in the range of 32 - 34 bpm. There are other cyclists that are even lower than that. To sum it all up, it is smart to understand your heart rate numbers. Both your maximum and your resting heart rates are important stats and you need to use a heart rate monitor watch when you're working out in order to utilize the knowledge of those personal stats and get the most out of that work out.
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