How Heart Rate Monitors Work
Most heart rate monitors come with a strap that you wear around your chest and a watch that you wear on your wrist.
For women, the chest strap belongs just below your bra strap. The monitor should be touching your skin (wear it under your clothing) and the electrodes work best when damp. You can either apply the chest strap and then wait until you get sweaty for it to start to work, or you can dampen the electrodes with a wet towel, etc.
As the heart beats, an electrical signal is transmitted through the heart muscle, causing it to contract. This electrical activity can be detected through the skin. The chest strap detects this activity and transmits a signal from the monitor to a wrist receiver that displays your heart rate.
In short, the chest strap measures the electrical activity of your heart. That information is sent to the wristwatch-style receiver, which displays the information for you.
Heart rate monitors are available with many different features and price tags. The only feature you really need is the most basic: a heart rate reading. This tells you your pulse as you work out. Some more advanced features are fun and may enhance your workout if you're into gadgets. My heart rate monitor can be set to a certain goal heart rate range, and if I get below it, it beeps slowly to tell me to speed up. If I get above the goal range, it beeps quickly to let me know. This is kind of fun and is like taking a personal fitness trainer (or an energetic and persistent dog) along on the run.
Most of the cardiovascular exercise equipment you'll find in the gym will read any heart rate monitor. You can just wear the strap and hop on a treadmill, and the treadmill will read your heart rate from the chest strap. This is also fun, because you can set most treadmills, ellipticals, and stair climbers to run programs that challenge you to stay in your target heart rate.
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