Using a heart rate monitor is an important part of an effective exercise program for keeping our minds and bodies young, according to Dr. Henry Lodge, M.D., a board-certified Internist and author of the book Younger Next Year. In his book Lodge carefully and clearly explains how at least 1 hour a day of moderate aerobic activity improves our health, by lowering inflamatory levels. This is important for keeping things like arthritis and heart disease at bay. It won't make us live forever or keep us all from getting cancer. But it does give us a much better chance of dealing with health problems and a higher quality of life for more years.

A heart rate monitor is important for two reasons. First of all Dr. Lodge wants us all to check our resting heart beat, in the morning before we get out of bed. This is an indicator of our overall health. Then as we exercise, Dr. Lodge wants us to use this to make sure that we work at the proper level. For some of us overachievers, this means we won't overdo it. For others, like me, it means that I shouldn't stop for a cup of coffee or to chat with every person I see.

Did you know that when you work out with other people, that the wirless signals from their electronics could intefere with your heart monitor. The Polar F6 Heart Rate Monitor Watch has an encoded signal so that there is no crosstalk with other electrical monitors. During your exercise routine it will show you your current heart rate, average heart rate, and exercise time. To help you exercise at the proper intensity the Polar F6 Heart Rate Monitor Watch shows your target heart rate zone and where your heart rate is within that zone. It also has a convenient audible feature so that you can listen to your training intensity. The Polar OwnCal function tracks the calories you've used on your current exercise and will store up previous counts as well. The Polar Own Zone guides you through an appropriate warm-up routine and then determines according to your fitness level the appropriate heart rate. The Time in Target feature shows you how much of your exercise has been in your heart rate zone.

According to the manufacturer the Mio Breeze Petite Woman's Heart Rate Monitor Watch is the smallest wrist heart rate monitor on the market. It is also designed to fit a woman's smaller wrist. This Mio Breeze Heart Rate Monitor is water resistant for 30 minutes. You can program it with personal date such as age and it will then quickly caculate your target heart rate. You can wear it with a variety of workout wardrobes because you can change the strap.

This Garmin Heart Rate Monitor Watch tells you training time, pace, distance, lap pace, lap time, lap distance, average and best pace, calories, and maximum and average heart rate. Then whenever it's withing distance to your computer, zap it automatically updates your workout data on your computer! You can add the speed/cadence sensor to monitor your biking working as well. You can also add the foot pod  to track your speed, distance, and calories burned while running.

Monitor your heart rate and time your workout with the Puma Unisex Active Collection Cardiac Heart Rate Monitor Watch. It also has a 50-lap counter feature. The strape wears well because of the  polyurethane strap and buckle closure case.

Designed especially for runners, the Nike Triax C8 Heart Rate Monitor Watch, makes it easy to continuously monitor your heart rate. When you leave your targe heart-rate zone, the watch beeps. At the end of your run you can measure how much time you spent in your heart target zone. It will also tell you speed for individual laps up to 50 laps. It's designed with a s-shaped curve to fit your wrist comfortably. It has an ergonomic chest transmitter for comfort.

Continuously monitor your training heart rate with the Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch. An alarm with notify you when you left your training zone. The activity timer tells you how long you worked out and what your average and peak heart rate was. It's also helpful to monitor how quickly your heart rate returns to normal. This is also known as your recovery time.