When it comes to choosing the best heart rate monitor chest strap for your workout, many of the factors in your purchasing decision will come down to personal preference and your workout regimen. Here are a few things to look for as you shop.
Bandwidth: Before you make a purchase, you should consider whether you prefer a heart rate monitor with a narrow strap or a wider strap.
Module size: Some chest straps use small modules (the plastic puck-like part) that don’t extend over the edges of the strap. Others, however, use larger monitors to measure your heart rate. The style you choose to track your workouts depends on your comfort preference.
Internal storage: If you don’t want to hold your smartphone while you work out, choose a heart rate monitor that can save your data to its own built-in storage. You can later transfer your heart rate readings to your phone via your monitor’s companion app.
Metrics: Think about what you want to monitor during your workout. More expensive models will capture real-time data on everything from running cadence to stride length, as well as things like blood pressure, calorie burn and heart rate variability to help you reach your fitness goals, while more basic models may only track your heart rate.
Battery: A wearable chest strap monitor can have a variety of power sources. Some have a rechargeable battery. Others have a super long battery life, but the battery is not user-replaceable or rechargeable. Longer battery life is always nice, but there are many options. Check the description for battery life before purchasing a monitor.
Chest strap vs. wrist heart rate monitors: To measure heart rate, both chest straps and wrist heart rate monitors are used, but the measurement methods differ.
Electrical heart rate sensors, which are most common in chest strap heart rate monitors, can detect electrical currents produced by your heart, somewhat similar to what happens in a doctor’s office with an EKG. These are considered the most accurate heart rate monitors because the electrical sensor can measure your heart rate even while you’re vigorous activity.
Optical heart rate sensors use an LED light to track your heartbeat in your arteries as your blood pumps through them. Optical heart rate sensors are found in smartwatches and are useful for measuring your heart rate while you’re at rest or walking, but are less reliable during intense activities because the measurements transformed.
ANT Plus vs. Bluetooth: Most wrist-worn heart rate monitors, like the Apple Watch, use Bluetooth, so you can only connect to one device. For example, if you’re recording an outdoor run, you’ll only be able to connect your Apple Watch to your iPhone.
ANT Plus technology lets you wirelessly connect to multiple devices at once. This is a good option for athletes who want to track data from multiple sources. You’ll find this technology in devices like chest strap heart rate monitors, indoor or outdoor bike computers, and some smartwatches.
If you are planning to use a device that only uses ANT Plus technology and you want to connect it to your smartphone, be aware that some Androids have ANT Plus technology capabilities, while iPhones do not. To find out if your device can connect to your Android, you will need to find the ANT Plus Plugins app in the Google Play Store and browse the compatible device directory. If you have an iPhone or an Android that cannot connect to your ANT Plus device, you will need to add an adapter to your phone.
Most people prefer the Bluetooth option because it connects faster and is easy to find on most devices. The good news is that there are many heart rate monitors that include both ANT Plus and Bluetooth to make the user experience easier.
