Monitoring heart rate is essential to estimating one’s health and fitness levels and it’s easier than ever to purchase a device that tracks it for you – no more losing your place while mentally counting beats.
Dr. Kanny Grewald, a cardiologist at Riverside Methodist Hospital and a New Albany resident, says the heart rate monitors currently on the market are considered to be generally accurate with their measurements. This is one of the reasons why heart rate is used so often when estimating fitness levels; it can be measured easily and accurately.
There are more than 250 heart-monitoring products on sale through Amazon alone. Some models strap across your chest while others come in the form of fitness bands and watches. Many of these devices come with additional technological features such as Bluetooth capabilities, alarms and GPS tracking.
Deep breaths
Heart rate isn’t the only factor in measuring fitness, another important measurement is VO2 max which indicates the maximum amount of oxygen your body can take in during exercise.
These measurements are usually recorded in a medical lab using a breathing tube and facemask. While there are fitness devices that claim to accurately measure VO2 max, not everyone is convinced.
“The technology devices will give you an estimate, but it’s not super accurate,” Grewald says. “I would say with technology, though, the nice thing is that you can notice trends and you can notice changes. So even if that VO2 max isn’t completely accurate… it’s still going to increase as you’re improving.”
While not as widely available, newer models of fitness tech also measure oxygen saturation levels in the blood (SpO2).
The two measurements go hand-in-hand – if your lungs can’t take in much oxygen when you breathe resulting in a low VO2 max, your body will have less oxygen to distribute into the blood leading to a low SpO2. High levels of these measurements could be an indication of good anaerobic health as your body has an abundance of available oxygen to keep you moving.
These measurements are particularly helpful for those who suffer from breathing challenges such as asthma. For most people, these measurements are only used to track fitness levels and aren’t a cause for concern, but in severe cases, if your body isn’t absorbing oxygen into your blood, you could suffer from hypoxia.
Sleep strong
Often overlooked in our busy lives, sleep is a health and fitness factor essential to becoming your healthiest self.
Another advantage of using tracking devices such as smartwatches is that many of them track your rest overnight and into the morning.
Some fitness products that measure your sleep include the popular Apple Watches and Fitbit devices. Not only will these devices track sleep, they also categorize your sleep in levels to see how much deep rest you are getting each night. This can help you create a sleep hygiene plan for optimal sleep.
“This (device) is telling me that my quality of sleep was poor. You can look back and say, ‘Well, what did I do that night? Did I stay up later than I should have? Did I eat something different? Did I have a glass of wine at dinner?’ and you can make adjustments to that so that you're getting good quality sleep,” Amy Harrison, an athletic trainer with OhioHealth and leader of the OhioHealth Runner’s Clinic, says. “So it’s just good for being able to see your lifestyle habits and how they affect your health and well-being.”
Burning up
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Healthy diet
Maintaining a healthy body fat percentage can be one of the more challenging factors when it comes to being fit and healthy.
To lose body fat, you’ll need to burn more calories than you eat. For this reason, many people looking to lose fat tend to track their calories and/or macro and micro nutrients.
While you will likely lose weight just by decreasing your calorie intake, the advantage of tracking your macro- and micronutrients along with your calories is that it allows you to assess whether you are getting too much or too little of a particular thing. Macronutrients include fat, protein and carbohydrates while micronutrients include vitamins, minerals and electrolytes.
There are many apps that will estimate how many calories and nutrients your body needs and track the amount of each in the food you are consuming. This includes MyFitnessPal and Noom. All you need to do is enter what you eat and any exercise you do in the app. Some apps will even connect to your wearable device via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or cellular data and enter your exercise information for you, helping the app to determine your calorie needs.
“Your diet, when it comes to long-term weight loss, is more of a contributor than the actual exercise, but certainly a regular exercise program is important for anyone trying to lose weight and also for anyone just trying to maintain their health,” Grewald says.
New tech, same practices
Fitness bands and technology have advanced greatly in recent decades from digital pedometers to measuring blood pressure and skin temperature.
Some devices even have the ability to run electrocardiograms (ECG or EKG), which detect electrical signals in the heart that can indicate heart attacks or an irregular heartbeat.
The first fitness device to include the ECG feature was the Apple Watch Series 4. After FDA clearance, these heart-health lifesavers hit the U.S. market, helping wearers to recognize elusive heart defects at a younger age.
The Apple Watch Series 9, which was released last September, boasts its ECG feature and how it could help to diagnose atrial fibrillation (AFib) which is a potentially dangerous irregular heart beat condition that causes complications such as heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and more.
While it is convenient to get an ECG wherever you are, it is always best to consult a doctor if you have any concerns about your heart health.
“EKG tracing for an electrocardiogram and the accuracy for those types of things is a little bit more uncertain from one device to the next, but they are definitely improving the technology,” Grewald says.
While relying on Apple Watches, Fitbits and Garmin devices can be alluring, Grewald says the best way to check your health and fitness levels is to listen to your body.
“I don’t want someone to think that it’s mandatory that you have to use technology to participate in some type of a fitness program,” he says. “I think paying attention to how your body feels is just as important as anything you can measure with a device or tracker.”
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
