Heart Rate

Dear Dr. Mirkin: I’m starting an exercise program.  Should I invest
in a heart rate monitor?

         You don’t need to take your pulse when you exercise
because you can tell how fast your heart is beating just by paying
attention to how you breathe.  The only heart rate that you need
to know is the training heart rate that makes your heart stronger.
    To strengthen your heart, you have to exercise
vigorously enough to increase your heart rate at least 20 beats a
minute beyond your resting heart rate. You can tell when your
heart rate is high enough to strengthen your heart because your
body will require more oxygen than it does at rest, and you will 
start to breathe deeply and more rapidly. You should still feel
comfortable and be able to talk.  If you exercise so slowly that
you never breathe more deeply or rapidly than your resting rate,
you are not strengthening your heart. However, you don’t have to
exercise as hard as you can to become fit.
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