Two questions about HR/Pedometer watch

[roddy59]

Just brought a monitor watch, but have 2 questions which the manual that came with it does not explain:

1. I know what the first number on the heart rate screen is (# of pulses/min) but what does the second number which is a % mean? Does it mean that number is the % of my calculated resting heart rate?

2. I work out on a stationary stepper. But the number of steps on my watch seems way too high (like it says I did 56 steps in 30 seconds at a step height of 6 inches).

Thanks for any enlightenment!

[rpmcduff]

The % should be the percentage of maximum heart rate reading. The 56 steps per 30 seconds sounds about right. That is about 2 steps per second. You can check it easily just check the clock when you begin, start counting your steps and when you hit 30 seconds you'll see how close the monitor is.

[lchamberla@yahoo.com]

What kind did you get? I am seriously considering investing in one, but there are so many out there....

[Physio5]

If you want to have a more visual understanding of what that percentage mean, you can check this calculator:
Target heart rate
If you use the calculator with the button "Heart rate max" pressed it will calculate the same way as your watch does.

Generally you can't go wrong with a Polar heart rate monitor, but other brands like Garmin and Suunto are also getting there.