Despite 61 million wearable fitness devices being sold worldwide last year, new data has found that the majority of people working out are still not fully clear on how to use a heart rate monitor to maximize their fitness goals.
The research from Polar, a creator of wearable sports and fitness technology, has revealed that athletes, regardless of fitness level, are, on the whole, only passively tracking their heart rate rather than actively applying it to workout regimes.
Polar’s analysed its users’ global data, taken from its range of products from August last year to January 2017, scaled the workout information based on heart rate levels, with one denoting “very light” exercise, two “light”, three “moderate”, four “hard” and five “maximum.