When exercising, it is often useful to measure your pulse rate at regular intervals, to see how your workout is progressing and to check that your pulse is within a safe and healthy range.
There are a couple of ways to measure your pulse. The first is by doing it manually. Take the index and middle finger of one hand and place them on the side of your next, just to the side of your throat. Press gently until you can feel your pulse - this is your carotid artery.
If you're having trouble finding the pulse in your neck, try placing your fingers on the inside of one of your wrists instead. It's important not to use your thumb, as you can often feel your pulse in your thumb, so you may end up accidentally counting beats twice.
Once you have found your pulse, take a few seconds to get used to the rhythm. Then, using a watch or clock as a timer, count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds. Then simply multiply that number by 4 to get the number of beats in one minute.
15 seconds is a good amount of time to use because it is long enough to be quite accurate, but short enough that your pulse shouldn't change too much during the time you are measuring.
The great thing about measuring your pulse manually is that it is easy, free, and can be done anywhere. However, it can be slightly inaccurate. For a more exact reading you could choose to use an electronic heart rate monitoring device.
These can cost anything from up to 0 depending on the make, the quality, and the number of extra features. However, they offer the significant benefit that you can check your pulse at any time simply by glancing at your wrist.
It is increasingly common for exercise machines to have a heart rate monitor built into them. These consist of some sort of measuring device - usually a finger, earlobe, or chest strap. Your heart rate is then monitored constantly while you use the machine, and is displayed clearly and conveniently in front of you. Some machines will even track your heart rate over time, plotting a useful graph as you exercise.
However you choose to monitor your heart rate, you should be able to get quite accurate results, and this extra information can help you fine-tune your workouts to be even more productive.
