Scosche myTrek Wireless Pulse Monitor

Why use Scosche myTREK to monitor pulse?

Getting and staying in shape requires more than just blindly exercising without direction or guidance.

• By monitoring your pulse you can ensure you get the most out of your time spent exercising.
• Pushing yourself too hard can lead to over-training. Also, not working hard enough makes it difficult to reach goals and see results.
• That's where the Scosche myTREK comes in...

The Scosche myTREK Wireless Pulse Monitor allows you to monitor your heart rate as it rises and falls during activity by reading pulse from your forearm.

The Scosche myTREK will help you stay in your ideal zone during your workout.

About resting heart rate:

The term "heart rate" refers to the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Resting heart rate, or RHR is simply that; your heart rate when you're resting. This is typically referred to as beats per minute. RHR tells us how efficiently our heart and lungs are working together. To get the most accurate RHR, you should measure first thing in the morning; ideally before you exert the effort of getting out of bed. Any movement by your muscles can lead to an increase in heart rate as the muscles perform work. Even drinking your morning cup of coffee, which contains caffeine, acts as a stimulant and can drastically increase heart rate.

How to measure resting heart rate:

• If you didn't measure your RHR before getting out of bed, you can lie down and relax for 15-20 minutes before measuring your RHR.
• It is easiest to measure your RHR at the Radial Pulse; the Radial Pulse can be found on the underside of your wrist. To measure, place the tips of your index, middle and ring finger on the thumb side of your wrist. Adjust your fingertip position until you feel your pulse.
• Once found, count how many beats occur in 15 seconds, and then multiply that result by 4.

About maximum heart rate:

The term maximum heart rate, or HRmax, is the highest heart rate an individual can safely achieve while involved in activity. To determine your HRmax the Scosche myTREK employs the industry standard formula (220 - your age) = your HRmax . The Scosche myTREK App then finds your training zones (next tab) by taking a given percentage of your HRmax.

• Example of (40 year old) HRmax: 220 - 40 = 180 HRmax

About training zones:

Training Zones are expressed as percentages of your HRmax. They reflect exercise intensity and the benefiting result. There are five training zones shown below:

Resting Zone 40-59% HRmax

• Many people who have not been exercising regularly can benefit by starting out in this very light activity zone. This zone is viewed as the minimum intensity that would reap benefits. This is the appropriate zone for long, slow distance training, brisk walks on a recovery day for athletes and for those just getting started on an exercise routine to improve overall health.

Weight Loss Zone 60-69% HRmax

• Individuals with the goal of weight loss can benefit from monitoring pulse as much as an athlete can. By aiming for weight loss zone, you can ensure that you achieve a better calorie burn than you would by sauntering or meandering through your work out. This zone is seen as a great way to improve cardiovascular endurance and maintain a consistent workout schedule without overtraining.

Fitness Zone 70-79% HRmax

• This is often referred to as a primary target heart rate zone due to the fact that this zone typically the highest intensity that can be comfortably utilized during longer workouts. Beyond this zone, individuals typically have more difficulty carrying on a conversation, and breathing becomes much more challenging. This is why this is one of the most popular zones; working hard enough to see substantial benefits, but easy enough to carry on a conversation.

Performance Zone 80-89% HRmax

• While training in this zone you begin to increase the amount of oxygen you can consume during exercise, and therefore improve your cardiorespiratory system. This zone will also result in a higher lactate tolerance which means improved endurance and ability to fight off fatigue.

Red Line Zone 90-100% HRmax

• This zone is an extremely high intensity. Typically only used by highly trained athletes who stay in this zone for short periods such as interval training. This zone should only be used if you are an experienced exerciser who has been cleared to do so by your physician.

Finding your training zone ranges:

Calculating "Weight Loss Zone" based on 180 HRmax using the following formulas:

• 60% - 180 x .60 = 108 BPM
• 69% - 180 x .69 = 126 BPM
• Weight Loss Zone would range from 108 - 126 BPM

Scosche myTREK - How it works:

• Scosche myTREK is a Bluetooth-enabled armband and does not require bulky chest straps or wires. It easily attaches to your forearm for full wireless communication with your device.
• Integrated dual LED/optical sensors produce real-time pulse monitoring letting you assess the intensity of your workout. Scosche myTREK does this by sending light into the skin, and assessing how much light gets through and how much gets reflected back to the optical sensor. This indicates the oxygen saturation of the blood, and therefore represents the frequency of the blood flow from the heart and lungs.
• The Scosche myTREK armband takes thousands of readings over several seconds and averages the data. Using proprietary algorithms designed to calculate pulse based on the data collected, the Scosche myTREK app displays your average pulse over time with high accuracy.
• The Scosche myTREK is the first of its kind, a pulse monitor that takes continuous readings of your pulse and feeds the data to your smart phone. Before the Scosche myTREK, we were dependent on uncomfortable chest straps to collect this type of data, or had to stop our exercise to check our pulse by placing our fingers on a wrist worn unit.
• Additionally, the Scosche myTREK app gives you audio prompts for real-time feedback while you work out and allows you to control music within the app from buttons on the armband.