With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it made me think about one of the biggest advancements that technology has brought to the fitness industry. At the high level is in data collection - and this data has in turn helped us to better understand not only human physiology in general, but how each individual can maximize their efforts. But for me, at the heart of this revolution (pun intended) is the ability to track an individual’s heart rate. It helps indicate physical fitness, recovery, perceived effort, and opened a new chapter in the way people trained. Before we go much further, let's talk about the two primary methods of getting heart rate data today, and what some of the pros and cons of each are.