Sorry for the delayed reply! I have NOT done any real BPM training, primarily because I don’t own a monitor. Since I’m new and starting out, I’m really trying to learn to listen to my body instead of measuring and gauging every little thing. (I’m prone to that and I measure as much as I can…)
I’d say that it’s important to gather as much data as you can on your workouts. If you have the means to purchase a monitor, go for it! Some of the cardio equipment at the gym already have sensors built in, i.e. stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical, etc. I would love to have one for running but don’t yet have the need or want to know. 🙂
I also have a philosophy of perceived exertion. People should learn to read their bodies to the best of their ability. Most of the time, the answers are self evident if we just learn to clue in to the signals. Of course there are outliers (i.e. someone found out they were seriously ill and died in a matter of days/weeks) but for most of us, we need to track our habits and address the negative ones before it’s too late. Learning to depend on yourself and not a device/machine to give us all the answers will put us one step closer to that.
Amara in Training 