Today’s post is brought to you by a nerd — a nerd who runs. A few years ago I tried running with a heart rate monitor, but it chafed in a place where I already battle chafing. I stuck it out for a while, but then decided I valued my skin more than I wanted to know how fast my heart was beating.
However, it’s now 2014 and of course “there’s an app for that.” And it’s free! This app uses my phone’s camera to “see” my pulse in my finger, which sounds extremely suspicious, right? Well, it seemed correct when I first downloaded and tried it. (I have a low resting heart rate, and it agreed.) I was able to test it when I recently went to the doctor, where they measured my pulse at 62 beats per minute. I then used the app a few minutes later when my appointment was done and the doctor had left the room, and the app said 58. This seems correct, since I was relieved that the appointment was done.
Anyway, here’s the iTunes link for the app. And here’s the Android link. Download it, place your finger over your camera lens and enjoy the nerdy numbers.