question about heart rate monitors and heart rate

Hello everyone,  I have been working out for about six months now and I have a question about heart rate monitors. I noticed that in my step class many ladies have the watch type on and after the class they talk about the calories they have burned. I just had a check up with my doctor and he said my resting pulse is 54 which seems low. He recomended to wear a heart rate watch so I do not overdue my heart rate. I am 45 and often go to about 160-170 when I check it on my tread mill. Could someone clear up is it really that important and thoughts on what types or brands I should look into.                                                            Thanks Apryl

Hi Apryl,  I don't have the kind of heart rate monitor that measures calories burned (wish I did!).  Mine is a basic Polar brand, at about $45 from Walmart.  I followed the instructions that came with the unit, and measured my morning heart rate three days in a row, and averaged them to come up with my morning resting heart rate (MRH).  Then, I visted the Polar website, where I entered that information, along with some other details.  Their calculator then gave me my training heart rate.   I agree that the heart rate monitor is one of the absolute best pieces of exercise equipment you can own! Tami