# Agreement Between Reserve Heart Rate, Perceived Exertion and Wint Index During HIIT Using a Low-Cost ANT+ Armband in University Students

## TL;DR

A low-cost heart rate armband shows good agreement with perceived exertion and a fitness index during high-intensity workouts in university students.

## Contribution

The study validates a low-cost ANT+ armband for monitoring heart rate during HIIT in educational settings.

## Key findings

- Heart rate reserve strongly correlates with the Wint index (r = 0.95) during HIIT.
- The Moofit HW401 armband shows consistent agreement with RPE and Wint index.
- Correlations are weaker in participants with extreme BMI values.

## Abstract

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) provides substantial cardiovascular benefits; however, precise monitoring typically requires expensive devices. These systems are feasible in research laboratories but are costly for schools and the fitness industry. Low-cost, validated devices are required to facilitate broader implementation. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 213 students (173 men and 40 women) from the Catholic University of Valencia, Spain. The participants completed an HIIT protocol consisting of five 3 min blocks. Heart rate (HR) was recorded using a Moofit HW401 armband (ANT+ technology). Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE, Omni-Res scale) and the Wint index were also obtained. Pearson correlations were computed between reserve heart rate (HRr), RPE, and Wint index during the warm-up phases (T1, T2) and HIIT, stratified by sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). HRr was strongly correlated with the Wint index (r = 0.95, p < 0.0001) and moderately correlated with RPE (r = 0.235, p = 0.001). No significant sex differences were observed (men 83.66 ± 8.18% vs. women 82.31 ± 10.89%; p > 0.05). Correlations were weaker in participants with extreme BMI values (n < 10, obese). The Moofit HW401 armband showed consistent agreement between HRr, RPE, and Wint index during HIIT, supporting its practical use for group monitoring in educational settings, pending formal validation against gold standards.