Best Heart Rate Monitor?

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Rodderick89
Rodderick89 Posts: 205 Member
edited November 2014 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I would like to buy myself a heart rate monitor (either with a chest strap, or one of these stand-alone watch pieces) so that I can accurately log calories burnt. At the moment I rely on what the cardio machines tell me and find it hard to log calories from classes or strength training.

I have heard grand things about a monitor called the Polar FT-4, but can anyone recommend one that is better/more accurate, or just that they prefer. My price range is up to £100 as it will be my Christmas present to myself! Thanks :)
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Replies

  • NoMoreTwizzlers
    NoMoreTwizzlers Posts: 72 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Good morning @Rodderick89,

    I highly recommend and swear by the Timex Ironman Road Trainer Heart Rate Monitor tinyurl.com/lx85wox Don't be put off by the word "Men's" in name of the heart rate monitor. It can be customized for a woman too. I have owned a Timex Ironman Road Trainer Heart Rate Monitor for a month now and I love it because:

    1) It has a comfortable chest strap that picks up your heart rate extremely quickly without gels or moisture.
    2) You can set different zones that have an alarm you can set to make sure you are working hard enough or not too hard.
    3)The watch has a large, easy to read face.
    4) The watch ask you for your weight, height and age making for a more accurate measurement of your calories burned.
    5) You can clock laps if you are into running. I use it mostly to just measure calories burned.
    6) Lastly, it is easy to set up for quick use right out the box

    I have a few posts in my blog Getonwithitnow.tumblr.com detail what the Timex Ironman Road Trainer Heart Monitor can do. I'm chronicling my weight loss journey in my first effort at blogging. I'm having a ball too. I wouldn't workout without it on my wrist. I like seeing how many calories I am torching. It motivates me. Try it out.

    Incidently, I also have a post about the Polar FT4. I purchased that heart rate monitor first, but returned it. I have posts about that watch too. You will see the pic of it if you browse the posts.

    Hope this helped. Let me know. Good luck finding what you want.

    Danna Capehart
    Getonwithitnow.tumblr.com
  • Rodderick89
    Rodderick89 Posts: 205 Member
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    Thank you Danna for such a comprehensive reply. I haven't heard of the Timex HRM before, so will have a look at it. I am hearing mixed reviews about the Polar FT4 - from what I can gather, many people have said that there is no accurate HRM to measure calories burned during weightlifting, which I find a little hard to understand.

    Thanks again :)
  • NoMoreTwizzlers
    NoMoreTwizzlers Posts: 72 Member
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    You're welcome. Blessings to you. o:)
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
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    You could also get the Polar H7, download the free Polar Beat software to your phone and go from there. I don't know what your budget is, but check out the new Polar M400 multisportswatch, it has has great reviews! I have the Polar RCX5 multisportswatch and love it.
    Stef.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
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    Search for other HRM threads and you'll find an informed consensus that HRMs are only useful for measuring calories for stay state cardio, not weights.
  • NoMoreTwizzlers
    NoMoreTwizzlers Posts: 72 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Rodderick89 wrote: »
    Thank you Danna for such a comprehensive reply. I haven't heard of the Timex HRM before, so will have a look at it. I am hearing mixed reviews about the Polar FT4 - from what I can gather, many people have said that there is no accurate HRM to measure calories burned during weightlifting, which I find a little hard to understand.

    Thanks again :)

    Actually most of the beneficial calorie burning from weight lifting comes from the afterburner effect or EPOC en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excess_post-exercise_oxygen_consumption You don't burn a lot of calories while lifting, but you raise your metabolism and build muscle that eats calories. That can be measured using a heart rate monitor, but you need to know your usual resting heart rate. You would workout, wearing your monitor and keep it on after the workout until your heart rate came back down to its usual resting rate. Hope that helps.
  • Rodderick89
    Rodderick89 Posts: 205 Member
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    @sheldonklein - I did look through pre-existing threads, but there were mixed reviews and some were outdated, thus I started this new one. As you will see in one of my above comments I have said "many people have said there is no accurate HRM to measure calories burned during weightlifting", so I am aware this is potentially going to be an issue. As I said though, I find it hard to understand how a HRM can't work out calorie burn, as surely the HRM doesn't know HOW your heart rate is being raised, so whether your heart rate is raised through walking or squatting, if your heart rate is at the same level for the same cumalative duration, surely you are still burning the same number of calories?!
  • Yasbox45
    Yasbox45 Posts: 8 Member
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    I have the Polar FT 4 and have no complaints. I've only used it for calorie counting - it can test your fitness to help you train but I'm am not interested in all that. I lost weight successfully using it's calorie counting - I'd recommend the Polar FT 4.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Rodderick89 wrote: »
    Polar FT-4,


    From what you're saying you don't really need an HRM as it won't give you reliable information.

    So if you really want one, the FT4 isn't particularly expensive, so you're not throwing much money in the bin.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »
    the afterburner effect or EPOC en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excess_post-exercise_oxygen_consumption .

    If the single figure extra expenditure is important, then there are more fundamental issues...

    Afterburn effect is trivial.

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Rodderick89 wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I would like to buy myself a heart rate monitor (either with a chest strap, or one of these stand-alone watch pieces) so that I can accurately log calories burnt.
    The best one is the one you use consistently.

    I like the Polar FT-4 quite a bit, a nice easy to use unit. The RS3000x is a decent one too.

    I've recently upgraded to a Garmin. amazingly, they all do the same thing. So it's really not important the manufacturer, as long as it is a reputable one, comes with a chest strap, and the functionality you know you need and will use.
  • NoMoreTwizzlers
    NoMoreTwizzlers Posts: 72 Member
    edited November 2014
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »
    the afterburner effect or EPOC en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excess_post-exercise_oxygen_consumption .

    If the single figure extra expenditure is important, then there are more fundamental issues...

    Afterburn effect is trivial.

    What? Single figure expenditure? Elaborate please.
    Further afterburner is not trivial. A calorie burned is a calorie burned. Yes? The longer one maintains a heart rate above the usual resting rate they will burn calories at an accelerated rate. Weight training builds muscle. Muscle burns more calories. Therefore weight training will burn more calories because it raise your metabolism. Those calories can be measured by a heart rate monitor and watch.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited November 2014
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    TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »
    What? Single figure expenditure? Elaborate please.

    Essentially the calorie expenditure from EPOC is in the order of 5% For CV work 3-4%, although research varies with a couple of edge cases identifying more than that. It's going to be within the margin for error on most HRMs.

    Allow me to put it this way. If you burn 200 calories in 30 minutes of resistance training then the EPOC effect will be in the order of 2-4 calories, assuming that 200 isn't an overestimation.

    If I go for a run I'll burn 350cals in the same 30 minutes.
    Further afterburner is not trivial. A calorie burned is a calorie burned. Yes? The longer one maintains a heart rate above the usual resting rate they will burn calories at an accelerated rate.

    Heart rate isn't a useful indicator of calorie expenditure in many circumstances. It's most representative in steady state work in the aerobic range. If one goes into the anaerobic range then the equivalence breaks down and the approximations become very inaccurate.
    Weight training builds muscle. Muscle burns more calories. Therefore weight training will burn more calories because it raise your metabolism.

    The volume of lean tissue needed to make a significant difference is large, and not going to be gained while one is in deficit.
    Those calories can be measured by a heart rate monitor and watch.

    I take it you don't know how a Heart Rate Monitor works when it's approximating calorie expenditure.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    Polar FT4.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Another thread based on the flawed premise that such a thing as an accurate caloric estimate from HRMs in all situations exists ... with a long reply that is more about posting a link to a blog than anything substantive ... when science is injected, it gets countered with the all too predictable programmed response from marketing.

    Just a typical day on MFP.
  • NoMoreTwizzlers
    NoMoreTwizzlers Posts: 72 Member
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    Thank you @MeanderingMammal
  • NoMoreTwizzlers
    NoMoreTwizzlers Posts: 72 Member
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    It's a good thing you're not the decider @brianpperkins
  • QueenErised46
    QueenErised46 Posts: 20
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    I do have a Polar FT4 and I'm pretty much satisfied with this product so far. :)
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    TwizzlerGirl13 wrote: »
    It's a good thing you're not the decider @brianpperkins

    Why? Because I would use actual scientific understanding of how HRMs estimate caloric burn to decide and not make statements about "afterburn" that aren't supported by research?


  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
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    Garmin 15--activity tracker and HRM in one

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