how much do you trust your HRM?

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karyabc
karyabc Posts: 830 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hi there! :) many of you weeks ago advise me to get a HRM , witch i did (a polar FT4), because i tough that doing 1h of cardio at the gym i was only burning about 300-350 cals. turns out that since a being using the HRM it constantly says that doing an hour and half of cardio in the treadmill or the elliptical i burn an average of 950-975 cals, doesn't that seem like too much??

btw im 5'5, currently 282lbs.

and the other thing is, well it might sound silly, but really i wonder if i should change my routine of cardio or stick to what is working, cause im kind of finding it easy sort of , and that was something that i never expect, cause i always relate in my mind the gym to walking out sore and in pain (it did happen the first couple of days), does that happened to you?

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I'm not sure for elliptical but if you're walking on the treadmill sanity check the caloric expenditure by multiplying you weight x.30 x distance in miles (you'll be burning about 85 cal per mile - higher as you increase the incline)

    If you're finding you workouts unchallenging try adding resistance to the elliptical and incline / higher speed on the treadmill. I'm not one who believes you need to be sore after working out but you should feel challenged.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    I trust my HRM to tell me my heart rate, and that's it. The calorie burn is just another imprecise formula (it averages out your heart rate), but with another variable.
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
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    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    I'm not sure for elliptical but if you're walking on the treadmill sanity check the caloric expenditure by multiplying you weight x.30 x distance in miles (you'll be burning about 85 cal per mile - higher as you increase the incline)

    If you're finding you workouts unchallenging try adding resistance to the elliptical and incline / higher speed on the treadmill. I'm not one who believes you need to be sore after working out but you should feel challenged.

    awesome! thank you so much, will do that B)
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
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    SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »
    I trust my HRM to tell me my heart rate, and that's it. The calorie burn is just another imprecise formula (it averages out your heart rate), but with another variable.

    got it ;)
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
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    It depends...calorie expenditure is just an estimate with heart rate monitors. Mine can measure my VO2 max and that coupled with all my personal data, gives me a pretty good estimate for steady state cardio.

    It is a bit trial and error. If you eat ALL your exercise calories back and you log your food correctly (weighing...) and you do not gain weight than it is pretty accurate. It works for me.

    Stef.

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