HRM or other fitness technology?

Soundwave79

Yes an HRM is a toy. And pausing it during the 6 minute stretching periods is definitely arbitrary. Couldn't possibly be common sense.

Picking a number out of thin air sounds much easier. I should have stayed with that method. Maybe would have lost half the weight I have currently lost using my toy.

Hornsby

Lapre79 wrote: »

brianpperkins wrote: »

Lapre79 wrote: »

brianpperkins wrote: »

esjones12 wrote: »

brianpperkins wrote: »

esjones12 wrote: »

brianpperkins wrote: »

esjones12 wrote: »

A HRM would be more for activities vs all day wear though. So you can use both.

Everything is a guess and check. There is no easy way to say "today you burned x amount of caloires" and have it be spot on. Use a combination of tools and find what works for you if you want. I use a HRM successfully for activities people claim they can't possibly work for (HITT, etc).

Be consistent in how you measure and what you log. Do it for a few weeks. If you are losing weight than keep doing what you are doing.

Based on " I use a HRM successfully for activities people claim they can't possibly work for (HITT, etc)" it seems you consider inaccurate numbers to be a success. No HRM can accurately estimate calories from HIIT (assuming what you're doing is actually HIIT, not merely interval training) due to the science behind the devices.

Success = weight loss.....sorry did I need to clarify that? Perhaps the first two sentences were unclear....

So you didn't use the HRM successfully for something it cannot possibly do ... you lost weight in spite of inaccuracies.

Seriously, we are going to gripe about wording? I used a HRM as a tool in combination with other tools (like MFP) to successfully lose weight. Who gives a crap if the HRM is a few calories off? Your food labels are not 100% accurate. I made adjustments along the way to find what worked to successfully lose weight. Like I said in my original post: Everything is a guess and check.

It isn't a gripe about wording. It is pointing out a claim (successful use of a HRM for HIIT calculation) that is wrong. There is a difference in the two. The SCIENCE behind HRMs is why they are inaccurate for things like HIIT (again, assuming what you did was actually HIIT). That SCIENCE applies to all HRMs and all users.

I've also used my HRM to successfully lose weight while doing HIIT. The number it provides is ballpark enough of a number to work with. No one is saying it's 100% accurate. As she said above there is no true way of knowing the accurate number. The best we can do is ballpark. I compare my HRM number with MFP, and online calculators and my HRM is usually the lowest of the three. So I use that number. If I feel it's high I knock off another 20% or so to be safe. So yes what she is saying is correct. Even though the science behind the HRM isn't designed for HIIT you can successfully use it to lose weight if you are smart about it and understand that the number is ballpark.

For instance a round of Insanity Pure Cardio is 40 minutes. At my height, weight, and age I've had calculators tell me I've burned anywhere from 400-700 calories doing it. Even calculators geared for Insanity. MFP will tell me 400-450. My HRM is like 330-380. So I go with that number. I find MFP is consistently higher then my HRM.

Losing weight is based on caloric deficit .. nothing more. Your HRM is inaccurate for HIIT (not that an activity you can do in intervals for 40 minutes is HIIT ... that is merely interval training). By your own admission you picked the lowest of the caloric burn estimates presented to you. Nowhere is there an analysis of which is correct ... if any is.

HIIT is exertion periods at over 95% of LTHR ... often exceeding 100% ... transitioning to anaerobic activity. Commercial HRMs, especially low end ones such as the FT4 and FT7, do not accurately estimate caloric burns from such activity ... just like they don't accurately estimate burns from yoga, lifting, low intensity activities like walking.

Again I understand what they were designed for and what they are accurate at tracking. But the way I am using it has allowed me to find semi decent ballpark numbers for me to work with doing HIT (home interval training) (Is that an acceptable acronym for Insanity??)

I'd just call it a workout DVD since HIIT kinda implies High Intensity Interval Training which I wouldn't think Insanity is.

Soundwave79

I would say workout DVD is extremely obtuse but whatever not going to argue over semantics.

heybales

The Garmin's can have their data uploaded into SportTracks and analyzed, and adjusted.

Once, I took an interval workout, and took the time to adjust the HR to get a better avg to use my personal VO2max calorie burn formula on.

So I figured that any increase in HR when I started sprinting would be offset by equal time drop, but the drop needed to come all the way down to normal HR when walking on the easy part, which normally doesn't happen in that short time span.

So the drop was made shorter to match the increase, and lower than it read to match normal walking HR level.

So of course with all those adjustments, the average HR was lower by 15-20 IIRC, which was a decent impact on calorie burn - if it had been a long workout.

But 10 intervals in 10 min, and after a 20 min slow cardio, another 5 intervals in 10 min, just didn't add up to much for only doing it every 3-4 the week.

Now, if attempting to do that 3 x weekly, perhaps a significant difference to take note of.
Then again, if I really attempted that 3 x weekly, I doubt I could have gotten the HR as high anyway, so the avg would have been truer without the adjustments, and the workout wouldn't have been as good anyway.

47Jacqueline

I have a Polar ft7 and it's great for heart rate and calorie tracking for workouts. I have an additional strap for water workouts because I have a couple of pools that are salt water and the sensor gets corroded. I had some issues, but Polar replaced both the watch and the sensor with no hassle.

Not for steps, but I have a decent pedometer on my phone that doesn't nag me the way the Jawbone did: HealthyWalk. It's free, no log in, no hassle, no frills, no reporting to mfp or giving you a calorie count. Just steps - that's the basic physical activity you should do no matter what.

I may get an Apple watch, but it's not waterproof, so...