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75% of calories shown by heart rate monitor when doing p90x3/strength training sound ok?

DuckReconMajor
Posts: 434 Member
I got a Polar FT4 chest strap heart rate monitor to try and deduce the number of calories I burn during these workouts. It was great motivation but then I read articles like this that seem to say this won't be accurate, even though MFP itself suggests it and p90x3 used it to advertise, even using what looks like the same HRM i'm using.
So i stopped using the HRM but this has been killing my motivation to keep up the intensity. My question is, if i cut down the calories it says i burn to say, 75% of the displayed value would that be close enough to feel confident that this is how many calories I've burned?
So i stopped using the HRM but this has been killing my motivation to keep up the intensity. My question is, if i cut down the calories it says i burn to say, 75% of the displayed value would that be close enough to feel confident that this is how many calories I've burned?
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I have the V800 and I've heard the same thing, but when I did some of the online calculators they were coming up higher than what I was getting. I think as long as you're doing a steady state cardio, have set your v02 it should be about right. I looked at the video, I only record my heart rate during exercising and my 5 minute cool down they were recording all the time. For me it's great motivation when I can see what my heart rate is.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/490909-the-accuracy-of-calories-burned-in-polar-heart-rate-monitors/0 -
Great article. Maybe I'll continue using the calories burned displayed by the Polar, or maybe i'll take 12% off as the possible overestimation quoted in the article.
Also is there an easy way to get my v02 other than a doctor test or something?0 -
I'm not sure about the FT4 but with some of the polar products have a test for it. I'm not sure how accurate it is. But I use it.0
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i have come to the conclusion that fitness trackers wont work for strength training but for certain workout dvds such as Insanity, Yoga or other cardio machines.0
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raven56706 wrote: »i have come to the conclusion that fitness trackers wont work for strength training but for certain workout dvds such as Insanity, Yoga or other cardio machines.
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Actually the strength training i was referencing was just the P90X3 workouts like The Challenge which is basically just push ups and pull ups the entire time. It seems all of the workouts are some mix of strength training and cardio.
When you say strength training profile, is that a setting in your V800 to optimize for strength training? I don't think my FT4 has that unfortunately.0 -
There isn't a linkage between HR and caloric burn for anaerobic activity which is why HRMs cannot accurately estimate burn for them. Sometimes marketing hype trumps scientific reality when it comes to the capabilities of fitness devices.0
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brianpperkins wrote: »There isn't a linkage between HR and caloric burn for anaerobic activity which is why HRMs cannot accurately estimate burn for them. Sometimes marketing hype trumps scientific reality when it comes to the capabilities of fitness devices.
What this guy said ^^0 -
ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »... have set your v02 ....
The FT4 isn't that sophisticated, it's real entry level stuff.
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DuckReconMajor wrote: »Actually the strength training i was referencing was just the P90X3 workouts like The Challenge which is basically just push ups and pull ups the entire time. It seems all of the workouts are some mix of strength training and cardio.
When you say strength training profile, is that a setting in your V800 to optimize for strength training? I don't think my FT4 has that unfortunately.
It doesn't really optimize it, it's just a way for me to separate the activities. it's usually around 100 to 150 calories, about the same I would burn if I was walking for that length of time. From the looks of P90x it seems you're moving all the time, just changing exercises, which wouldn't be any different than doing any of the other cardio classes. If your HRM motivates you to work harder by all means use it. I have the FT80 and loop, just moved up to the V800 because I wanted something to capture my all day activities, and it was at a great price.
http://www.polar.com/en/support/V800/how_does_v800_track_my_activity
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Hope to not start any more controversy with this but with more reading i've done and the disagreement that still seems to be brewing on the subject i've decided to continue using my FT4 but cut the calories it tells me in half, this is a rate that I will feel comfortable eating back during the day and not spend time worrying if that is accurate.0
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DuckReconMajor wrote: »Hope to not start any more controversy with this but with more reading i've done and the disagreement that still seems to be brewing on the subject i've decided to continue using my FT4 but cut the calories it tells me in half, this is a rate that I will feel comfortable eating back during the day and not spend time worrying if that is accurate.
If it motivates you then do it, but theres a reason hardly anyone logs calories from strength training. They are all estimates. Your body gets 100% of the benefit hrm or no hrm.0 -
DuckReconMajor wrote: »Hope to not start any more controversy with this but with more reading i've done and the disagreement that still seems to be brewing on the subject i've decided to continue using my FT4 but cut the calories it tells me in half, this is a rate that I will feel comfortable eating back during the day and not spend time worrying if that is accurate.
It's your body and life. If want to pick an arbitrary percentage of a number produced by a device that cannot produce an accurate caloric estimate for the activities you do ... feel free.0 -
DuckReconMajor wrote: »Hope to not start any more controversy with this but with more reading i've done and the disagreement that still seems to be brewing on the subject i've decided to continue using my FT4 but cut the calories it tells me in half, this is a rate that I will feel comfortable eating back during the day and not spend time worrying if that is accurate.
Half is probably pretty close, just start with that and adjust as needed. When I wore my HRM in the gym I typically got say, 1100-1400 calorie burns for 2 hours. I usually counted 500 I think and it worked out as expected.0 -
For what you're doing, it's more likely to be closer cutting *by* 75% than cutting *to* 75%.
The P90X claims are complete horse ****, unless you are already extremely fit.
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I always consume half what my HRM says. I'm still losing so I'm doing something right.0
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Asher_Ethan wrote: »I always consume half what my HRM says. I'm still losing so I'm doing something right.
The two sentences in this post are not necessarily related. Let's be honest, if your HRM was correct then you could eat back all it said and lose weight rather than arbitrarily halving its output.0 -
DuckReconMajor wrote: »Hope to not start any more controversy with this but with more reading i've done and the disagreement that still seems to be brewing on the subject i've decided to continue using my FT4 but cut the calories it tells me in half, this is a rate that I will feel comfortable eating back during the day and not spend time worrying if that is accurate.
That. People get way too caught up in stuff. They tend to forget that even their food calories are an estimation no matter how particular they are at measuring it out. I've lost weight by eating 50-75% of my HRM calories back. Best thing to do is look at it over a period of time...start with 50% and see how the scale reacts and how you feel. Tired and losing at a good rate? Probably need to eat more. Feel fine and not losing? Probably need to eat less.
P90X programs are pretty awesome. Have you tried following their nutrition guide? Might help cut some confusion. I am currently using random routines from BB and am getting fantastic performance results.0 -
DuckReconMajor wrote: »Hope to not start any more controversy with this but with more reading i've done and the disagreement that still seems to be brewing on the subject i've decided to continue using my FT4 but cut the calories it tells me in half, this is a rate that I will feel comfortable eating back during the day and not spend time worrying if that is accurate.
That. People get way too caught up in stuff. They tend to forget that even their food calories are an estimation no matter how particular they are at measuring it out. I've lost weight by eating 50-75% of my HRM calories back. Best thing to do is look at it over a period of time...start with 50% and see how the scale reacts and how you feel. Tired and losing at a good rate? Probably need to eat more. Feel fine and not losing? Probably need to eat less.
P90X programs are pretty awesome. Have you tried following their nutrition guide? Might help cut some confusion. I am currently using random routines from BB and am getting fantastic performance results.
Yea, my way is the best way (LOL) We tend to forget when it comes to the body there is no exact science, no matter what the "experts" say.
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ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »when it comes to the body there is no exact science
The physics is pretty compelling. The debate is about the accuracy or otherwise of the instrumentation.
All instrumentation carries error, but it's up to the individual to work out what level of error is acceptable, and how to compensate. There is the issue of spurious accuracy, and the influence on behaviour, so again it's worth understanding the limitations of the instrumentation in use.
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »when it comes to the body there is no exact science
The physics is pretty compelling. The debate is about the accuracy or otherwise of the instrumentation.
All instrumentation carries error, but it's up to the individual to work out what level of error is acceptable, and how to compensate. There is the issue of spurious accuracy, and the influence on behaviour, so again it's worth understanding the limitations of the instrumentation in use.
For you it is, for others it's not, you do it your way and let others do it their way!
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ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »when it comes to the body there is no exact science
The physics is pretty compelling. The debate is about the accuracy or otherwise of the instrumentation.
All instrumentation carries error, but it's up to the individual to work out what level of error is acceptable, and how to compensate. There is the issue of spurious accuracy, and the influence on behaviour, so again it's worth understanding the limitations of the instrumentation in use.
For you it is, for others it's not
Presumably you're opining on my comment about the physics being compelling?
If you can provide some reputable evidence that the energy and entropy are selective then I'd love to read it.
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »when it comes to the body there is no exact science
The physics is pretty compelling. The debate is about the accuracy or otherwise of the instrumentation.
All instrumentation carries error, but it's up to the individual to work out what level of error is acceptable, and how to compensate. There is the issue of spurious accuracy, and the influence on behaviour, so again it's worth understanding the limitations of the instrumentation in use.
For you it is, for others it's not
Presumably you're opining on my comment about the physics being compelling?
If you can provide some reputable evidence that the energy and entropy are selective then I'd love to read it.
And you can't either, it's all about what you believe. Every study is just an opinion, they all test over and over again until they find something to back up what they believe.
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ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »when it comes to the body there is no exact science
The physics is pretty compelling. The debate is about the accuracy or otherwise of the instrumentation.
All instrumentation carries error, but it's up to the individual to work out what level of error is acceptable, and how to compensate. There is the issue of spurious accuracy, and the influence on behaviour, so again it's worth understanding the limitations of the instrumentation in use.
For you it is, for others it's not
Presumably you're opining on my comment about the physics being compelling?
If you can provide some reputable evidence that the energy and entropy are selective then I'd love to read it.
And you can't either, it's all about what you believe. Every study is just an opinion, they all test over and over again until they find something to back up what they believe.
Are you actually trying to claim that physics, to include the laws of thermodynamics and motion, is all opinion?
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ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »
And you can't either, it's all about what you believe. Every study is just an opinion, they all test over and over again until they find something to back up what they believe.
Are you seriously suggesting that you don't accept the significant volume of evidence that exists supporting the laws on conservation of energy?
I'll acknowledge that all science is merely theory, and that any moment someone could come along with some evidence that invalidates many years worth of supporting evidence. But I think you're clutching at straws suggesting that the fairly fundamental theories aren't valid.
I understand that Gravity might be up for debate as well...
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brianpperkins wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »when it comes to the body there is no exact science
The physics is pretty compelling. The debate is about the accuracy or otherwise of the instrumentation.
All instrumentation carries error, but it's up to the individual to work out what level of error is acceptable, and how to compensate. There is the issue of spurious accuracy, and the influence on behaviour, so again it's worth understanding the limitations of the instrumentation in use.
For you it is, for others it's not
Presumably you're opining on my comment about the physics being compelling?
If you can provide some reputable evidence that the energy and entropy are selective then I'd love to read it.
And you can't either, it's all about what you believe. Every study is just an opinion, they all test over and over again until they find something to back up what they believe.
Are you actually trying to claim that physics, to include the laws of thermodynamics and motion, is all opinion?
If it was written by man, it's an opinion, with data (that was tested until I got the results I wanted). some is more exact than others, but that doesn't mean it always applies to every situation.
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It seems we have another Strother Martin moment on MFP.0
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ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »
If it was written by man, it's an opinion, with data (that was tested until I got the results I wanted). some is more exact than others, but that doesn't mean it always applies to every situation.
Isnt that the point of science you can repeat it to prove the thoery. Are you saying thermodynamics is just opinion?0 -
I can't believe what I have just read in the last few replies. I new mankind was doomed.0
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and now I am singing "Civil War" by Guns and Roses
back on track for the OP
I would go slightly less, shift it down to 50% of the guestimation your HRM / Gizmo gives you and subtract whatever you would have burned in that timeframe doing nothing
This has worked for me. What you may find is you have to adjust slightly , based on your goals0
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