HRM / Fit bit

Babygirl928

I had a chest strap HRM that recently broke. I know this sounds silly, but I am not as motivated to work out unless I can see an actual calorie burn. What are some things you use that monitor your heart rate and calorie burn that are accurate. Wanted some opinions before I bought a new one. Annnnnnnnnd go

omma_to_3

If you want a calorie burn that is as accurate as reasonably possible (none are truly accurate) then stick with a Polar HRM with chest strap. It's reliable, and at the upper end of the accuracy scale.

FitBits with HRMs have been tested really poorly for calorie counts. I can also say that my TomTom Spark Cardio watch WAYYYYYYY overestimates my calorie burn. About double!

shinycrazy

I have a Garmin vivofit2 with the extra HRM chest strap. I really like it, through it doesn't play well with my cell phone playing music which is a bummer. I've also had a 10 year old polar HRM chest strap and watch combo that worked very well. Maybe look at a polar since you already have step tracking from the fitbit.

MeanderingMammal

Babygirl928 wrote: »

I had a chest strap HRM that recently broke. I know this sounds silly, but I am not as motivated to work out unless I can see an actual calorie burn. What are some things you use that monitor your heart rate and calorie burn that are accurate. Wanted some opinions before I bought a new one. Annnnnnnnnd go

What type of training do you do, and what's your budget?

Babygirl928

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Babygirl928 wrote: »

I had a chest strap HRM that recently broke. I know this sounds silly, but I am not as motivated to work out unless I can see an actual calorie burn. What are some things you use that monitor your heart rate and calorie burn that are accurate. Wanted some opinions before I bought a new one. Annnnnnnnnd go

What type of training do you do, and what's your budget?

post-op so I can only do treadmill. I have a polar now but it only lasted 2 years but I loved it. I do shaun t videos mostly and walking LOTS of walking. Budget depends on how good it is. I know I get what I pay for. Don't want to go crazy but I'd like to stay around $150

lastspen

I've been debating this for a while too. I still have my Polar but I sometimes talk myself out of working out because I can't find the strap (I get really scatterbrained after a workout and put it in weird places). Plus I do improptu workouts at work and I want to be able to track that as well.

So from what I've learned for accuracy a chest strap HRM works best. If you want something to wear all day and can interact with other with, then go with the Fitbit. From what I see, the Charge HR is more accurate than the others. I'm getting the Alta because of the customization options. If you have a Sam's or Costco, check them out. They will have them on sale from time to time and usually offer additional bands that you won't get from somewhere like Best Buy.

MeanderingMammal

Babygirl928 wrote: »

post-op so I can only do treadmill. I have a polar now but it only lasted 2 years but I loved it. I do shaun t videos mostly and walking LOTS of walking. Budget depends on how good it is. I know I get what I pay for. Don't want to go crazy but I'd like to stay around $150

OK, so that limits your options somewhat. No tracker will give a meaningful calorie estimate for cardio videos, so not worth investing from that perspective. For something that would give more reliable estimations you're in the realms of several hundred $.

For walking your better bet would be a step tracker, personally I use a Garmin VivosmartHR, but lots of people like FitBits, and the social aspect is stronger for those. I've found Garmin has better build quality.

If you decide you want an HRM anyway, the difference between chest strap and optical is negligible, so ignore all the chest strap is best nonsense. If you're a seriously competitive athlete then it may make a difference, but not for the majority.

Personally I'm an endurance runner, marathons and ultras, so generally go for GPS tracking to estimate.