Opinion For Heart Rate Monitor Please

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babybs
babybs Posts: 48 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am in the market to move up from my simple pedometer to a heart rate monitor. I'm quite uneducated, could you help by suggesting a good model? Can you get a HRM that is also a pedometer? Or was that a stupid question :)

Thanks in advance.

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  • KimKuz99
    KimKuz99 Posts: 3 Member
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    I just bought a Polar FT4 and I've used it 6-7 times already. I love it. It is a fairly basic model and is easy to use. It does not have a pedometer with it though. There may be HRM's with pedometers but I'm not familiar with those. I did research here on MFP and read reviews at amazon.com. Do a search on MFP for HRMs and you should be able to be see many posts on this subject.
  • babybs
    babybs Posts: 48 Member
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    Thanks KimKuz99, I'll do that.
  • megabyt23
    megabyt23 Posts: 580 Member
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    I use the Polar FT4 model as well and like it a lot! It seems fairly accurate to me so far, and it's really easy to use. I just needed something basic that actually worked! haha
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
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    Have you considered a Fitbit? It IS a pedometer, it is NOT a HRM, but it is a wonderful tool. You just wear it all day and it tracks everything (dedicated activity and just steps through the day). It is more advanced than a regular pedometer, taking into account your height/weight/age/sex to determine calorie burn, even steps per minute (to determine if you are walking or running).

    I have a HRM too ... but to me it is a bit of a pain to put it on each time (it's three pieces, the little monitor, strap and watch). I do several workouts a day, and I don't like to leave the HRM on all the time (I leave the Fitbit on all the time, even at night as it tracks sleep too). I do like the feedback from the HRM, but I've found my Fitbit is coming up with very similar numbers for my walks/runs (which is one of the reasons I picked up the HRM, I did want to double check the Fitbit numbers).

    A good HRM doesn't cost as much as the Fitbit ($99) but it is a really good option, especially as it syncs automatically, and syncs with MFP too!
  • STrooper
    STrooper Posts: 659 Member
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    It depends upon how you wish to deal with data or what data you actually want. Do you mind a chest strap or will a finger or wrist based monitor be satisfactory.

    For example, if you wish to have a separate "watch" which might or might not download to a computer, there are options that allow for that.

    If you want one that monitors GPS AND heart-rate, you have options for that.

    Do you have a smartphone with Bluetooth technology (and what type of phone and which version of BT)?

    In my own case I have an Android phone which means that I have BT version 3.0 or "classical" BT. I bought a Zephyr HRM which has a chest-strap and transmits via BT to my phone. There is no proprietary software that the monitor needs to use and because the phone has a reasonably good GPS onboard, I can use the GPS functions in conjunction with whatever program I use.

    There is not a single app that gets it all. Endomondo is a relatively simple and easy program that monitors heartrate easily. But the calorie expenditure seems overpredicted. Runtastic Pro does a pretty good job but its GPS function leaves something to be desired and Runtastic seems unable to fix the GPS errors. There are many programs that are iPhone exclusive so I can't say anything about them.

    One of the most useful programs I use is the Digifit iCario program (now that it supports the Zephyr monitor) but even without a HRM the Digifit site has a wealth of information which you might consult to help you choose. The are partners with MFP as are Runtastic and Endomondo.

    I am quite happy with my Zephyr. My first one was defective and Zephyr replaced it once it became obvious that the issue was the monitor. I like the chest strap and it functions well.

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