When do you start and stop your HRM?

ReinaJaLaNa

I've been meaning to post asking this question for a while but it's kept slipping my mind: At what point in the beginning and end of your workout to you start and stop your HRM?

I know this may seem like a silly question to some, but I'm sure not everyone does it the same way and I'm just curious on others' perspective on this (fairly minor) matter.

And to be clearer about what I mean, do you -- for example -- start it before your "warm-up" stretching or after...and then before or after your "cooldown"?

With workout videos, I figure it's probably easier to automatically include the pre- and post-stretching in your HRM stats since I would guess you'd be more inclined to start and stop it with the very beginning and very end of the tape.

But with your own workouts, when do you start and stop?

ALSO...when it comes to the end and stopping -- if you wait until after you're done with your cooldown stretching, do you stop RIGHT after or, perhaps, when -- for example -- your HR has lowered to a particular number or range? And for those of you who sometimes or always don't cooldown stretch, do you just turn the HRM right off after your workout or you wait for a certain HR number/range?

Just curious

rachie590

I don't know what the "correct" way is, but I start mine at the beginning and end it at the end and I use it for Insanity, so my heart rate goes way down during stretches and breaks.

rahlpn

When I did Insanity I would start it at the very beginning of the video (so yes I include warm up and cooldown) and I stopped it once the workout was done. I'm kinda OCD though so if I paused it and it said 47:46 I would continue it until it rolled over to a full 48 minutes, lol.

rickloving

I also start before my warmup and stop it after my cool down. Anytime you are not at your normal resting heartrate while working out is exercise calories burnt...

becka63

I start it when I start working out, I stop it when I've stopped working out. Anything more is waaaaaay too complicated for me!

ScottyNoHotty

I start mine as soon as I get on the treadmill for warmup walking, I stop it when my resting heart rate gets below 90 bpm

ReinaJaLaNa

Thanks so much for the responses so far, guys.

Hmmm... I also start mine before warming up and after cooling down whenever I'm doing a workout video or, say, on the treadmill and elliptical machines, but I notice that I tend to often not include it during my warmup whenever I'm on my own -- like, preparing for a jog, walk, and so forth. I'm wondering if I should start doing (or at least remembering to do) that...

Also, at the end, following the "cooldown" period, I've subscribed to turning it off once my HR dips below 120 -- sometimes 130. But, particularly based on what I saw a few of you say, I'm wondering if that's too high and I should wait until at least below 110?

Wouldn't wanna shortchange myself unnecessarily But of course also wouldn't wanna inappropriately inflate the cals-burned number either.

carakit

I start mine as soon as I start the warm up and turn it off after my cool down.