Polar hrm and watch
chess_on_a_journey
Posts: 16 Member
I'm looking into buying a polar watch for my workouts. Right now I'm looking at just buying the hrm strap and purchasing the watch at a later time. Or would it be more beneficial to buy them both together. Also can I even use the strap alone?
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Replies
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A couple of question.....
What kind of workouts?
What are you hoping to gain from using a HRM?
Yes the Polar chest strap is compatible with many gym cardio machines if that's what you are looking for.0 -
H7 Bluetooth strap also compatible with a number of apps, so you use your phone as the HRM.
Personally, I like the activity tracker/HRM setup in the A300, M400, V800 models. I know the inherent inaccuracies, but I like the way it's all organized.0 -
My workouts are usually about 30 mins on the treadmill at the gym (a brisk walk at about a level 5 incline) and lifting some weights afterwards. I also do hiit workouts at home in the morning for about 30 mins. What I'm hoping to gain is to figure out how many calories I'm burning during my workouts. I'm new to working out consistently been at it for about 2 months now and I thought it may be beneficial to know my calorie burn.0
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A HRM is useless for estimating calories for both weights and HIIT/interval training.
It's not great for walking either.
Save your money for buying new workout clothes as you get slimmer would be my advice as you would just be using a gizmo to guess - you can do that for free.4 -
Ok. Thanks so much. Glad I asked before I wasted my money. And lol will do. Thanks0
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A HRM is useless for estimating calories for both weights and HIIT/interval training.
It's not great for walking either.
Save your money for buying new workout clothes as you get slimmer would be my advice as you would just be using a gizmo to guess - you can do that for free.
This. Its a gadget that is not necessary.
The only thing I can see it could be useful is to monitoring your heart for training to pick up/slow down the pace.
Most people gave it depend on it when there are other means that are free to guess calorie burn.0 -
chessicaatkins wrote: »My workouts are usually about 30 mins on the treadmill at the gym (a brisk walk at about a level 5 incline) and lifting some weights afterwards. I also do hiit workouts at home in the morning for about 30 mins. What I'm hoping to gain is to figure out how many calories I'm burning during my workouts. I'm new to working out consistently been at it for about 2 months now and I thought it may be beneficial to know my calorie burn.
Good read on the topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-214720 -
My Suunto Spartan Ultra gives me a pretty accurate calorie burn, but it uses heart rate, VO2max, height, weight, activity class, and METS to do it, I would guess.0
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Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.1
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bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.
Actually very relevant, a chest band is going to tell you if your HIIT was actually HIIT or not.
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stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.
Actually very relevant, a chest band is going to tell you if your HIIT was actually HIIT or not.
But so would RPE0 -
scorpio516 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.
Actually very relevant, a chest band is going to tell you if your HIIT was actually HIIT or not.
But so would RPE
Most people do RPE very poorly0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.
Actually very relevant, a chest band is going to tell you if your HIIT was actually HIIT or not.
Retrospectively. If you've got the capacity to look at a watch or app during the 20 seconds of maximal effort it's not maximal. I'd also observe that HR lag and measurement lag mean that you're several seconds in to that period before the reading stabilises.
But realistically we're not talking about true HIIT, so RPE is good enough.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.
Actually very relevant, a chest band is going to tell you if your HIIT was actually HIIT or not.
Retrospectively. If you've got the capacity to look at a watch or app during the 20 seconds of maximal effort it's not maximal. I'd also observe that HR lag and measurement lag mean that you're several seconds in to that period before the reading stabilises.
But realistically we're not talking about true HIIT, so RPE is good enough.
That means you planned poorly. the app should be within line of sight so that once you reach the target band, you can see it.
But that's a consequence of poor planning.
And yes. almost nobody is actually doing true HIIT. on the other hand, your watch can vibrate to let you know that you've hit your target band, and to let you know when you've completed your interval(20-30 seconds)
Garmin, and maybe polar, let you program your workouts and intervals.
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stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.
Actually very relevant, a chest band is going to tell you if your HIIT was actually HIIT or not.
Retrospectively. If you've got the capacity to look at a watch or app during the 20 seconds of maximal effort it's not maximal. I'd also observe that HR lag and measurement lag mean that you're several seconds in to that period before the reading stabilises.
But realistically we're not talking about true HIIT, so RPE is good enough.
That means you planned poorly. the app should be within line of sight so that once you reach the target band, you can see it.
400 metre track? Velodrome?
You didn't address the question of lag, so you don't get an indication until you're half way through the effort period?
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A HRM is useless for estimating calories for both weights and HIIT/interval training.
It's not great for walking either.
Save your money for buying new workout clothes as you get slimmer would be my advice as you would just be using a gizmo to guess - you can do that for free.
I won't get into a huge argument, but that's not necessarily true for everyone. As long as you don't rely on it solely heart rate can be used to estimate calories burned as long as that calculation involves other factors, including activity type, duration, etc. It'll be more accurate for some than others, sure, but I've had great success with it over the last two years. Early on I found out that estimations without heart rate factored in were under-estimations for me, and if I use the HRM strap the estimations would be slightly elevated on most things except steady state cardio. But once I figured out at what percentage I could trust those calculations it's done me a lot of good. Just don't go out, pair an HRM, and eat back 100% of the exercise calories estimated using it unless all you are doing is steady state cardio. Even then it's probably slightly over estimated.
I use a Polar H7 paired with my Endomondo app every day. I use it to gauge how hard I'm working during my workouts, then I figure the calorie estimates are about 70-80% accurate when I do a mix of activity that includes steady state cardio, HIIT, and body weight training. I've maintained using this method for over six months, and I was able to lose over 100 lbs in the first year using this same device/app combo using the same estimations. So for me it's been helpful. I also know people who have had luck with Fitbits, and others who it totally screwed. Everything works differently for everyone. If the OP wants to try it, I say go for it. Let the weight loss you experience be your calibration factor. If it's not what you expected, dial down the percentage of the exercise calories estimated using the HRM/app combo you're eating back. If the weight loss is higher than expected, then eat more of them back. It really is that simple, but it'll take a few months of accurate logging, and closely monitoring your weight trends to figure it out with any device/tracker/app combo.
Having said that, I will agree with you on weights/weight training. I pause my app while doing that because it's very very inaccurate. Circuit training, walking, running, etc. as long as I am constantly moving and keeping my heart rate elevated, it's more accurate and I can work with it.0 -
Spliner1969 wrote: »A HRM is useless for estimating calories for both weights and HIIT/interval training.
It's not great for walking either.
Save your money for buying new workout clothes as you get slimmer would be my advice as you would just be using a gizmo to guess - you can do that for free.
I won't get into a huge argument, but that's not necessarily true for everyone. As long as you don't rely on it solely heart rate can be used to estimate calories burned as long as that calculation involves other factors, including activity type, duration, etc. It'll be more accurate for some than others, sure, but I've had great success with it over the last two years. Early on I found out that estimations without heart rate factored in were under-estimations for me, and if I use the HRM strap the estimations would be slightly elevated on most things except steady state cardio. But once I figured out at what percentage I could trust those calculations it's done me a lot of good. Just don't go out, pair an HRM, and eat back 100% of the exercise calories estimated using it unless all you are doing is steady state cardio. Even then it's probably slightly over estimated.
I use a Polar H7 paired with my Endomondo app every day. I use it to gauge how hard I'm working during my workouts, then I figure the calorie estimates are about 70-80% accurate when I do a mix of activity that includes steady state cardio, HIIT, and body weight training. I've maintained using this method for over six months, and I was able to lose over 100 lbs in the first year using this same device/app combo using the same estimations. So for me it's been helpful. I also know people who have had luck with Fitbits, and others who it totally screwed. Everything works differently for everyone. If the OP wants to try it, I say go for it. Let the weight loss you experience be your calibration factor. If it's not what you expected, dial down the percentage of the exercise calories estimated using the HRM/app combo you're eating back. If the weight loss is higher than expected, then eat more of them back. It really is that simple, but it'll take a few months of accurate logging, and closely monitoring your weight trends to figure it out with any device/tracker/app combo.
Having said that, I will agree with you on weights/weight training. I pause my app while doing that because it's very very inaccurate. Circuit training, walking, running, etc. as long as I am constantly moving and keeping my heart rate elevated, it's more accurate and I can work with it.
All of which is more coincidence than cause. Through observation and trial and error you have found a pattern that, at this moment, works for you. There is no guarantee that it is reproduce able for anyone else or even for you at some time in the future.
There are a number of different trial and error methods one could use to estimate energy expenditure. One of them certainly is to use an HRM or activity tracker. I use one myself so I would not dismiss it out of hand. But they are not "plug and play" devices, and based on OPs early comments, it sounded like expected to just put the thing on and get an "accurate" calorie reading. In that case IMO, pointing out the shortcomings is appropriate.
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »....I would guess.
Good point.bcalvanese wrote: »Heart rate is also a great training tool to determine if you are getting a training effect, and to measure/track your progress.
And not relevant to most of the training that the originator is talking about.
Resting HR is a good indicator of improvement, but a Polar chest strap isn't going to be able to pick that up.
Actually very relevant, a chest band is going to tell you if your HIIT was actually HIIT or not.
Retrospectively. If you've got the capacity to look at a watch or app during the 20 seconds of maximal effort it's not maximal. I'd also observe that HR lag and measurement lag mean that you're several seconds in to that period before the reading stabilises.
But realistically we're not talking about true HIIT, so RPE is good enough.
That means you planned poorly. the app should be within line of sight so that once you reach the target band, you can see it.
400 metre track? Velodrome?
You didn't address the question of lag, so you don't get an indication until you're half way through the effort period?
With TRUE HIIT, the effort period doesn't start until you reach target HR. A 1/2 second lag isn't germane to the discussion.
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@Spliner1969Spliner1969 wrote: »A HRM is useless for estimating calories for both weights and HIIT/interval training.
It's not great for walking either.
Save your money for buying new workout clothes as you get slimmer would be my advice as you would just be using a gizmo to guess - you can do that for free.
I won't get into a huge argument, but that's not necessarily true for everyone. As long as you don't rely on it solely heart rate can be used to estimate calories burned as long as that calculation involves other factors, including activity type, duration, etc. It'll be more accurate for some than others, sure, but I've had great success with it over the last two years. Early on I found out that estimations without heart rate factored in were under-estimations for me, and if I use the HRM strap the estimations would be slightly elevated on most things except steady state cardio. But once I figured out at what percentage I could trust those calculations it's done me a lot of good. Just don't go out, pair an HRM, and eat back 100% of the exercise calories estimated using it unless all you are doing is steady state cardio. Even then it's probably slightly over estimated.
I use a Polar H7 paired with my Endomondo app every day. I use it to gauge how hard I'm working during my workouts, then I figure the calorie estimates are about 70-80% accurate when I do a mix of activity that includes steady state cardio, HIIT, and body weight training. I've maintained using this method for over six months, and I was able to lose over 100 lbs in the first year using this same device/app combo using the same estimations. So for me it's been helpful. I also know people who have had luck with Fitbits, and others who it totally screwed. Everything works differently for everyone. If the OP wants to try it, I say go for it. Let the weight loss you experience be your calibration factor. If it's not what you expected, dial down the percentage of the exercise calories estimated using the HRM/app combo you're eating back. If the weight loss is higher than expected, then eat more of them back. It really is that simple, but it'll take a few months of accurate logging, and closely monitoring your weight trends to figure it out with any device/tracker/app combo.
Having said that, I will agree with you on weights/weight training. I pause my app while doing that because it's very very inaccurate. Circuit training, walking, running, etc. as long as I am constantly moving and keeping my heart rate elevated, it's more accurate and I can work with it.
What you are describing is the very sensible feedback loop of adjusting based on results over time to find an appropriate calorie balance.
But you could have achieved the same result by adjusting your food calorie allowance instead of your exercise calories. What is doesn't actually do is verify the accuracy of the HRM calorie estimates.
My suggestion was a no cost option remember and there's no indication the OP really wants, far less needs, to know her HR - which is what HRMs are actually for.
Remarkable achievement in losing all that weight. Chapeau!2 -
I am in agreement with @sijomial on this - save your money.
HRMs are great tools for monitoring your heart rate and recovery time, but using these to estimate calorie burn is outside their scope. The models these charts are based off are long steady state cardio workouts such as running, swimming, and biking. These are not really meant for weight loss, but for tracking performance.0 -
What you are describing is the very sensible feedback loop of adjusting based on results over time to find an appropriate calorie balance.
But you could have achieved the same result by adjusting your food calorie allowance instead of your exercise calories. What is doesn't actually do is verify the accuracy of the HRM calorie estimates.
My suggestion was a no cost option remember and there's no indication the OP really wants, far less needs, to know her HR - which is what HRMs are actually for.
Remarkable achievement in losing all that weight. Chapeau!
Agreed, and thanks.
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All of which is more coincidence than cause. Through observation and trial and error you have found a pattern that, at this moment, works for you. There is no guarantee that it is reproduce able for anyone else or even for you at some time in the future.
There are a number of different trial and error methods one could use to estimate energy expenditure. One of them certainly is to use an HRM or activity tracker. I use one myself so I would not dismiss it out of hand. But they are not "plug and play" devices, and based on OPs early comments, it sounded like expected to just put the thing on and get an "accurate" calorie reading. In that case IMO, pointing out the shortcomings is appropriate.
I can't disagree on any one point. Everyone is different. I think that's the one truth out there. Everything from calorie burns, to effective exercise, and diet, must be tailored to your own needs and the response your body gives to the stimulus and calories you give it. As inexpensive as the H7 is, I'd say give it a try, but start like you would anything else, eat less than 100% of those calories back, adjust over a period of weeks or months, and dial it in to your own needs.0
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