Garmin forerunner 410

JenniferEM2012

I got a new heartrate monitor and I love it mostly. I was just wondering if anyone else out there has one and can tell what I am doing wrong. I used it for my run yesterday and it said I only lost 47 calories. When I used my polar it would tell me I lost 250 ish calories. I am wearing the strap right where my sports bra ends. I love everything else about it and wanted to make sure it was user error and not a defective watch or strap. Also if anyone has any good with using it I would be glad to hear.

scottb81

The calorie count will probably be a little lower (10 to 30%) than polar because of this:

The newer Garmins use a different calorie algorithm than most others. It is from Firstbeat and does not calculate from simple heartrate but rather from heart rate variability. It is supposed to be the most accurate method available but does give lower counts than other methods. When I am running (178 lbs) I'll usually get between 105 to 115 cal per mile where with other methods I get over 130 per mile.

Read the white papers here for more info. http://www.firstbeat.fi/physiology/white-papers

Also, the garmins with firstbeat continually collect and analyze your data and keep an updated athlete profile inside the watch based on that data. From my experience it takes about a week's worth of runs before enough data is collected for the calorie burns to be accurate and reasonably consistent.

However, yours is so low that it indicates a problem. If you post a link to your heart rate plot I could be sure but if it is very spikey it indicates a poor connection that is caused by either the strap being worn out, too loose, or needing to be wet.

A good connection will give you a plot like this: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/357416220

EdTheGinge

I've had this problem and I found that if I wetted the pads just before use it gave a more accurate reading, this has worked well. Before it was giving me 6cals burnt for running a mile at about an 8min pace, not right.

Liz_Mfp

Have you heard of Buh Bump
for connectivity issues?
It's sold a lot of places, Amazon, etc., but here's a link that came up

http://www.pacelineproducts.com/Category46/buh-bump.aspx