The Best HRM? Opinions Needed!

_EndGame_
_EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
OK, so I have the Polar FT4, and until today, I had no problems with it.

Now today I went swimming with it, as I usually do. I did 30 minutes in the gym before my swim, and whilst in the gym, my HR is pretty consistent, but whilst swimming today, it seemed my HR had a higher average throughout. Just generally had more BPM, than I have had in the swimming pool before.

Usually whilst swimming, my HR is between 120bpm and 135bpm. When I finish a length, my HR is usually around 132 - 135, then I take a breather until it drops to 120bpm (sometimes a bit lower) then I swim the length again, but today, it seemed to constantly be at a minimum of 130bpm whilst taking a breather, and up to 145bpm whilst swimming.

Anyway, I'm not sure if my HRM was playing up or whether I genuinely had an overall higher HR than I usually do, but it makes a difference given the calorie burn read. I got a HRM mainly so I could track calories, so if it's faulty, then I'm going to invest in a better one.

So, what HRM's can people recommend? I have the Polar FT4, but I know there is newer versions out there by Polar. Does anybody have a HRM that isn't Polar? If so, what brands, and how accurate are they?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Replies

  • sm1zzle
    sm1zzle Posts: 920 Member
    got the FT7, no complaints.
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    got the FT7, no complaints.

    Did you have the FT4 prior to that?

    I just want to know if the FT7 is more accurate to the FT4, not really bothered about it storing more workout data or anything like that.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    How do you know the FT4 was actually wrong?
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
    How do you know the FT4 was actually wrong?

    Obviously, this.

    Somewhat unrelated, but also remember to do your fitness assessments regularly. As you exercise more, you become fitter, your body becomes more efficient, and you need to keep your VO2 number up to date in order for your HRM to reflect your calorie burns accurately.
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    How do you know the FT4 was actually wrong?

    Obviously, this.

    Somewhat unrelated, but also remember to do your fitness assessments regularly. As you exercise more, you become fitter, your body becomes more efficient, and you need to keep your VO2 number up to date in order for your HRM to reflect your calorie burns accurately.

    Alright, this might be a stupid question, but what does VO2 mean? I do update my HRM with my current weight.

    Damir, it's either my HRM or it's me.
  • skadoosh33
    skadoosh33 Posts: 353 Member
    I have had the Polar FT7 for 2 years without problems, but I haven't tried it during swimming.
  • blackNBUK
    blackNBUK Posts: 58 Member
    VO2 Max is a measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can take in and hence the maximum amount of calories you can burn. If you know your maximum you can enter it into your HRM to get a more accurate figure for calories burned. If you don't know it the HRM has to estimate based on the figures you give it for age, weight, height etc.

    Doing a real VO2 Max test is no fun however because you have to work your body to the absolute limit to get a reading. I watched a documentary about Olympic rowers and I remember them saying that the VO2 Max tests were one of the worst things about the training that they were doing.
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
    Alright, this might be a stupid question, but what does VO2 mean? I do update my HRM with my current weight.

    No such thing as a stupid question! Like blackNBUK said, VO2 is the volume (V) of oxygen (O2) that your body takes in over time. VO2 MAX correlates pretty closely with maximum heart rate and it's what HRM's use to know how many calories you're burning during exercise.

    I went and looked at the FT4 manual and apparently it just guesstimates your maximum heart rate and VO2 based on your age, but for posterity: some HRMs/apps let you do a test to determine exactly what your maximum heart rate and VO2 are, thus giving you a more accurate representation of burned calories.

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