I Bought My Heart Rate Monitor

Helawat

I went ahead and bought my Polar F6 HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) and wore it for my Cardio Kickboxing and Cardio Cabaret classes. Needless to say, my estimates on MFP and estimating calories burned on other sites weren't very correct.

On MFP, it estimates that I burned 630 calories but I actually only burned 592 for 60 minutes of exercise. For Cardio Cabaret, which I have been listing as Dancing-General, I really burned 237 instead of 184 calories.

For those who don't like the chest strap, the Polar F6 does comes with one but after five minutes I forgot I was wearing it. It was comfortable and easy to wear. The watch is also easy to use, which impressed me.

Just wanted to give a heads up for those considering purchasing a HRM. It's a great investment, you won't regret it.

Helawat

I went ahead and bought my Polar F6 HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) and wore it for my Cardio Kickboxing and Cardio Cabaret classes. Needless to say, my estimates on MFP and estimating calories burned on other sites weren't very correct.

On MFP, it estimates that I burned 630 calories but I actually only burned 592 for 60 minutes of exercise. For Cardio Cabaret, which I have been listing as Dancing-General, I really burned 237 instead of 184 calories.

For those who don't like the chest strap, the Polar F6 does comes with one but after five minutes I forgot I was wearing it. It was comfortable and easy to wear. The watch is also easy to use, which impressed me.

Just wanted to give a heads up for those considering purchasing a HRM. It's a great investment, you won't regret it.

fit_amy

I absolutely agree!!! I bought a metabolism testing package at the Y, and it included a Polar T31 heart rate monitor. It registers my heart rate on the elliptical, treadmill, and bike machines. With my metabolism test, I found out exactly how many calories I burn in each heart rate zone, so the guess work was eliminated. Like you, I found that my actual calories burned are quite different than what the machines say, even after plugging in my age and weight!

I definitely recommend investing in one! (I'm hoping to buy a watch so I can see my calories what I burn when I'm doing classes or walking outside too! The downside of mine is I have to use it with a machine)

banks1850

LOVE my F6. Best Present I have ever received. I can now check my BMR by just wearing the watch and strap for a day when I don't exercise. I now know that the machines at the gym over estimate my calorie burn by about 25%, and I know that when running outside, I average about 8% higher heart rate then in the gym. I also realized that doing circuit training keeps me at 75% HRmax which is much higher then I thought. It's awesome. I find myself, when I don't wear it for stuff, thinking "I wish I wore my HR monitor today." LOL, it's becomming addictive to me.

alf1163

I bought the Mio sport select at wal mart for about $40. It doesnt have the chest strap but you have to monitor the heart rate when you think it increases and then decreases so it calculates the calories burned. I think that is the reason for the chest strap, right? That is the downside of this particular one but so far I like the fact that I know the calories burned are more specific than using the MFP site.

I went to AAFES, the military store, to compare prices. They had a Timex HRM and the Polars F4 and F11. The Timex is $71.95. The Polar F4 is $75 but one box said $64.99, it looked older. The F11 is $145, way out of my budget range. I noticed all these models have way more features than mine such as telling you when you are in your fat burning zone, etc. What do you guys think about these prices?? Oh, and we don't pay sales taxes in the military stores.

gonezobean

did you buy the watch kind or the wrap around chest one?

alf1163

I am not sure if you are asking me or Helawat...the Mio Sport does not come with a chest strap. It looks like the Polars have a chest strap and the Timex has it as well. Are there any Polar HRM's without a chest strap?? Can they be worn when swimming???

yoginimary

None can be worn swimming - that I'm aware of - or I think Banks would have it :laugh:

Chest strap ones are considered more accurate by those in the know.

I would consider a 30-50 calorie difference to be minimal. I've noticed I burn more/less on mfp than hrm, but I think it all evens out.

Benson

between the two the diff is only 15 cals.

REB89

YEs you can wear the polar heart rate monitors swimming!

yoginimary

YEs you can wear the polar heart rate monitors swimming!

huh, I guess I just didn't think it was possible. I read the user manual, and it says you can use while swimming but be careful of highly chlorinated water or salt water.

Thanks

gonezobean

I have been teetering on "investing" on a heart rate monitor.

After reading your post, I saw no down side to getting one.

Thanks to Amazon I am a proud new owner (by Friday).

Can't wait!

kerikitkat

I want one of these after hearing y'all rave about them. I think for now they are too expensive to splurge on though, especially since my hubby will DEFINITELY want one, too. I'll just have to trust MFP estimates and see if it works for me.

gonezobean

bought it!

love it!

I burn more lifting than expected.

I burn less during cardio than expected.

banks1850

bought it!

love it!

I burn more lifting than expected.

I burn less during cardio than expected.

eye opener isn't it? Try this. put it on for a few hours and see what you burn.
then put it on for lifting, but instead of taking it off after (you can wear it in the shower, they are waterproof) keep it on for 3 hours or so after, you will be surprised at how much extra you
burn then you did before you worked out. That's the difference between weights and cardio,
once you are back to normal after cardio, you are back to normal, with weights, your burn is slightly elevated for a few hours after. It's pretty cool to see IRL.

alf1163

I am sooooooooooooooo trying that!!!!! What a great experiment!!! Will report results later on this week!!

cp005e

Try this. put it on for a few hours and see what you burn.
then put it on for lifting, but instead of taking it off after (you can wear it in the shower, they are waterproof) keep it on for 3 hours or so after, you will be surprised at how much extra you
burn then you did before you worked out. That's the difference between weights and cardio,
once you are back to normal after cardio, you are back to normal, with weights, your burn is slightly elevated for a few hours after. It's pretty cool to see IRL.

Oooh, I'm gonna have to try this with my F11! Cool.

banks1850

I did it like 2 months ago, it was like an extra 200 calories or so. I was pretty amazed. and happy.

yoginimary

that explains the ravenous hunger after weights class!

TK421NotAtPost

LOVE my F6. Best Present I have ever received. I can now check my BMR by just wearing the watch and strap for a day when I don't exercise. I now know that the machines at the gym over estimate my calorie burn by about 25%, and I know that when running outside, I average about 8% higher heart rate then in the gym. I also realized that doing circuit training keeps me at 75% HRmax which is much higher then I thought. It's awesome. I find myself, when I don't wear it for stuff, thinking "I wish I wore my HR monitor today." LOL, it's becomming addictive to me.

Banks, thanks for the info. Does the F6 come with any kind of metabolic test? Or does it estimate it based on your stats?

banks1850

Banks, thanks for the info. Does the F6 come with any kind of metabolic test? Or does it estimate it based on your stats?

I assume it uses a formula for metabolism based on your numbers and your heart rate. Because you do put in your age, VO2max(oxygen levels), sex (type, not amount you pervs! ), height, and weight. I know there is a (very complicated) formula used to get a very accurate number of calories a person burns based on all that stuff, so I guess it uses that formula. Further then that, you would probably have to email Polar. Be warned though, I emailed them once, and it took like 5 days for them to write me back. LOL, seriously? 5 days? That was a little annoying.

lotusfromthemud

that explains the ravenous hunger after weights class!

ditto. . .and for the rest of weights day. Yikes.

borjanap

i want one !!!!!!

KrisKabob

I want to get a HRM but I don't know what features to look for in one. Or what prices ranges are good.

Can anyone advise???

Helawat

That depends on your individual needs. For me, my needs are tracking my calories burned + reaching my target heart rate for x amount of time. That's why I chose the F6.

If you're a runner or cyclist, you'll have different needs. Check out the Polar site at http://www.polar.fi/

You can browse the products and find the model that suits you.

KrisKabob

[sex (type, not amount you pervs! ),

I am laughin so hard that I might just pee my pants...

Banks - you should be the guinny pig and wear your HRM during "relations" and see how much you burn. I've always wondered if I could count sex as exercise. If so, my Hubby would be the happiest manon earth!!! hahahahahahahahahahaa!!!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

banks1850

[sex (type, not amount you pervs! ),

I am laughin so hard that I might just pee my pants...

Banks - you should be the guinny pig and wear your HRM during "relations" and see how much you burn. I've always wondered if I could count sex as exercise. If so, my Hubby would be the happiest manon earth!!! hahahahahahahahahahaa!!!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Um, no way, then you would all know how long I go for! I will NOT BE MOCKED like that! :embarassed:

KrisKabob

[sex (type, not amount you pervs! ),

I am laughin so hard that I might just pee my pants...

Banks - you should be the guinny pig and wear your HRM during "relations" and see how much you burn. I've always wondered if I could count sex as exercise. If so, my Hubby would be the happiest manon earth!!! hahahahahahahahahahaa!!!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Um, no way, then you would all know how long I go for! I will NOT BE MOCKED like that! :embarassed:

I am literally crying, I'm laughin so hard!!! Haha! You're a funny man, Banks!!!

lotusfromthemud

[sex (type, not amount you pervs! ),

I am laughin so hard that I might just pee my pants...

Banks - you should be the guinny pig and wear your HRM during "relations" and see how much you burn. I've always wondered if I could count sex as exercise. If so, my Hubby would be the happiest manon earth!!! hahahahahahahahahahaa!!!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Um, no way, then you would all know how long I go for! I will NOT BE MOCKED like that! :embarassed:

I am literally crying, I'm laughin so hard!!! Haha! You're a funny man, Banks!!!

Officially hysterically laughing at this. . . I've always wondered with the people who ask about sex as exercise here. . ."Man, how long are you people going at it for?" *sigh*

sr2000

I want to get a HRM but I don't know what features to look for in one. Or what prices ranges are good.

Can anyone advise???

The polar f6 seems to be very popular and well liked, so that is what I have bought. I got a new one for about 85 on ebay, they have some on amazon too, as well at sporting goods stores. The f6 runs around $90-110.
By the way, I LOVE my f6. I still need to try wearing it all day on a non exercise day just to see what my calorie expenditure is during a normal activity day.... I just rarely have a non exercise day, and when I do, it's not really planned in advance, so I haven't had the chance yet. I'll have to plan ahead.

banks1850

I want to get a HRM but I don't know what features to look for in one. Or what prices ranges are good.

Can anyone advise???

The polar f6 seems to be very popular and well liked, so that is what I have bought. I got a new one for about 85 on ebay, they have some on amazon too, as well at sporting goods stores. The f6 runs around $90-110.
By the way, I LOVE my f6. I still need to try wearing it all day on a non exercise day just to see what my calorie expenditure is during a normal activity day.... I just rarely have a non exercise day, and when I do, it's not really planned in advance, so I haven't had the chance yet. I'll have to plan ahead.

right there with ya srb. I did it when I first got it in december. But since then, my resting heart rate is about 8 BPM slower, which means (so I've read) that I'm healthier, which (I would assume) means my metabolism is working better. Wonder what I'm burning now. I just don't have the strength to stop working out for a day to actually test out my theories.