HRM / Fitbit help deciding please....

Gel_W91
Gel_W91 Posts: 53 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can anyone recommend a good HRM please. I have around £100 but if possible would like it to fall short of that.

I've seen so many different ones and I'm always drawn back to the fitbit but they're all so similar yet different.

The different programs (I can't think of the right word!) that some have just kind of lose me when I'm trying to decide. I like the idea of tracking my sleep too.

Just any ideas please anyone or any information that can help me pick?

Also, just how accurate are these things? I understand it just estimates calories burnt until you start logging things yourself on there, is the steps taken accurate or like a cheapy pedometer? I've tried a few and they would just go up if I was sitting down and fidgeting ect. And are they sturdy enough not to fall off if I was to clip it over my bra or tuck it inside my jeans?

Thanks

Replies

  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
    I just picked up a Polar H7 chest band and use it with my phone - either Digifit or the Polar Beats app. I got the strap as an open box deal, too, so it was well under $50. So far so good. I'll probably get one of the polar watches that works with the strap at some point in the future for when I don't want to carry my phone, but since I'm not doing anything where that's a hassle yet I'm not in a hurry.

    I also have a fitbit, and it seems pretty accurate to me. It might not be *perfect* but it does what it's supposed to do - shows me how much sitting around on my bum I'm doing. :-P I wear it either in the watch pocket of my jeans or clipped to the middle of my bra. I haven't lost it yet.
  • hermann341
    hermann341 Posts: 443 Member
    The fitbit is an activity monitor, not a HRM. You should be able to purchase a Polar HRM watch and chest strap combo for a lot less than £100. If the monitor device can be customized with your height/weight/age, it will give a more accurate reading on the calories burned.
  • Gel_W91
    Gel_W91 Posts: 53 Member
    Oh ok my bad. I thought that they both did the same thing in general.

    Is there a big difference between the 2?

    Thanks for the replies.
  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
    Fitbit is basically a pedometer worn 24 hours that will also track how many stairs you climb up and how well you sleep at night (depending on the model). This will show you how active you are during the day and whether you're being a slug and need to move around more or not. It will give you a calorie burn, but it's not tailored specifically to you so there's a bit of a margin of error there.

    A heart rate monitor does exactly that - it monitors your heart rate. You generally don't wear them all day long..... you just wear it during a workout to see how hard your heart is beating. This information along with your height and weight can be used to extrapolate how many calories you burned during that workout.

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