Activity Tracker AND Heart Rate Monitors

arwFTW

I am interested in getting a Polar FT7-- does this keep track of calories burned during normal everyday life, like when I'm not working out?

SueInAz

I am interested in getting a Polar FT7-- does this keep track of calories burned during normal everyday life, like when I'm not working out?

No. Heart Rate Monitors are only even close to accurate when used for steady state cardio activities like running, walking, biking, aerobics, etc.

susannamn

I just got my Vivofit but the heart rate portion of it is unreliable and way off. Have you had luck with it? I'm wondering if I need to buy a new heart rate strap. I'm using one that is several years old that I go with my other Garmin.

bigobelly

I have been using the Sportline HRM with the chest strap while using the elliptical and doing various weight circuits. I had no way to track the calories being burned when doing weights, the Sportline gives me readings from my entire time at the gym. I did see that google has some sort of tracker available for android phones.

kzooprincess

I just recently purchased the Bodymedia (like they wear on the biggest loser) and it is freaky accurate. Also monitors sleep quality and quantity. It's nice to have total accountability for the exercise I do. It has also showed me how if I did not have physical activity I would maintain my weight even with calorie restrictions. The only downfall is the monthly subsription after three month free. This is so you can track your data on their website. Overall I like my monitor.

I just got a Bodymedia last week and as far as calories burned seems very close to what my HRM was reading when I used only that. I do a dance class once a week and last week my HRM showed 515 calories while this weeks class with the Bodymedia showed 537. Considering that we did not do exactly the same songs both weeks, I would say that's pretty good. Also my kickboxing class showed a difference of only 40 calories from last week.

meinola

I had this same question the other day. My NB N4 HRM just quit working properly (replaced both batteries and still getting numbers that are way off), so I was looking into replacing just the HRM with the Polar FT7. I didn't realize the Vivofit did both, although the cost seems kind of high. I mostly do cardio classes, and like to measure my calorie burn, so it does seem like a good fit. Anyone had any other issues (I've read some negative reviews about the band, but it seems not too hard to fix) with the Vivofit, other than the commenter who was using with an older HRM strap?

Adaniel65

I use polar ft7 for when I work out only