I a HR monitor really beneficial

Msaip

I'm debating on buying one when I get paid and just wanted some info on them. I won't be getting a 200 dollar one. I would like to keep it under 100....Do they work? are there some that count calories burned?

jewelzz

mine was untill it stopped working right:sad:

leomom72

i have a polar ft4, and i love mine..i got it for about $99 or so, but whatever you get, make sure it has a chest strap, as they tend to be more accurate..best of luck

smuehlbauer

I stopped using mine. I was getting too OCD about it and I felt that it was taking away from my work out. I had the watch type. I guess if you go with the chest strap sytle you're good to go. The watch you have to check in too often to stay accurate and then you're taking away from your work.
In my opinion.
I've just been using what MFP has in the system and it's been working.
Steph

JRena225

i have a polar ft4, and i love mine..i got it for about $99 or so, but whatever you get, make sure it has a chest strap, as they tend to be more accurate..best of luck

So does the calorie count appear on the watch as you are working out or does it display once you have stopped or pressed stop on the watch. Please explain if you can.

fsugirl26

I have a Polar FT7 (about $109 at Target), and I LOVE it!! You can switch between looking at calories burned and heart rate during your workouts. Then once you're done, it will give you a brief analysis of how long you were in the "fat burning" zone and how long you were in the "fitness" zone.

Nursebeachnut

I LIVE by mine..I have a Polar F4..got it on sale for under $50. I monitor my calorie usage daily. It is more accurate than and of the treadmills or cardio machines I use. I was way off on my actual calorie burn until I started to use it. DO NOT buy one with out a chest strap or a cheap one you will regret it and go back and buy the higher quality on. I am actually down 17# and could not have done it with out it. Good luck! the calorie count and heart rate are on constant display. I wear mine all day long...not just during exercise, so I can keep my calorie deficit at the correct percentage.

JRena225

I have a Polar FT7 (about $109 at Target), and I LOVE it!! You can switch between looking at calories burned and heart rate during your workouts. Then once you're done, it will give you a brief analysis of how long you were in the "fat burning" zone and how long you were in the "fitness" zone.

Thats what I wanted to know, about displaying the calories. I plan to get one this weekend and wanted to know if it gives you like a summary during the workout like treadmills....also another question is, so you are doing a workout and take like a minute break, will it stop calculating or will it, I guess keep tracking until you press stop for that workout.

anastasiaBH

Polar FT 4, about $80 from zappos. Similar to the other post, you can put the display on the cals burned, on your HR, on the time and duration of exercise, etc... Same too, when you're finished, you can scroll thru a summary of the data from your workout - duration of exercise, HR avg, HR max, time in zone, cals burned.

The chest strap is a little annoying, and I do tend to look at it too much (just started using mine about a week ago), but I think it'll be one of the better investments I've made in my health.

overall, thumbs up.

fsugirl26

I have a Polar FT7 (about $109 at Target), and I LOVE it!! You can switch between looking at calories burned and heart rate during your workouts. Then once you're done, it will give you a brief analysis of how long you were in the "fat burning" zone and how long you were in the "fitness" zone.

Thats what I wanted to know, about displaying the calories. I plan to get one this weekend and wanted to know if it gives you like a summary during the workout like treadmills....also another question is, so you are doing a workout and take like a minute break, will it stop calculating or will it, I guess keep tracking until you press stop for that workout.

It will continue calculating until you press pause or stop! I don't pause it for my water breaks though

JRena225

I have a Polar FT7 (about $109 at Target), and I LOVE it!! You can switch between looking at calories burned and heart rate during your workouts. Then once you're done, it will give you a brief analysis of how long you were in the "fat burning" zone and how long you were in the "fitness" zone.

Thats what I wanted to know, about displaying the calories. I plan to get one this weekend and wanted to know if it gives you like a summary during the workout like treadmills....also another question is, so you are doing a workout and take like a minute break, will it stop calculating or will it, I guess keep tracking until you press stop for that workout.

It will continue calculating until you press pause or stop! I don't pause it for my water breaks though

Thank you all for this information because I will be getting one tomorrow!

JWeaser

I just returned the "Watch - No Chest Strap Needed!" variety yesterday. I too wanted to save money and liked the idea of 35 vs 100.00 for an HRM but it was horrible. Wouldn't calculate a heart rate unless I put it on backwards and the "calorie counter" ran at a timer pace regardless of how hard I was working out so I took it off to see if it kept counting calories burned.... Yup. Now I am going to wait until I can afford the nicer one with the chest strap.

gtm124

Just replaced my Polar F7 with a FT7. Heatratemonitorsusa.com. Free 2 day shipping. The FT7 allows you to replace your own battery (C2032) whereas the older models you had to send back to them for replacement. I have one on my bike and one to wear when I walk/treadmill or lift. The calorie burn comes entering your age, weight, etc and uses heartrate and the elasped time to calculate the calories. Not as accurate unless you could enter your VO2max, but it will get you in the ballpark. FWIW, it is excellent for comparing your fitness level over a period of time.

cowpoke06

I really like my heart monitor. As far as I'm aware, there are 2 kinds that you can get. One that has a watch and the band that goes around your chest. This kind is going to be the most accurate in terms of calories burned and heart rate-but I also think it's uncomfortable. The other kind is just a watch and you put your fingers on it for it to calculate your heart rate. I don't know if all of them calculate calories burned. You want to make sure you read the packaging. Mine does. You enter your resting heart rate and other info so that it calculates your target heart rate. It then uses all of this info to calculate how many calories your burning (when I have it set to start calculating). However, because it's not constantly monitoring my heart rate through a band, it's not as accurate as one with a band. I tend to put my fingers on it to acquire a heart rate every 5 minutes to try to get the most accurate calculation of calories burned (the more readings I get, the more accurate the calculation). It's a slight pain in the butt but I'd rather do that than wear a chest strap. I love my HRM because it tells me if I'm working hard enough or even too hard...I also get an ACCURATE reading of the calories I'm burning. The calculators on the machines at the gym WAY overestimate the calories burned, at least for me compared to what the HRM says.

Minnie_Moo

Don't know if this will help you any but...........Here is a link that was posted in another thread with a lot of information on HRM's. Also, I would suggest getting one with a chest strap as they are better to calculate an accurate HR.


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472


I just purchased a Polar FT40 last week with free shipping and it arrived overnight from heartratemonitors dot com (I have used them in the past for pedometers) and also found an $10.00 off total online code as well to help with the price of the HRM.......

The FT-40 has the Polar Fitness test which measures your aerobic fitness at rest and tells you your progress.