Heart Rate Monitor Questions

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e1lindsay
e1lindsay Posts: 230
in Fitness and Exercise
so, i desperately want a HRM...i can't afford the fancy, chest strap contraptions...at most, i can afford to spend $50...are the watches at all accurate for calories burned during exercise? or is it at least more accurate then using MFP's approximations for calories burned during exercise?
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  • jmijaressf
    jmijaressf Posts: 215
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    The most accurate HRMs are the ones that come with a chest strap. My only experience with HRMs have been with Polar, Garmin, and Timex. Of the three, I've found Polar to be the most accurate for calorie calculations. There are other brands out there that are in your price range, like Omron. Just make sure that you get one that actually measures your heart rate via the strap.

    If you can save up a little more money, the Polar F1 is $59 with free shipping from HeartRateMonitorsUSA. I've gotten great service from them in the past.
  • e1lindsay
    e1lindsay Posts: 230
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    yeah, pretty much anything under $75 would be attainable...i didn't realize that i could get a chest strap setup for under $100...i'll check that website, thanks!
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    Check Ebay. There are models that are available for around 50 with chest straps. I believe Timex has one.
  • BrandNewMia
    BrandNewMia Posts: 461
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    I love my Polar HRM and wouldn't trade it for anything! When I asked around MFP and at my gym, Polar was the most recommended, and you definitely want one with a chest strap for accuracy.

    Look around Ebay and that heartratemonitorusa website - you can get a Polar HRM for under $75, for sure!
  • awyler
    awyler Posts: 78
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    isnt wearing a chest strap annoying? im looking into HRM too and everyone i have talked to said polar is the best and most accurate. i have been looking at the watch ones because i dont think i could handle a strap around me while i work out.
  • jmijaressf
    jmijaressf Posts: 215
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    isnt wearing a chest strap annoying? im looking into HRM too and everyone i have talked to said polar is the best and most accurate. i have been looking at the watch ones because i dont think i could handle a strap around me while i work out.

    You get used to it after a while. When I go for a run, some folks do notice the strap transmitter under my running shirt. And it does look a little weird to some folks when I do laps in the pool. Polar does also make a specially-designed sports bra for women so that you can intregrate the strap easily.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    isnt wearing a chest strap annoying? im looking into HRM too and everyone i have talked to said polar is the best and most accurate. i have been looking at the watch ones because i dont think i could handle a strap around me while i work out.

    At 1st it didn't bother me at all, but now that I've lost more weight I've started to notice it but it isn't that bad. I wouldn't trade it. It fits right underneath your bra strap and it stretches so its moves as you move.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
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    Got my Polar on ebay for $70. Just takes a little searching and patience.
  • jilld76
    jilld76 Posts: 324
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    I just go the polar FT7 and used it for the first time yesterday. I think it was $109, I think it was under $100 at sports authority with a coupon they have right now, but they didn't have the color I wanted, so I ordered it through amazon.

    I do have a question for all of you that have them. I wore mine for the first time yesterday and in 60 minutes of step class where I am pouring sweat it only said I burned 240 calories. Does anyone have any ideas about what I may have done wrong? Because I think that's completely wrong.

    My HR was in fat burning mode most of the time, so I wasn't sure if that's why, if you burn more when you're in fitness mode. Or if the chest strap wasn't picking up my HR, but I kept checking every so often and my HR was registering and it was up there. I have a lot of weight to lose too, so it's not like I'm tiny and burning less.

    Anyway, I was just curious if anyone had any ideas.
  • Crystal_Rudolph
    Crystal_Rudolph Posts: 632 Member
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    so, i desperately want a HRM...i can't afford the fancy, chest strap contraptions...at most, i can afford to spend $50...are the watches at all accurate for calories burned during exercise? or is it at least more accurate then using MFP's approximations for calories burned during exercise?

    I bought a $50 watch HRM and it was worthless. Throughout the day it said that I had only burned 73 calories and that was with a 2hr intense cardio and strength workout, 2 mile walk, and 4 mile bike ride (up hills). I returned it the next day. My vote is to spend the extra and get a chest HRM. They are the only true accurate monitors.
  • Becky1971
    Becky1971 Posts: 979 Member
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    I'm curious as to what the replies will be on this.
    I just go the polar FT7 and used it for the first time yesterday. I think it was $109, I think it was under $100 at sports authority with a coupon they have right now, but they didn't have the color I wanted, so I ordered it through amazon.

    I do have a question for all of you that have them. I wore mine for the first time yesterday and in 60 minutes of step class where I am pouring sweat it only said I burned 240 calories. Does anyone have any ideas about what I may have done wrong? Because I think that's completely wrong.

    My HR was in fat burning mode most of the time, so I wasn't sure if that's why, if you burn more when you're in fitness mode. Or if the chest strap wasn't picking up my HR, but I kept checking every so often and my HR was registering and it was up there. I have a lot of weight to lose too, so it's not like I'm tiny and burning less.

    Anyway, I was just curious if anyone had any ideas.
  • jmijaressf
    jmijaressf Posts: 215
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    I do have a question for all of you that have them. I wore mine for the first time yesterday and in 60 minutes of step class where I am pouring sweat it only said I burned 240 calories. Does anyone have any ideas about what I may have done wrong? Because I think that's completely wrong.

    My HR was in fat burning mode most of the time, so I wasn't sure if that's why, if you burn more when you're in fitness mode. Or if the chest strap wasn't picking up my HR, but I kept checking every so often and my HR was registering and it was up there. I have a lot of weight to lose too, so it's not like I'm tiny and burning less.

    Anyway, I was just curious if anyone had any ideas.

    That does sound wrong. Did you double-check your settings in the watch to make sure they're accurate (fitness level, weight, etc)?

    One possibility, other than cross-talk, might be that you have your max heart rate set too high. That would re-adjust your zones, so you may think you're in the fat burning zone, but in reality you're in a much lower zone. I had my max heart rate set too high and always thought that my 70% recovery zone was 149 bpm, but it seemed to be slightly too high because when I would run and maintain that heart rate, my rate of perceived exertion would tell me that I was working too hard.

    One time I decided to do a test and ran up a hill to see how high I could get my heart rate. (Not really recommended unless you're fit, which I wasn't really at the time...) I found out that my max heart rate on that hill run was actually 7 beat lower than what I thought my max was.

    Just a few theories. I've been using Polar HRMs for years, but heart rates and zones and calorie burn varies from person to person.
  • healthyjen342
    healthyjen342 Posts: 1,435 Member
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    I believe Wal-Mart sells one I thinks it's called a Sportsline HRM WITH Calories Burned AND a Chest Strap for like $47...I havent used it, but a chest strap and calories burned is what you want to go with...I also agree with EBAY or newegg...See if you can find something there!
  • e1lindsay
    e1lindsay Posts: 230
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    i saw that $47 walmart one today...it does come with a chest strap, so i'm tempted to try it for being so cheap...but if it doesn't work, i'd rather spend an extra $30 and get one that will give me the results i want.
    :)
  • Mehs
    Mehs Posts: 73 Member
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    i saw that $47 walmart one today...it does come with a chest strap, so i'm tempted to try it for being so cheap...but if it doesn't work, i'd rather spend an extra $30 and get one that will give me the results i want.
    :)
    I couldn't afford an expensive one either so I got mine from Walmart, maybe the same one you're talking about. Its by SportLine. It came with a strap and it works fine. It even signals my heart rate to the equipment at the gym so I don't have to wear the watch.
  • jilld76
    jilld76 Posts: 324
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    I do have a question for all of you that have them. I wore mine for the first time yesterday and in 60 minutes of step class where I am pouring sweat it only said I burned 240 calories. Does anyone have any ideas about what I may have done wrong? Because I think that's completely wrong.

    My HR was in fat burning mode most of the time, so I wasn't sure if that's why, if you burn more when you're in fitness mode. Or if the chest strap wasn't picking up my HR, but I kept checking every so often and my HR was registering and it was up there. I have a lot of weight to lose too, so it's not like I'm tiny and burning less.

    Anyway, I was just curious if anyone had any ideas.

    That does sound wrong. Did you double-check your settings in the watch to make sure they're accurate (fitness level, weight, etc)?

    One possibility, other than cross-talk, might be that you have your max heart rate set too high. That would re-adjust your zones, so you may think you're in the fat burning zone, but in reality you're in a much lower zone. I had my max heart rate set too high and always thought that my 70% recovery zone was 149 bpm, but it seemed to be slightly too high because when I would run and maintain that heart rate, my rate of perceived exertion would tell me that I was working too hard.

    One time I decided to do a test and ran up a hill to see how high I could get my heart rate. (Not really recommended unless you're fit, which I wasn't really at the time...) I found out that my max heart rate on that hill run was actually 7 beat lower than what I thought my max was.

    Just a few theories. I've been using Polar HRMs for years, but heart rates and zones and calorie burn varies from person to person.

    Thank you so much! I'm going to play around with it tonight and make sure I have the settings done correctly. I'm definitely thinking I screwed something up during setup. Thanks for your help!
  • e1lindsay
    e1lindsay Posts: 230
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    i bought a watch-variety for $60 at a sporting goods store yesterday...i want to like it, but i just don't trust it! i wore it on the treadmill today and it was spot on with the treadmill HRM i used throughout the activity, but my "calories burned" according to my watch was like 100 more than the treadmill calculated...not sure if i trust that...
    i think i'll take it back tomorrow and get a chest strap kind...blah...
  • dustyhockeymom
    dustyhockeymom Posts: 537 Member
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    isnt wearing a chest strap annoying? im looking into HRM too and everyone i have talked to said polar is the best and most accurate. i have been looking at the watch ones because i dont think i could handle a strap around me while i work out.

    I thought that too, but I don't notice it. I put it under my sports bra right above the band. It just feels like part of the sports bra. I almost didn't buy one because I was sure I wouldn't like it and would never wear it which would be a waste of money, but I don't mind it at all. Plus it is giving me a really different reading than the MFP calculations or the reading on my exercise machine.
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
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    HRM are like other computer programs that estimate your calories burned. The most accurate ones require you to program your VO2 Max in for more accuracy...

    Here is a link to the best blog I've seen on HRM by Adzak...

    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
  • Ahmee2034
    Ahmee2034 Posts: 1,330 Member
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    I have a Polar F6 and I purchased it on ebay for around $50, I think. Also, if you get a Polar, don't be freaked out about how it says that you have to send the watch off to the factory to get the battery changed. I was able to change mine very easily. It takes a 3V battery! It is EXTREMELY easy to change. Just unscrew the four little screws and voila! Swith the battery out! It works as good as the day I bought it and I didn't lose any of my history, either. An HRM can be an investment but it is well worth it.

    I'm still a little confused about the right settings for exercising. The automatic setting vs. the other settings. Can anyone clarify that for me?

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