Timex vs Polar HRM

Waynes_World
Waynes_World Posts: 333
edited September 28 in Fitness and Exercise
I had a Timex HRM with a chest strap that I had to enter my weight in but I decided to upgrade to a Polar FT40... Lets just say there is no comparison between the two... I was kinda disappointed when I seen the difference in the calorie readings between the two... I wore them both to try and get an accurate reading on my calorie burn during my workouts... The Timex said I burned 1100 and the Polar said I burned around 550... What a difference

Has anyone else ever done a test with any other brands of HRM??


Hope you all have a great day and I wish you the best of luck with your weight loss journey !

Replies

  • Wow 131lbs lost! Thats incredible, sorry completly irrelevent to your post but thats amazing! Inspiration to us all!! :)
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
    Wayne,
    There is a huge difference for sure and sorry I trust Polar because that is the one found on most exercise machines and if you compare you Polar to the machines at the gym they will be closer to your Polar. It may be disappointing but you are more concerned with accuracy vs high calories burned. For me I have my HRM set like I weigh 250 pounds when I weigh over 350 because I want my cal burned to be less vs more since I am still at a point I don't need to be accurate or I don't care to have the extra calories.

    You are doing awesome buddy! Keep up the good work!
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Go with the Polar!

    I had a Timex too before a Polar, and the Timex is absolute junk compared to the Polar. It sounds like I had the same timex you did, and because you can only enter your weight on the timex, its not as accurate. The more info that you can enter, the more accurate the HRM will be.. and while we'd all like to believe the higher number, in most cases its just not true. So keep using your polar and you'll be fine.
  • Waynes_World
    Waynes_World Posts: 333
    Yeah the amount of calories burned really doesnt matter as long as the results come.. I dont eat my calories back that I burn so the number doesnt really matter to me alot..

    I just dont believe the difference.. I know there is alot of people who do eat there workout calories back.. So having the wrong HRM I guess could be a real bad thing ..

    Just wandering if anyone else has tried using 2 HRM at the same time to compare the results
  • Waynes_World
    Waynes_World Posts: 333
    Wow 131lbs lost! Thats incredible, sorry completly irrelevent to your post but thats amazing! Inspiration to us all!! :)
    [/quote

    Thanks ;} I wish you the best of luck along with your journey !
  • dawnkitchen
    dawnkitchen Posts: 161
    I have a Timex and eat back some of my calories. I've lost 34.4 pounds since November 2010 (ish). Which is just over a pound a week, which is what my goals are set to.
    When I started personal training, I had no HRM. My trainer had the average calorie expenditure per move and when I got a HRM, the burn matched closely with what he had been figuring out for me.

    So I'm sort of confused. I've never had access to a Polar HRM - what is the difference in how the calculate calories burned versus the Timex HRMs?
  • Waynes_World
    Waynes_World Posts: 333
    Well on the Timex I only enter my weight.. On the polar I enter my weight , height , sex and age...

    Sex and age I am sure has alot to do with the difference in the calories burn... They both read my Heart Rate the same
  • Waynes_World
    Waynes_World Posts: 333
    Just kinda curious to see if anyone else has tried using 2 HRM at the same time before to compare the readings
  • Waynes_World
    Waynes_World Posts: 333
    I have a Timex and eat back some of my calories. I've lost 34.4 pounds since November 2010 (ish). Which is just over a pound a week, which is what my goals are set to.
    When I started personal training, I had no HRM. My trainer had the average calorie expenditure per move and when I got a HRM, the burn matched closely with what he had been figuring out for me.

    So I'm sort of confused. I've never had access to a Polar HRM - what is the difference in how the calculate calories burned versus the Timex HRMs?


    Great Job on the 34 pounds lost since November ;}
  • dawnkitchen
    dawnkitchen Posts: 161

    Great Job on the 34 pounds lost since November ;}

    Thank you! Your 131 is nothing to scoff at, either! Congrats! :] May we continue!
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