HRM calorie burn???

MyJourney11

I feel like my HRM says I burn way more calories than I do. Should I just count half of what my HRM says or should I just go ahead and count it all? I just don't want the excuse to eat more if I didn't really burn it. But then, what if my HRM is accurate??? I'm just not sure what to do. For example, my HRM says I burned 571 calories doing Hip Hop Abs for 42 minutes today, but I barely broke a sweat. Other days I'll do Turbo Fire or something and burn the same calories in half the time but I'm dripping sweat and I really feel like I earned it.

MrsRobertson1005

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

pinkiekat

From what I've learned, you'll actually burn more fat in zone 1 and 2. Once you get into the higher zones, you start to burn sugars and less fat, and work more on improving your cardio. So if you want to lose weight the lower zones are the way to go. I can burn around 500-600 doing a lo-impact type aerobics class.. easy. I'm also finding that interval training/walking on the treadmill seems to do more for me strength and endurance wise.. although not as much fun as a hip hop class.

MyJourney11

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

MindyLynn77

we need body bugs!!!!!

MyJourney11

we need body bugs!!!!!

You buy it, I'll use it!!!!

bizco

Does your HRM have a chest strap or just the watch?

MyJourney11

Does your HRM have a chest strap or just the watch?

It has a chest strap and watch

sallen67

Have you compared the readings your heart rate monitor gives you for any specific exercise against what some of the online sources list.

1 thing I found with the monitors is that they may not actually take your heart rate into account when figuring out the calories.
Many of them use a standard set generic equation to estimate your burn just like the treadmill or elliptical machine at the gym.

I generally compare mine to the online resources and if they are all within the ball park then that's good enough. If there is some wild swing in what they estimate, then I take the lowest value.

I guess the only really important question is are you losing weight with the estimates that the watch is giving you?

I checked out the Timex board and they don't specify how it determines calorie expenditure. I know that the Garmin web site details which ones of their heart rate monitors do or don't use the heart rate when calculating caloric burn.

Scott

MindyLynn77

we need body bugs!!!!!

You buy it, I'll use it!!!!

Ill go sell some platelets and buy us each one!!! lmao

bizco

Double check your HRM numbers by comparing them to the equation found at this site:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/73315-calculate-calories-burned-based-heart/

Let me know if you need help with it, just send me a private message. I also have an Excel spreadsheet with the formula built in.

dad106

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

MindyLynn77

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I dont like this answer, cuz her and I have the same HRM!
I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

dad106

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I dont like this answer, cuz her and I have the same HRM!
I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

Sorry, I know it sucks but it's the truth.

When I walked on a treadmill for 30 min at a 15% incline at a speed of 3.0, it told me I burned 581 calories.. Uh no! I do the exact same exercise with my Polar and it tells me I burn about 300... thats a 281 calorie difference. My Polar is also calculated to my height, weight, age, gender and takes my VO2 Max.. all things needed for accurate calorie burn.

General rule with HRM's according to my trainer and my mom's trainer, the more info that you can enter the more accurate it will be. Since Polar is one of the most recommended brands out there, thats what I went with and couldn't be happier.

MyJourney11

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I dont like this answer, cuz her and I have the same HRM!
I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

Sorry, I know it sucks but it's the truth.

When I walked on a treadmill for 30 min at a 15% incline at a speed of 3.0, it told me I burned 581 calories.. Uh no! I do the exact same exercise with my Polar and it tells me I burn about 300... thats a 281 calorie difference. My Polar is also calculated to my height, weight, age, gender and takes my VO2 Max.. all things needed for accurate calorie burn.

General rule with HRM's according to my trainer and my mom's trainer, the more info that you can enter the more accurate it will be. Since Polar is one of the most recommended brands out there, thats what I went with and couldn't be happier.

Well that sucks cause I have no clue where my box or warrenty or anything is that came with the HRM. I'll have to look EVERYWHERE. If I can't find it I just may need to start saving money. I guess it would be best to just log half of what it says for now till I work it all out.

dad106

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I dont like this answer, cuz her and I have the same HRM!
I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

Sorry, I know it sucks but it's the truth.

When I walked on a treadmill for 30 min at a 15% incline at a speed of 3.0, it told me I burned 581 calories.. Uh no! I do the exact same exercise with my Polar and it tells me I burn about 300... thats a 281 calorie difference. My Polar is also calculated to my height, weight, age, gender and takes my VO2 Max.. all things needed for accurate calorie burn.

General rule with HRM's according to my trainer and my mom's trainer, the more info that you can enter the more accurate it will be. Since Polar is one of the most recommended brands out there, thats what I went with and couldn't be happier.

Well that sucks cause I have no clue where my box or warrenty or anything is that came with the HRM. I'll have to look EVERYWHERE. If I can't find it I just may need to start saving money. I guess it would be best to just log half of what it says for now till I work it all out.

well what is your budget right now? I was just reading somewhere on here that someone got a Polar Ft4 on amazon for 53 dollars.. that includes free shipping. I have the Polar FT7 which is the next step up, but they are both good deals.

I'd say logging half would prob. be best.

I also got tricked into it because it was really highly recommended by Consumer Reports and the reviews I read said that it was really accurate and they all loved it.. then I showed to my mom's trainer and he told me it was no more accurate then a treadmill.

I also sorry if anything that I said sounded rude or came off wrong. The internet doesn't always translate things right.

If you have anymore questions about HRM's, feel free to ask!

bizco

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

Not true. I have a similar timex and you enter your weight AND your maximum heart rate (roughly 220-age). When I compare the calories burned per my HRM to online sites like the one I mentioned above they are within 50 calories of each other so I log the lower one.

The problem with ALL heart rate monitors is they do not subtract the number of calories you would have burned anyway without exercising. You need to manually do the math.

MrsRobertson1005

I just bought a polar ft7 on academy.com for $88 + shipping. They don't have the new women's in stores and the old ones are $109

ItsLessOfMe

I want a HRM so I can be more accurate. Not sure what you should do but I would be a little irritated if I bought one and still felt I couldnt trust it. Whats the brand? I dont even know how to work one....

Sorry I wasnt much help but I just wanted to comment because I'm looking into getting one and its sad to see it cant be trusted,

MrsRobertson1005

Doesn't MFP calculate that into your net calories allotted per day already?

ItsLessOfMe

whats a body bug?

MrsRobertson1005

I want a HRM so I can be more accurate. Not sure what you should do but I would be a little irritated if I bought one and still felt I couldnt trust it. Whats the brand? I dont even know how to work one....

Sorry I wasnt much help but I just wanted to comment because I'm looking into getting one and its sad to see it cant be trusted,

My parent's both have Polar and love them, my mom has an FT7 which is why i'm getting one. They are both in really great shape and my dad counts calories and says the Polar is very accurate

MrsRobertson1005

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

Not true. I have a similar timex and you enter your weight AND your maximum heart rate (roughly 220-age). When I compare the calories burned per my HRM to online sites like the one I mentioned above they are within 50 calories of each other so I log the lower one.

The problem with ALL heart rate monitors is they do not subtract the number of calories you would have burned anyway without exercising. You need to manually do the math.

Doesn't MFP calculate that into your net calories allotted per day already?

dad106

No answer here but what kind of HRM do you have?

Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Yea thats your issue right there. That TImex HRM only lets you enter weight.... and nothing else like age, height or gender. So to that HRM your a male that weighs X amount of pounds, is X height and X age... or in other words, not accurate at all!

I had the HRM and wound up returning it for a Polar FT7 because of the simple factor that you couldn't enter any personal data besides weight. I highly suggest that you do the same and don't eat all of those exercise calories back.

Not true. I have a similar timex and you enter your weight AND your maximum heart rate (roughly 220-age). When I compare the calories burned per my HRM to online sites like the one I mentioned above they are within 50 calories of each other so I log the lower one.

The problem with ALL heart rate monitors is they do not subtract the number of calories you would have burned anyway without exercising. You need to manually do the math.

weight and max heart rate are just a part of this. You also missed the part that I had this HRM, and was told by a certified personal trainer that it was not accurate.. and I'm sorry but I trust the personal trainer over you.

A male and female will burn different amount of calories. Just like someone who is 50 yrs old vs someone who is 20 years old will burn different amounts and someone who is 5'8 is going to burn a different amount then someone who is 5 ft tall. Also someone who is 300 pounds is going to burn a whole heck of a lot more calories then 160 pound me.

All those variations is why you get an HRM in a first place.. so that is calculated to you specifically.

Also go do a board search on HRM's.. you'll find that I'm not the only one saying this. Everyone who gives HRM recommendations say that you need to be able to enter height, weight, age, gender and VO2 Max(if your HRM allows for that)

dad106

whats a body bug?

Body bug is an arm band that you wear all day long and it tells you things like heart rate and calorie burn. I want to say its around 200 dollars plus a monthly fee to use it.

MyJourney11

whats a body bug?

Body bug is an arm band that you wear all day long and it tells you things like heart rate and calorie burn. I want to say its around 200 dollars plus a monthly fee to use it.

They have a bundle for $233 right now where you get the arm strap, the digital wrist display, and 12 months online. I wish I could get that!!! Money is a bit tight right now cause I have 3 kids with bir:ohwell: thdays between May and July

dad106

Also heres a link that explains HRM's a bit better
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

sallen67

They cost a bit more, but I really like the Garmin 310xt, it will calculate speed, time, calories all the goodies, has a customizable display, is uploadable to your computer and numerous fitness sites.
It has attachments for your bike to do pedaling cadence, and speed based on both gps location and the standard magnet sensors that count wheel revolution, as well as power meter readings from your bike and will even sync up with the Tanita body composition scale. They also make a foot pod so it can calculate running in locations where you may not be able to get a gps signal such as indoors.
So the watch can record all of that data and then you can look at it on your computer track previous workouts compare the values etc. The 310xt is even waterproof so you can use it in the water as well. I have heard mixed reviews on how well it functions in the water, but the benefit is being able to start the timer and not have to worry about it if you transition to bike or run as you would in a triathlon.

Polar also has a model that I believe has all of those features as well, but I'm not as familiar with their products.

Scott

beach_chelle

http://www.triathlontrainingblog.com/calculators/calories-burned-calculator-based-on-average-heart-rate/

This is a pretty good calculator that I found when I felt my hrm was not accurate.