HRM or Pedometer?

emmalene1984

Hi,

So I am off on holiday in about a week, yay :-) but this holiday will involve quite a lot of walking and in particular long, mountain hiking, basically trying to find our way from the middle to top of several mountains in the italian alps, as I have a family wedding to attend on the last day of said holiday i do not want to eat too much and gain more than a pound or two in the 10 days im away, so i figured if i buy a hrm or pedometer and use it whilst walking/hiking i will know roughly how man calories i can eat each day without gaining too much weight, now my problem is, which do i go for? the only experience i have with either is the HRM that is included with EA sports active 2, which when the batteries are fully charged seems to be pretty accurate with its calories burned as when i eat these exercise calories back i loose weight, and then as for a pedometer, well i use cardiotrainer free on my android phone which uses gps and from the stride length and speed and distance travelled age sex and weight (i think) it gives me calories burned and this too appears to be accurate for the same reasons as above, so my question remains, which do i buy for italy? as i wont be able to use either ea sports active nor the gps on my phone due to data roaming prices abroad.

so, i guess im asking what is everyones personal experience and recommendations?

thanks :-)

yeabby

In my opinion go with a HRM. You'll get more use out of it in the long run. It will also give you more accurate information about how many calories you are burning. If you do get one make sure it has a chest strap and has you enter your weight, height, gender and age. Good ones also have you take a small fitness test that helps it read your work better.

aslm

If you have a smart phone you can get a pedometer app for free and use that. And then spend the money on a hmr for a more accurate reading.

Onesnap

If it is an HRM the Polar ones with the chest strap are the best out there. I can't imagine wearing one while on vacation though!

If you wear a pedometer, the ones with an accelerometer are the most accurate. If you have a pedometer in your phone (and your phone will be on the whole time in your pocket) this can work.

If you log 7,000 steps in a day this is achieved by adding 1/2 hour walk to your day. So on MFP you would log it as 1/2 walk if you get up to 7,000 steps/day. That's your normal walking from the time you get up to the time you go to bed with 1/2 hour walk added in.

HRMs and pedometers measure two different things. The HRM is not designed to be worn all day, but the pedometer is. Also, the HRM with the chest strap is really the most accurate device to measure calorie burn!

(I used to work for a company that makes pedometers, that's how I learned all of this)

Onesnap

Since the GPS on your phone will cause high data roaming charges I would suggest picking up an inexpensive pedometer at your local sporting goods store! You can log all of your activities when you get back from your trip (a walk, hike etc.)

tomomatic

Depends:
HRM if you're in the gym and trying maintain a level of intensity during an activity. Those things aren't meant to be worn all day. Those straps are kinda uncomfortable.

My opinion: Pedometers are cheap. GET BOTH!

emmalene1984

let me add, that i dont intend to wear either all day, just for the time i am out hiking, also, will altitude affect either? does anyone know if cardiotrainer, which uses gps for the pedometer, use 3g or any data connection or is it just gps? sorry, i know this is a lot of questions, the hrm i was looking at getting is Target K902 Heart Rate Monitor Watch which altho cheap in comparison to makes like polar or garmin, is not cheap for me, and the pedometer i was looking at is the Omron Walking Style III Step Counter. ideally i dont want to spend more than £40 total, but dont want any of it to be wasted money as i am a broke student (its not even a real holiday im going on, im visiting family in italy for ten days so will be normal life, just half way up a mountain surrounded by beautiful landscape :-) )

thanks again

yeabby

let me add, that i dont intend to wear either all day, just for the time i am out hiking, also, will altitude affect either? does anyone know if cardiotrainer, which uses gps for the pedometer, use 3g or any data connection or is it just gps? sorry, i know this is a lot of questions, the hrm i was looking at getting is Target K902 Heart Rate Monitor Watch which altho cheap in comparison to makes like polar or garmin, is not cheap for me, and the pedometer i was looking at is the Omron Walking Style III Step Counter. ideally i dont want to spend more than £40 total, but dont want any of it to be wasted money as i am a broke student (its not even a real holiday im going on, im visiting family in italy for ten days so will be normal life, just half way up a mountain surrounded by beautiful landscape :-) )

thanks again

I haven't used that particular hrm but, I will caution that not all brands work the same. The Polar, which you can get on Amazon for $50-60, has lasted for many years and through a lot of abuse. Other brands I've used have lasted a year if I was lucky.

Happy travels. Good luck in your decision.