Heart Rate Monitor - HELP!

SteffCooley
SteffCooley Posts: 111
edited September 19 in Fitness and Exercise
So it sounds like the best way to keep track of everything and have great success...... leads to buying a HRM! I am sure this has been talked about over and over.....sorry! But I have a couple questions!

1 - Do ALL HRM's not only monitor heart rate but also count calories burned?
2 - Which is a good, affordable HRM to recommend?
3 - Are they just like a wrist watch? Or have I read something about having to wear a chest strap??

I don't want to spend a fortune, but don't want to waste my money, either.

Any advice is MUCH appreciated! Thanks!!

Replies

  • SteffCooley
    SteffCooley Posts: 111
    So it sounds like the best way to keep track of everything and have great success...... leads to buying a HRM! I am sure this has been talked about over and over.....sorry! But I have a couple questions!

    1 - Do ALL HRM's not only monitor heart rate but also count calories burned?
    2 - Which is a good, affordable HRM to recommend?
    3 - Are they just like a wrist watch? Or have I read something about having to wear a chest strap??

    I don't want to spend a fortune, but don't want to waste my money, either.

    Any advice is MUCH appreciated! Thanks!!
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    I suggest searching the forums for info--tons of good stuff has been posted in the past that not only answers all the questions you've asked but more, including best brands, etc.
  • jjett822
    jjett822 Posts: 15
    Not all HRM's give you your caloric burn. I have a Polar, and I love it!!! I bought it through my healthclub and the cost was about $100.00. You get the watch and the strap. I LIVE by my heart rate monitor. You can buy one on-line, there are many places to choose from.
    There are different heart rate zones to be in, zone 1-2-3-4. Some watches will let you know what zone you are in.
    (I know you are going to ask how do you know what zone you are in. :smile: There is a test you can take, it is costly, over $100.00. Once again, my healthclub offers it. (Lifetime Fitness) It tells you where your heart rate is, and being in zone 3 burns the most fat, zone 4 burns sugar.)
    It is a little more complicated than that, but that's just the basics.

    Now once you plug in all of your information, and start working out, pay attention to when you have a hard time talking while excercising. That is about zone 3. If you are working out and you can't even think about saying a word, that is zone 4 and now you are in your anarobic threshhold. You will be burning sugar.....:happy:

    Is this too much information??:embarassed: I sure hope I am making sense.??:ohwell:

    So, I have the Polar T31-CODED. It's kind of basic.
    After my workout I can check to see how many calories I've burned, and what percentage is fat. It keeps a weekly log of all my excercies and by the end of the workout/week I know how many calories I have burned.
    P.S. It takes approx. 3500 calories to burn 1 pound.

    I sure hope this was helpful!! :smile: :smile: :smile:

    Good Luck!!1
  • SteffCooley
    SteffCooley Posts: 111
    Wonderful info!!!! Thanks so much!!!! :smile: Very informative.

    I have searched the message boards but really am not having much luck finding any info that I am after. Maybe I am just not searching right..... who knows.

    I always thought that HRMs JUST monitored your heart rate, and had no idea that they calculated calories burned. That is awesome! I could never justify spending the money on *this wristwatch that would tell me my heart rate*. I can multiply and do the math myself. :laugh: BUT, now that I know they are more than just that, I have got to have one!!!! :tongue:

    Big thanks for the info!!! :flowerforyou:
  • SteffCooley
    SteffCooley Posts: 111
    Oh... another question. (sorry!) Do all HRMs calculate your TOTAL calories burned for the entire day? Or is it JUST used for when you exercise?

    As in, do you wear the monitor all day long, and after your daily activities and exercising, at the end of the day you get your total *magic* number of what you've burned for the day?
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    Oh... another question. (sorry!) Do all HRMs calculate your TOTAL calories burned for the entire day? Or is it JUST used for when you exercise?

    As in, do you wear the monitor all day long, and after your daily activities and exercising, at the end of the day you get your total *magic* number of what you've burned for the day?

    Did you search using the term HRM?

    And, no on the other questions--well, I mean they kind of can if you wear it 24 hours but I understand it's not a reliable figure to go by.
  • SteffCooley
    SteffCooley Posts: 111
    I did search by HRM but came up with like 30 pages or something of topics. I have four kids and don't have the time to sift through every posting to find the exact info I was searching for. :wink:

    Alot of the postings were pretty old too - several months. Thought it would be better to get "current" info, since there may be a new HRM on the market since then.
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    Nothing new as far as I know. Best one is probably F4 of F6. F6 if using it at gym, as it will not pick up signals from another monitor. If you don't need that feature, then the F4 will do all the same stuff and is cheaper.
  • altazin0907
    altazin0907 Posts: 188 Member
    this may be a stupid question but is the transmitter the chest strap? :blushing:
  • altazin0907
    altazin0907 Posts: 188 Member
    and with the F4, does someone else have to have on a HRM to interfer with it or is it the machine HRM?:ohwell:
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    this may be a stupid question but is the transmitter the chest strap? :blushing:

    Yes. You wear it while exercising--YOu don't really notice it at all. I hardly even know I've got mine on now and have even forgotten to take it off before getting into the shower.
  • SteffCooley
    SteffCooley Posts: 111
    Do ALL HRMs operate off of a chest strap/transmitter?

    I am wanting something that will tell me at the end of the day my total calories burned..... any ideas? Will the F4/F6 do that, or is it just not possible?
  • petunia
    petunia Posts: 336 Member
    I have the Polar F4 and I've had a few problems in the gym with interference from other peoples' monitors... so if you are going to be in a gym setting I highly recommend spending a few extra dollars and getting the F6... I plan on asking Santa for an F6 this year...

    I wore my HRM for an entire day once, and it said I burned about 2200 in a day... (I didn't work out).. interesting to know, but not sure I'd rely upon it...

    I am totally addicted to my HRM for working out.. I have found that since I have started using it and I've gotten in better shape that it takes more for me to get my heart rate up and my heart rate recovers a lot faster than it used to.. this means I have to work harder to burn the same number of calories...

    It's an invaluable tool and a real motivator.. I also really enjoy eating those exercise calories (to a point) that I've burned!

    Good luck!
  • mimielle
    mimielle Posts: 44 Member
    I've used the Timex bodylink and really liked it. I think it was around $100 canadian so probably cheaper in the US.

    Now I've started to use the Sunnto T3C with foot pod to allow me to see my speed and distance for training while running and heart rate. It's a great tool if you get into more advanced training. I think it's around $250 for both.
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