How accurate is a HRM with a chest strap?

reese1206

How accurate are they?


I have a PolarF6. I ask because it says I burn between 1100 and 1300 in 1hr 30/45min. I want to make sure its pretty much on track so I don't log it in wrong.

papastu

i would like to think mine is spot on :happy:

sandhillcrane

What kind are you using?

pa_jorg

pretty accurate and after doing some research it seems that Polar is the most accurate of all brands.

gatorflyer

Pretty darned accurate. Polar is the best!

eeeekie

I've never read up on the accuracy but I have one and I'm gonna assume that since the piece is near my heart and taking my pulse while I exercise that it's pretty spot on...just a guess though

I've checked my HRM against machines at the gym and it seems pretty right on

luv2ash

I absolutely love mine. I have a Polar FT4 with strap and would rely on it only! I never rely on those machines or what MFP tells me.

MinnieInMaine

More accurate than one without a chest strap - and it's because you're getting a constant read on your heart rate. I'm not sure if they're all the same but I think with the watch ones, you have to actually touch them to get a heart rate reading so it's not consistent.

Of course brand does matter. I've had two Polars and loved both - F6 and FT4. They're a bit pricey but I can tell you that I've been eating the exercise calories that I burn throughout my weight loss journey and haven't had too much trouble with losing. To me, that says they're pretty accurate.

reese1206

I have a PolarF6. I ask because it says I burn between 1100 and 1300 in 1hr 30/45min. I want to make sure its pretty much on track so I don't log it in wrong.

aprilslusher

I have the Polar FT4 and it is the only thing I rely on. The calories that are given on the Treadmill and MFP are so far off on the "calories burned" it is ridiculous. My Doctor even recommended getting a Polar HRM.

reese1206

Edited

reese1206

bump

reese1206

anyone else???????

sgpaschak

They are very accurate. I would say your calories burned make sense for the length of your work out. I can burn about 600 - 700 calories in one hour based on my FT4, so I would say the 1.5 - 1.75 hours of your workout 1100 - 1300 seems reasonable. Especially if it is a challenging cardio work out.

AnninStPaul

They are very accurate. I would say your calories burned make sense for the length of your work out. I can burn about 600 - 700 calories in one hour based on my FT4, so I would say the 1.5 - 1.75 hours of your workout 1100 - 1300 seems reasonable. Especially if it is a challenging cardio work out.

My FT4 logs ~300 for a 1/2 hour cardio workout, so your numbers would track for cardio. My circuit workout comes in around 350 for an hour.

pa_jorg

I have a PolarF6. I ask because it says I burn between 1100 and 1300 in 1hr 30/45min. I want to make sure its pretty much on track so I don't log it in wrong.

That does seem pretty high. Yesterday someone on my feed mentioned problems with theirs and another person responded and said to wet the sensors on the chest strap (which I often forget)...could that be the problem?

kimmrdodge

Sounds right to me, I burn about 1200 calories for a hour and 20 min workout. I push myself extremely hard so my guess is you are pushing yourself hard too. I don't eat my excursive calories though it I guess to me it's no more than a gauge of how much I pushed myself that day. I just add a protein shake onto my 1300 calories on the days I work out rather than worrying about how many exersize calories to eat.

hottottie11

I have a FT4 with a chest strap and I would say that is about accurate. In 120 mins, I can burn between 1000 to 1100 in high intensity workouts.

papastu

I absolutely love mine. I have a Polar FT4 with strap and would rely on it only! I never rely on those machines or what MFP tells me.

same here :noway:

ShannonMpls

How accurate are they?


I have a PolarF6. I ask because it says I burn between 1100 and 1300 in 1hr 30/45min. I want to make sure its pretty much on track so I don't log it in wrong.

That's in line with my Polar. Though I doubt I personally could maintain the intensity required to burn 1100-1300 in 90-115 minutes! I do regularly burn 10 per minute now that I'm more fit than when I first started using my HRM.

DrewD2011

Just burned 1202 in 88 minutes of intense tennis (AVG HR of 143 - 83% of my Max HR). Seems like we are in line!

MinnieInMaine

It definitely depends on what you're doing in that 1-2 hour span of time but it sounds about right for fairly high intensity workouts. On the weekends when I get in a 2 hours walk/run (mostly walking where heart rate is in the lower end of the range) I can burn about 900 calories. If I was to run more, I'm sure I could burn about what you do.