Heart Rate Monitors

okcmomto3

Which ones are best? I want one to tell me how many calories I have burned..

dad106

Polar.. FT4 or FT7. If you feel like getting fancy, FT40 and FT60 are also good.

Stay away from Timex...Very inflated calorie burn.

engineman312

i have a timex and i find the calorie burn to be very accurate.

okcmomto3

Thanks!

HealthyWayorNoWay

If your looking for an inexpensive one than I would suggest:Pyle Sports PHRM38 Heart Rate Monitor Watch with 3D Walking/Running Sensor
I have it and I love it!!
here's the link to buy it:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RQWYDO/ref=oh_o00_s00_i02_details

dad106

i have a timex and i find the calorie burn to be very accurate.

For males yes.. Since it does not allow you enter gender when setting it up, it assumes you are a male. For females that would be a problem and give us an inflated calorie burn.

When I had a Timex it told me I burned 580 calories walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes.. Um no, I think not. Got my Polar, did the same workout and burned between 200-300 calories.. big difference.

okcmomto3

Yeah, I have to go inexpensive if I go with any at all.

myshell26

I have a Garmin FR60 and love it!

MissFit0101

I looooooooove my Polar FT4

laurae

I have a Timex as well. I do wonder if the calorie burn is inflated, but I also think I had my maximum heart rate set too low. I recalculated it doing the two sub-max tests that the booklet which came with my monitor mentioned (Sally Edwards is the author) and set it higher and now my calorie burns seem more realistic. Be sure to get a monitor that you can change the batteries yourself. Also, one that allows you to input your own personal maximum heart rate. Some monitors just use the standard 220 - Age = MHR calculation, and that is not accurate. Mine would be 173 that way, but just this morning I saw 175 on my monitor.

lvnspoonful

I looooooooove my Polar FT4

Me too!!!!!

ybodwen

I agree with the comments about Timex- I find it way too generous and I gave mine to my husband who loves it. Good for men, not women.

Listening out for recommendations of what to try next

Rheatheylia

I looooooooove my Polar FT4

Me too!!!!!

Me three! I love that the watch is very pretty so I can wear it as my regular watch, and it works great!

dad106

I have a Timex as well. I do wonder if the calorie burn is inflated, but I also think I had my maximum heart rate set too low. I recalculated it doing the two sub-max tests that the booklet which came with my monitor mentioned (Sally Edwards is the author) and set it higher and now my calorie burns seem more realistic. Be sure to get a monitor that you can change the batteries yourself. Also, one that allows you to input your own personal maximum heart rate. Some monitors just use the standard 220 - Age = MHR calculation, and that is not accurate. Mine would be 173 that way, but just this morning I saw 175 on my monitor.

Going over your max HR does not mean it's wrong.. I go over mine all the time... Do you think your heart stops beating just because it reaches what your max HR should be?

Yes, the timex is inflated because as I stated above, you can't input gender.. so it assumes you are a male, and thus gives you the calorie burn of one. You can adjust it all you want, but it will still give you a higher then normal calorie burn.

For accuracy, you need one that takes all info.. age, weight, height, gender and a chest strap.

RAFValentina

i have a timex and i find the calorie burn to be very accurate.

How do you know its accurate!??!

engineman312

i have a timex and i find the calorie burn to be very accurate.

How do you know its accurate!??!

you're right, i don't know if its 100% accurate, but that can be said about all heart rate monitors. they take the information you enter, such as age, height, weight, hair color, maximum heart rate, education, etc, and merely estimate how many calories you've burned over time based on your heart rate.

between the HRM, exercise, calorie deficiency, healthier food, and kick *kitten* attitude, i'm losing weight, and being awesome while doing it.

tangal88

Polar.. FT4 or FT7. If you feel like getting fancy, FT40 and FT60 are also good.

Stay away from Timex...Very inflated calorie burn.

My exact experience with a Timex with a chest strap also.

I am a shorter women, my model did not allow gender entry. Only weight.

It usually overestimated cal burn by about 200 cal per hour.

It was about $40, highly rated positive on Amazon.

Switched to a Polar FT7

Cal burn is less, across the board. But I feel more accurate, for me.

Amazon.com has a pretty good price. But still more expensive then the Timex.

reaolliemama

I have a MP3 player with a chest strap HRM that my husband bought me at best buy I think it's by sportline. I find it to be accurate and enjoy it. I HATE wearing a watch!

okcmomto3

HealthyWayorN Are you able to put your weight into this one?

WowieGarcia

I had a Timex and now I have a Garmin Forerunner 305.

Comparing the two, yes it seems that the Timex does inflate calories burned. Ran 5K with the Timex and it said I burned almost 500 cal. Ran the same 5K route with the Forerunner, and the highest calorie burn I got was 296.

This is not to say though that I did not lose weight with the Timex.

The Timex I got for $89 at Amazon.ca last spring.
This December, I got the ForeRunner for $139, Amazon.ca

The Forerunner is really huge and you may not like it for it's size. But it also has features that helps me with my running that I cannot get with the Timex.

reaolliemama

mine did allow me to input gender

Felicia714

I have the Garmin Forerunner 305 and I absolutely love it. I'm not sure about the other HRM but this one has GPS so it is able to give me my pace as well as my HR. I'm not sure how much it cost, my husband bought it for me last year.

RAFValentina

i have a timex and i find the calorie burn to be very accurate.

How do you know its accurate!??!

you're right, i don't know if its 100% accurate, but that can be said about all heart rate monitors. they take the information you enter, such as age, height, weight, hair color, maximum heart rate, education, etc, and merely estimate how many calories you've burned over time based on your heart rate.

between the HRM, exercise, calorie deficiency, healthier food, and kick *kitten* attitude, i'm losing weight, and being awesome while doing it.

That's cool! I wasn't knocking you! Just wondering! i know that the more variables it takes in to account then "generally" it gives a closer to accurate reading... Just wondered if there is any way of checking the accuracy of a piece of equipment be it hrm or CV eqpt etc. other than rigging oneself up everytime to very uncomfortable equipment! I try to cross check the accuracy of mine online where i can input the variables I can't on the treadmill for example such as height, weight, Average heart Rate, Gender, last recorded VO2 max etc... and yeah, I have no idea if they are accurate enough still but Hey,I lost the weight and achieved my fitness goals but now I'm working more on physical fitness goals, I find that these calorie burns that the eqpt tell me could be actually quite UNDER as continuing to lose weight... makes finding correct nutrition tough!

beckysiz

Polar.. FT4 or FT7. If you feel like getting fancy, FT40 and FT60 are also good.

Stay away from Timex...Very inflated calorie burn.

I have a Timex and I have lost 75+ pounds using it....

hotelsierra

I've had a Polar FT 60 for 3 years. Its awesome! But pricey!

MaraDiaz

If you need to go really cheap, the $30 Sportline seems to be doing the trick for me. At first I worried it was overestimating, but it's showing a steady calorie decrease per hour that matches the lower heart rate and breathing I'm starting to have from getting used to working out.

You do have to frequently reach over and press and hold a button on the watch to get it to take your pulse, but none of the workouts I do right now make that an issue. It also has a timer so you know exactly how long you've worked out for and that works great. But it doesn't have a pedometer.

The really bizarre thing is that it doesn't keep good time on the regular watch function. I haven't figured out why yet, but I didn't buy it to keep time, so I don't really mind having to correct it every few days or let it run slow.

laurae

I have a Timex as well. I do wonder if the calorie burn is inflated, but I also think I had my maximum heart rate set too low. I recalculated it doing the two sub-max tests that the booklet which came with my monitor mentioned (Sally Edwards is the author) and set it higher and now my calorie burns seem more realistic. Be sure to get a monitor that you can change the batteries yourself. Also, one that allows you to input your own personal maximum heart rate. Some monitors just use the standard 220 - Age = MHR calculation, and that is not accurate. Mine would be 173 that way, but just this morning I saw 175 on my monitor.

Going over your max HR does not mean it's wrong.. I go over mine all the time... Do you think your heart stops beating just because it reaches what your max HR should be?

Yes, the timex is inflated because as I stated above, you can't input gender.. so it assumes you are a male, and thus gives you the calorie burn of one. You can adjust it all you want, but it will still give you a higher then normal calorie burn.

For accuracy, you need one that takes all info.. age, weight, height, gender and a chest strap.



I have read that the reason it is called "Maximum Heart Rate" is because it is the MAXIMUM that your heart can reach. Most people do not actually attain it with normal exercise. When, and if, they do, they see stars and/or pass out - according to several people online who have mentioned that they went to a facility to get their maximum heart rate tested for the purpose of inputting into their HRM. I feel that to be the most accurate, you need to determine by a physical test what your maximum heart rate is and have the option to input it into your watch. Not all females that are the same age, height, weight have the same heart rate factors. Heart rate is what determines calories burned. The higher your heart rate is to your maximum, the more calories you burn. See link: http://www.howtobefit.com/determine-maximum-heart-rate.htm

dad106

I have a Timex as well. I do wonder if the calorie burn is inflated, but I also think I had my maximum heart rate set too low. I recalculated it doing the two sub-max tests that the booklet which came with my monitor mentioned (Sally Edwards is the author) and set it higher and now my calorie burns seem more realistic. Be sure to get a monitor that you can change the batteries yourself. Also, one that allows you to input your own personal maximum heart rate. Some monitors just use the standard 220 - Age = MHR calculation, and that is not accurate. Mine would be 173 that way, but just this morning I saw 175 on my monitor.

Going over your max HR does not mean it's wrong.. I go over mine all the time... Do you think your heart stops beating just because it reaches what your max HR should be?

Yes, the timex is inflated because as I stated above, you can't input gender.. so it assumes you are a male, and thus gives you the calorie burn of one. You can adjust it all you want, but it will still give you a higher then normal calorie burn.

For accuracy, you need one that takes all info.. age, weight, height, gender and a chest strap.

I have read that the reason it is called "Maximum Heart Rate" is because it is the MAXIMUM that your heart can reach. Most people do not actually attain it with normal exercise. When, and if, they do, they see stars and/or pass out - according to several people online who have mentioned that they went to a facility to get their maximum heart rate tested for the purpose of inputting into their HRM. I feel that to be the most accurate, you need to determine by a physical test what your maximum heart rate is and have the option to input it into your watch. Not all females that are the same age, height, weight have the same heart rate factors. Heart rate is what determines calories burned. The higher your heart rate is to your maximum, the more calories you burn. See link: http://www.howtobefit.com/determine-maximum-heart-rate.htm

I def. attain mine with normal exercise.. One round with my PT and I'm between 190-197.. and my max is 197 BTW. I have never seen stars nor have I passed out.... so I must be an abnormality.

Yes your heart rate plays a role in determining but so do other factors, like males will burn more then females, people who are a lower weight will burn less then someone who weighs more and tall people burn a different amount then short people. Which is why it's important to have an HRM That takes all info, so that you can get the most accurate calorie estimation.

I also took a look at the link and it's full of bro-science in my opinion.. and people who just want to sell expensive tests. For most people 220-minus age works just fine... and there really is no need to pay 100-300 dollars to get a test to tell you your true max heart rate.

laurae

A non-Timex option would be the PolarFT40. It is one of the few Polar monitors that has an option to enter your own MHR if you choose to rather than just an age calculation. It also asks for other data like weight, etc...

dad106

A non-Timex option would be the PolarFT40. It is one of the few Polar monitors that has an option to enter your own MHR if you choose to rather than just an age calculation. It also asks for other data like weight, etc...

Again, wrong.

I have the FT7 and I can manually enter my max heart rate... and lets me enter all data. I just don't manually enter mine because I don't see a need.

Both FT40 and FT60 come with the ability to do a Vo2Max test that your article wants to charge 75 dollars for.. and it's just as accurate. You also can enter max heart rate on both.

Like I stated earlier, there really is no need.. a lot of people push it to the max or higher and are just fine. If you don't feel dizzy or sick, then it's no big deal.

linnapee

I have a Polar FT4 and I love it! I believe it's very accurate because all my stats are considered (gender, age, height. weight) and as my fitness has improved my calories burnt has decreased (which I think is a good thing?) Haha