Is my HRM broken or?....

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musicgirl88
musicgirl88 Posts: 504 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
does it need a new battery? I did a 45 minute Zuma workout on my Wii....yes I know not the same as a class, but I'm poor and the Wii was a Christmas gift, so I'm using it for exercise until I can afford to actually take a class...and let me tell ya...I was sweatin my butt off!!! Anyway....I strapped on my HRM just out of curiousity to see what I would be burning, and it said afte 45 minutes I only burned 4 calories!! I checked to make sure there wasn't a button I accidentally hit or that it didn't say hundred anywhere on the screen....and when all that failed, I wonder if it's broken or if the battery needs changed. I wouldn't think it would need a battery because I've only had it for about 2 months...and yes it is a cheap wal mart HRM for now until I save up enough money to get a better one....anyway....has anyone experienced this? What should I do?

Replies

  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
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    Does it have a chest strap? If so, make sure the strap is wet, and make sure you wash it off after each workout, plus toss it in the washer every now and then. Some days mine really has issues, and it is usually because of a buildup of sweat and body oils (gross!).
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    Does it have a strap? If not, then I wouldn't use it at all because the wrist ones are notoriously inaccurate.

    They only calculate calories when you touch a sensor on the watch... and if you only touch the sensor once, then it's only going to record once... and the more you touch it, the more that it is going to get a heart rate reading and thus calculate calories better.

    If it has a strap, then I'm not exactly sure what could be going on. Try wetting the strap before using it next time.. it may help it conduct better.
  • adjones5
    adjones5 Posts: 938 Member
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    The batteries are relatively cheap, just try a new battery to rule that out.
  • musicgirl88
    musicgirl88 Posts: 504 Member
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    Does it have a chest strap? If so, make sure the strap is wet, and make sure you wash it off after each workout, plus toss it in the washer every now and then. Some days mine really has issues, and it is usually because of a buildup of sweat and body oils (gross!).

    yes, I wash it off every day...I tend to sweat a lot LOL so I always make sure I clean it. But I have never considered tossing the strap in the washer....maybe I'll try that....but that shouldn't affect the actual HRM should it?
  • Newf77
    Newf77 Posts: 802 Member
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    Most the HRM straps are washer safe. I would say your HRM is malfunctioning, the batteries are inexpensive, easily obtained {WalMart, Target, Kroger} and usually pretty easy to replace, some watch counters or stores will replace them for you.
  • Moonbeamlissie
    Moonbeamlissie Posts: 504 Member
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    It probably lost your hb mine does it all the time and you have to move the strap to find it again. Pay attention to it every once in a while look down to make sure it is still picking it up. But 4 calories no way... I do the Wii Zumba and I find it better than the class and on the short classes I am still over 200
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    Does it have a chest strap? If so, make sure the strap is wet, and make sure you wash it off after each workout, plus toss it in the washer every now and then. Some days mine really has issues, and it is usually because of a buildup of sweat and body oils (gross!).

    yes, I wash it off every day...I tend to sweat a lot LOL so I always make sure I clean it. But I have never considered tossing the strap in the washer....maybe I'll try that....but that shouldn't affect the actual HRM should it?

    If you have the Sportline, don't throw the plastic part with the sensors in the wash. That will destroy it as it is not water tight. Just the material strap. I would guess the HRM was not receiving the information from the chest strap or the strap was not able to read your heart rate. When I am working out with mine I check out the HR that is displayed on the watch every once in a while to make sure everything is ok. If it is either not there or seems high or low I touch the sensors on the front to get a HR from that to compare.
  • musicgirl88
    musicgirl88 Posts: 504 Member
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    Thank you so much everyone! I will play around with it tomorrow to make sure that it didn't just lose my heart beat LOL and if it still is reading that low, I'll try a new battery! Thanks everyone!! :)
  • DrG3n3
    DrG3n3 Posts: 467 Member
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    Mine also did that once because it wasn't tight enough. It didn't fall off but I ended up able to stick my whole hand beneath it and tug on it, it was that loose though I didn't know it. I figured it out because if I pushed it closer to my skin, it picked up my heart rate (it would go from 88 to 280 all in a single breath before, so this is how I noticed it wasn't working properly) and I just tightened it and kept an eye on it the next day. Battery is also an issue, my manual mentions that as a cause for malfunction as well.

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