Heart Rate Monitor - any suggestions

jillcwhite

Thinking of buying a heart rate monitor so that I know when I am in the fat burning zone for my age & weight. Not sure on the brand to buy. Anyone have one they like? Any pros and cons to wearing one while working out.

I heard if your working out over your fat burning zone - you are using too much oxygen which then you burn carbs you eat and not fat on your body. And of course if your working out under your fat burning zone you arent getting much benefit. So my goal with heart monitor to to be able to workout in the right zone.

dad106

Honestly, Fat burning and Fitness zones should be disregarded. No matter where "zone wise" you workout you are going to burn fat from your body. You don't burn more or less by staying in a specific zone.

As far as brands go, I personally recommend Polar. FT4, FT7, FT40 and FT60 are the models that are popular around here.

jillcwhite

I work out 1 -2 hours a day 7days a week with a variety of work outs. I eat average around 1400 calories a day and in 2 yrs have not reached my goal weight or are even close.

kag1526

I got a FT4 this weekend and I love it. It doesn't show the different zones though it just shows if your in the "actually worth working out but not killing yourself" range.

I think the FT7 actually splits the two zones within that though.

CommandaPanda

Polar FT7 all the way! I only endorse that model because it's the only one that I own out of the Polar HRM series.

As for zones, yes it is true that you will burn fat in all of them. The "fat burning" zone is intended for those who do not want to lose muscle mass in the process. I tend to stay in the "fat burning" zone for 30 of the 40 minutes of my entire cardio and that has done me wonders with keeping on the most muscle I'm willing while losing as much weight as possible.

sailorsiren13

Polar is a great brand i love mine

dad106

What kinds of workouts are you doing? For that much exercise, you're prob. not eating enough.. 1400 calories is not enough to sustain 7 days of exercise for 1-2 hrs a day.

If you're not already, start strength training.. that I found makes the biggest difference in weight loss to me.

Also incorporate some rest days.. Your body needs time to repair it's self. If you don't give it adequate rest and repair time, then nothing is really going to happen.

You also only have 20 pounds to lose.. which means it is going to come off quite slow. Try for a pound or even half a pound a week loss and see what happens.

My final edit: I took a look at your diary and while you are eating 1400-1500 calories, you are only netting like 800-900 calories after exercise.. which is nothing! You're body is prob. holding on to everything for dear life... so eat more!

systemiceffects

If you are working out THAT much and have not reached your goal weight or are even close; you may want to go to your physician and discuss with him/her. You could have thyroid/endocrine dysfunction and should ask for blood work.

Also, it is important to vary your workouts so that you are tricking your metabolism and body. I am not sure what you are doing but if you are doing the same things week after week you may have hit a plateau and need to change your work out routines. One way is to do interval training. (Women's Health has a lot of articles on interval training). Another is to incorporate more weights into your routine or use them and work two body parts at one time. (For example... lunges with overhead shoulder curl). Your heart rate will sore and you are reving your metabolism.

Just a thought. :flowerforyou:

Run4iiiiiit

love my Garmin.

KC4800

Santa brought me a Polar FT4. I have to say it works well. The chest strap is comfortable. And when I wear it I no longer have to worry about holding onto the cardio machines or keeping my hands dry. It registers heart rate on the machine as well as the watch.

AmyLRed

I got the Polar FT60 after a good deal of research and comparing models, features and reviews. Amazon.com seemed to have the best prices also.
Good luck.

If you have been exercising well for a long period of time with not much loss, you may have to look more closely at what you are eating ,make sure you get enough calories and increase your protein.

hbrittingham

I work out 1 -2 hours a day 7days a week with a variety of work outs. I eat average around 1400 calories a day and in 2 yrs have not reached my goal weight or are even close.

From looking at your diary, on the days you are logging your food, you aren't netting 1400 calories, you are netting anywhere from 1000 to 1200. That could be the problem. Also, I don't know if it's just recently that you haven't been logging regularly, but if that is the case, that could be part of the problem, too.

I have the Polar FT7 and love it. It was also an eye opener because I am actually burning more calories than I thought when I am hiking up at the lake with my dogs, but I am burning less than the machine was telling me at the gym when I used the orbital.

TEY9936

:drinker: I had a personal trainer last year and He explain to me is to find your HR at the rest mode... My was showing at rest mode (laid down before getting out of bed) was too high, I needed to work out and find my "smart HR" (personalize target heart rate-THR) to burn fat effectively - THR is 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. You will calculate your THR by adding your lower heart rate plus your higher heart rate then the result divide it by 2 e.g. LHR=120 HRT=160 THR = (120+160)/2= 140.... so to be able to burn fat effectively I need to work out at that level of my THR.... e.g. I start walking when I get to the level of 140 in HR monitor is when I start timing so if I can walk at that pace in the HR of 140 per 30 Minutes, is a lot more effective if I walk for 2 hrs with less effort.
The other way is the "predictable" High HR:

WOMEN: 226-your age = age-adjusted Max HR
MEN: 220-your age = age-adjusted Max HR

I am 44 yrs old so 226-44=182 is my High limit HR.

A target zone is a heart rate range that guides your workout by keeping your intensity level between an upper and lower heart rate limit. There are various target zones that are suggested for an individual to follow that correspond with a specific exercise goal. IE: Improved Fitness Zone 70-80% of Max Heart Rate.

Ideal For Benefit Desired Intensity Level (% Maximum heart rate)
Light Exercise Maintain Healthy Heart/Get Fit 50% - 60%
Weight Management Lose Weight/ Burn Fat 60% - 70%
Aerobic Base Building Increase Stamina Aerobic Endurance 70% - 80%
Optimal Conditioning Maintain Excellent Fitness Condition 80% - 90%
Elite Athlete Maintain Superb Athletic Condition 90% - 100%

:flowerforyou: Select which level of condition represents your current physical condition and locate the Lower and Upper Heart Rate Zones for your age from the Target Heart Rate Chart.

stephanie8625

I got the Polar FT4 for xmas and I love it -- comparing it to the machines at the gym, more accurate reading, I highly suggest to get one. The machines at the gym are about 45 calories more then the FT4 -- so I feel more comfortable that I am getting a more accurate reading !! :flowerforyou: Good luck on your journey !!

jdjefferson

Any reason why you need a HRM?
Unless you need to restrict your max HR for medical reasons, I don't know why people spend their money on them. People don't know what to do with the data. If you're running and your HRM reads 175, what do you do with that info? They often limit your performance by keeping you from straying outside of your comfort level.
Just my $.02

jillcwhite

I have been told before I dont eat enough calories but when I would add an extra snack a day around 200 calories I gained weight. I am short around 5'2" and when I gain 5 pounds it's noticable & clothes are tight. I also am allergic to dairy so I try to eat protien from other sources but agree I need protien.

I havent logged in lately for the pure fact that I have been logging in over 650 days. The last couple of weeks I have let the food diary go blank because for almost 650 days I eat around the same amount of calories a day. Also a thought is to more vary my amount of calories so my body cant predict how many calories I will eat???

Asking about heart monitor because I saw a show on TV that said many women work out 6 days a week and lose nothing because they are working out too high or too low in the fat burning zone. They called this a "Fit Fat" person which I thought was me for sure!!

My work outs are close to this and my vary to not get in a rut:
Jazzercise is 40 mins cardio & 20 mins strength training

Mon - Jazzercise & Weight Lifting
Tues - Jazzercise & yoga
Wed - Jazzercise & weight lifting
Thurs - Jazzecise & Aqua Aerobics
Fri - Jazzercise
Saturday - Jazzercise & yoga or weight lifting
Sunday - Yoga
I have put in spin class, kick boxing , strength training classes when needing a change.

dad106

It also takes four weeks of eating a higher calorie amount to figure out if it works or not.. You can't just do it for a day, go oh I gained weight so it must not work. When you eat a low amount of calories for a while and suddenly start fueling your body properly, it's going to hang on to everything it's got until it stabilizes and realizes that the food isn't going anywhere. Once that happens, the weight that you gain will go away as fast as it came on.

I also again recommend taking a rest day.. If you are not giving you're body a chance to recover, then the muscles will always be holding on to water, which will make the scale higher when it's really not.

jillcwhite

Thanks for all the advice!!

bearroller

bump

mary_kate23

polar ft4!!!

kiesh82

I keep hearing great brands about he Polar. I suggest getting on Amazon and doing a search so you can see product reviews for many different brands. I'm shopping for one as well...Polar is consistently the highest rated.

CandiceS86

I have a pink Polar FT4 and I love it! I got for christmas so it's very new to me but I can already tell that it's really good! It's very easy to use and it tells you everything you need to know!

Minnie_Moo

Don't know if this will help you any but...........Here is a link that was posted in another thread with a lot of information on HRM's. Also, I would suggest getting one with a chest strap as they are better to calculate an accurate HR.


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

I purchased a Polar FT40 last year from heartratemonitorsusa dot com to replace my old Polar (which didn't calculate calories burned) and I the FT40.

You can search the internet for specials and lowest prices if you are shopping for any HRM on sites like heart rate monitors usa, Amazon, sporting stores, ebay, etc.

Also, search for online codes so that you can take advantage of any additional savings

megz85g

i'm on my third Polar, a FT60 and i love it.
so motivating to watch the calories burnt add up and over the week.

Troll

I got a Polar FT7 for xmas and am madly in love with it! The absolute ONLY con i have is that i have a small ribcage and now that the strap is worn in, it's slipping down on me. I'm hoping they make smaller ones

paulwgun

polar ft4!!!

What the two pugs said :bigsmile:

Awesome HRM and not in the expensive category