Is my HRM broken?

marekdds
marekdds Posts: 2,227 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just for the fun of it, I kept my Polar F4 on for 24 hrs.(It is new from Christmas). It says I burned over 3300 calories???? I move a little on my job, but not much and the only exercise I did was 40min on the elliptical. I am 5'6" 145lb. no huge muscles(LOL). What gives? Any ideas?

Replies

  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    It is counting the calories you burn just being alive. haha don't count those on MFP!
  • MissSpuggz
    MissSpuggz Posts: 155 Member
    I don't think it's broken. I'm pretty sure those HRMs aren't designed to be worn at rest. They assume you're active so calculate your calories based on that knowledge even though you're sat doing nothing. So if your heart rate increases during the day but you're still not moving, it'll count that as extra calories as if you're working out at that heart rate. I probably make no sense but HRM are not accurate on daily calorie count, the numbers are quite significantly inflated if you have a sedentary or similar job or lifestyle because they're not designed to calculate calories at rest. Not sure why this is but it's what I've read all over.
  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
    A HRM isn't made to be worn when you are not exercising. For that, you need a different device (like a bodybugg or something).
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,319 Member
    Yeah, not meant to be used for everyday activity.

    You need a BodyBugg or something similar to that for 24 hour use.

    Read this about HRMS

    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

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