Heart rate monitor?

walkwithme1

What is the exact purpose? What information does it give you? What brand should I buy? How much do they cost? Is it really worth it? Is programming easy? Can more than one person use it?

jennalink807

http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Womens-Heart-Monitor-Bronze/dp/B001U0OFD2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327696820&sr=8-1

I just ordered this ^ one, it's a Polar FT4. I'd read a few posts on here about them, and this one got mentioned as being good alot. Check out the link- it gives you a list of everything the HRM does, and there are reviews of it at the bottom.

Basically, you wear the chest strap and it measures your heart rate. You program it to your age, weight, etc. and it uses your HR and this information to calculate calories burned. Much more accurate than MFP's calcs and the machine's guess at the gym. (or so i've been told, mine is still in the mail lol).

paladeac

I have a Garmin 210. I got it to track my runs (it has GPS). I can't run right now b/c of a knee injury, and I'm glad to have it to track my calories. It's very easy t set up - put in weight and age. While I'm doing my spin lass, I can make sureI'm in my target zone for woking out. then at the end I know how many calories I've burned.

Mine cost 250 and it's more than worth it . If you didn't need a GPS, you could get a cheaper version.

Misiaxcore

I have a Polar FT7. It tells me my heart rate and caloric burn when I do a cardio workout. More than one person can use it and it's super easy to use/program.

ETA: I spent about $100 bucks on it from ebay.ca

david081

The Polar range is one of the best. I have the FT4. It shows your heart rate, and I try not to exceed my maximum. It will show your optimum training heart rate range, record calories burned, duration of workout and time in the zone. The FT4 was £70, but they are cheaper in the USA. Basically it gives you accurate information as to how hard your heart is working and the actual calories consumed. They have to be set up for the individual, so I don't know if there are any that can be used by several people...

FitRodr

I have the Polar FT4 also. I wanted one for a long time... my SIL got a new one & gave her old one to me. I love it. I like that it shows me my optimum heart rate for the best burn. I like that it shows me how many calories I burn because sometimes I guestimated. Just cool to have. I don't know if more than one person can use it but I know it was easy to set up & is set to my weight & height. At the gym I saw them for $89.95. I don't know if you can get them more reasonable.

dmcg123

I use the Polar RS400. Love the ability to program exercises and track results, but the accuracy and quality are substandard. It will hang up at a certain heart rate for 15 seconds, then drop 10 beats per minute in a blink of an eye. That's very frustrating when some of your aerobic zones are 9 beats per minute apart. I always seem to be trying to force a response - lower or higher, and generally don't believe it reads accurately. Some of the buttons on the wrist monitor also work when they want. In general, I'd have to give this Polar device two thumbs down.

I can't say anything nice about Polar's Customer Support staff, either. When I reported the problems, they told me to ship it back to them and they'd either fix it or replace it. That's great, but it can take two to four weeks for me to receive it back. I use this thing everyday and have many tailored workouts programmed into it. I even offered to give them my credit card # and said they could invoice me if I didn't return my malfunctioning unit once the replacement arrived and they refused.

My trainer at LifeTime Fitness uses a Garmin. LifeTime sells Polar. Probably should have been my first clue...

trijoe

Lots of questions, let's see what types of answers we can conjure up.

Exact purpose: Simply put, a HRM monitors your heart rate. Makes sense, huh? The purpose is to let you know how hard your cardiovascular system is working. What you do with this new and exciting data, is the fun part.

What information? Well, basically every HRM tells you your HR in real time (or very close to it). This is displayed as BPM (Beats Per Minute). The more money you sink into a model, the more elaborate your choices. Most people I know like models that let them set their "HR zones", so they can do zone training - That's when you do something like running, and try to keep your HR at a certain BPM the entire workout. All sorts of other features, too many to list. It's all about the model, really.

How much: You can get low end models under $100. From there, the price can skyrocket, depending on what you're asking of your HRM.

Easy programming?: Yes, usually. They tend to be pretty user friendly. Especially the lower end models. I think, anyway. A quick google search for reviews of a model you're considering will let you know more about ease of use.

More than one person use it? I suppose so yes. However, if you personalize yours so it reflects your HR zones, then somebody else using it will get skewed zone results.

Let me add: If you're buying it to count calories, I personally believe the single worst use a HRM can be used for is to count calories. It's numbers are guaranteed to be as accurate as a drunk throwing darts. If that's your goal for your new and exciting HRM, save your money.

Lots of people buy Polars, and swear by them. I have 2 Garmins, and I swear by my Garmies. FR60 and Forerunner 305. Love love love them both. Each is best at different tasks, and between them, there's nothing I can't do.

highlightshadow

If you just want to measure you heart rate at a single moment there is a cool app for iphone/android (iphone app store linked) that does it by using the camera on your finger tip to observe colour change caused by blood flow .... really works which i was amazed at...

There is a free (with ads) or paid version...
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/instant-heart-rate-by-azumio/id395042892?mt=8

drczr

This is a nice article about heart rate monitors calculating the calories burned.
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5700177_heart-monitors-calculate-calories-burned.html

In the past, I've used heart rate monitors when running outside. The monitor helps me because it informs be if I'm over-exerting or under-exerting myself. I try to maintain a heart rate of 80% of my maximum heart rate (HRmax).

But my problem is that I find it hard to estimate the amount of calories bured for things like Body Pump or Zumba. I guess heart rate monitors will give you an estimate but it seems like they are not super accurate.

FrankEtier

Garmin FR60 for $150 is what i use. Easy to set up and you can add optional accessories for biking or running.

dad106

Let me add: If you're buying it to count calories, I personally believe the single worst use a HRM can be used for is to count calories. It's numbers are guaranteed to be as accurate as a drunk throwing darts. If that's your goal for your new and exciting HRM, save your money.

When an HRM is set up properly(Age weight height gender and Vo2max) it is 80% accurate at estimating calories burned. If you tweak it(Max heart rate or Vo2max) then the accuracy goes up even more(90%). To me, that sounds better then a drunk throwing darts, so I'd re-think your stance on that position.

To OP:
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

Read that link and it will answer all your questions.

I personally use a Polar FT60 which I love and I feel is pretty accurate... It allows me to enter all that I mentioned above, and is user friendly. I suppose that you could use two people with it, but I wouldn't recommended it because then you have to keep changing the settings on it.