HRM says I burn HEAPS - is this bad?

AmandaCaswell1982

Suggestions w/o paying both my arms and my legs????

I have a Polar FT60 which on the current exchange rate for us was pretty cheap from Amazon.com.
However lots of people have the basic model the FT4 which is also meant to be pretty good. x

I just got the FT4 and I really like it! it was approx $93 at Target.

ChrisWag

I find that it varies, like on my elliptical the machine says I burn WAY more than the HRM says, and when I walk or run, the HRM says WAY more than MFP. I tend to believe the HRM if it is one that you tell age, height, weight etc too, it knows how hard your heart is working.

tlynnweb

Just make sure your monitor is set up for YOUR height, weight, age, etc. If you haven't set that up, it will not be accurate! Do not subtract anything if you are just wearing it when working out~

Bettsy_A

It depends on the TYPE of activity- from what I've read, if your activity is purely cardio (running, walking, etc) it's pretty accurate (well, depending on the type of HRM) But for strength training, it's not. For example, I have always logged the circuit training I do and burn usually 500 or so calories an hour. Walking/jogging 3 miles for an hour was about 200ish. With my new HRM it says the circuit training is 250ish and the walking/jogging is 470ish cals. It balances out mostly for me, and I am just logging my HRM readings (as another poster said, consistency!)

Ah, so as long as it isn't varying insanely doing the same activity, it should be pretty spot on? Cheers for the advice

Bettsy_A

Just make sure your monitor is set up for YOUR height, weight, age, etc. If you haven't set that up, it will not be accurate! Do not subtract anything if you are just wearing it when working out~

Okiedokie That was all set up! Like when I get a new phone, I have to personalise it as soon as it's out of the box haha

Cal28

I just got the FT4 and I really like it! it was approx $93 at Target.

(Sorry for this Amanda) For the lady who was looking for one - its $66 on Amazon.com x

Cal28

Okiedokie That was all set up! Like when I get a new phone, I have to personalise it as soon as it's out of the box haha

Lol new 'toys' are great

love22step

My HRM, a Timex, said I was burning lots of calories, too. I had the correct settings for my weight, etc. I decided to stop using it and just go by the database.

kunibob

Mine is usually under the MFP database, but sometimes it reads higher, too. I figure that so long as my weight is doing what I want and I'm not constantly feeling underfed, I'll trust my HRM.

CrystalFlury

Well, depending on the HRM this may or may not be true. Assuming you did your research and bought a reliable device there's a good chance it's correct. MFP doesn't account for what your heart rate was during certain intensities of your workout. If you're pushing yourself to hold a higher heart rate most of the time then chances are yeah, you're burning more calories. I wouldn't worry, keep a log of your Max HR and Average HR just so you know what your body tends to do during specific activities. Also, this will let you know if something crazy is going on with your monitor. I noticed when my battery was getting low on my monitor it would throw out numbers that were insanely high, example: Max HR 232!!

Bettsy_A

Okiedokie That was all set up! Like when I get a new phone, I have to personalise it as soon as it's out of the box haha

Lol new 'toys' are great

Heheh oh yes then if i cant figure them out, i'm all over google :P

Amy911Gray

Can I burn calories for sitting here and thinking about all of these calculations???

Bettsy_A

Well, depending on the HRM this may or may not be true. Assuming you did your research and bought a reliable device there's a good chance it's correct. MFP doesn't account for what your heart rate was during certain intensities of your workout. If you're pushing yourself to hold a higher heart rate most of the time then chances are yeah, you're burning more calories. I wouldn't worry, keep a log of your Max HR and Average HR just so you know what your body tends to do during specific activities. Also, this will let you know if something crazy is going on with your monitor. I noticed when my battery was getting low on my monitor it would throw out numbers that were insanely high, example: Max HR 232!!

HAHA OH WOW! That'd be funny if that happened! Yeah I did a bit of research and got the chest strap one. Lots of people said that was the most accurate. It even saves your peak heart rate and lowest heart rate! Pretty nifty! I'll trust it, but I guess I never thought I'd burn so much haha! Too used to being lazy :P

dad106

Depending on the HRM, it could be good or bad.. Polar is going to be more accurate then a TImex for example.

Also people telling you to lay down and wear the HRM to figure out what your resting rate is or to wear it all day long and see how much you burn are wrong.. HRM's are not meant for those types of activities. They are meant to be worn during exercise only.. since their equations are meant to use elevated heart rate for figuring out estimated calories burned.

If you want to figure out what you burn an hour/minute and subtract it, what you need to do is take your BMR divide by 24 to figure out how much you burn an hour and then take that number and divide by 60 to figure out what you burn a minute. From there you can multiply by how ever long you workout and subtract if you want... personally i never do with either of my HRM's and have lost weight just fine.

AmandaCaswell1982

I just got the FT4 and I really like it! it was approx $93 at Target.

(Sorry for this Amanda) For the lady who was looking for one - its $66 on Amazon.com x

haha I just saw this... it's all good. I'm impatient and wanted it NOW.