Is a HRM Really Worth it?

RAFValentina

I use my HRM watch/computer as my watch now and I always have my watch on even if I don't have my phone on me! Great investment, not exaclty loads of extra kit to lug around or use. Plus more and more are getting better and better for accuracy. Plus they cost the same for the setup of a bluetooth AMT one.

Littlered9

I got a Polar FT4 and love it. Very easy and only cost about $90.00.

LilysMom28

Just relying on RPE has worked fine for me so far.

this may be a stupid question but what is that and how do you figure it out?? thanks!

morgansmom02

I got a cheap one off Amazon. It is called a Pyle and it does track how many calories I burn! Not a bad deal!

pa_jorg

I have an HRM and love it! It really helps motivate me to workout longer & harder when possible.

dragonflybird

I think so, and I think a good one is important. I'm not going to back myself up though. lmao, I've done too much of that in university.

lesleyt1982

my boyfriend brought me a hrm from polar and it is amazing. couldn't be easier to use, i put strap on apex and press button on my watch to start counting. u can start it at the beginning of ur work out and stop it at end ur count for each machine. get a good watch and it will store it so u just open file and type in min and cal like normal on cardio section.
i would say tho get a good dearer one rather than too cheap. mine about £60 and is fantastic. had tesco one for a bout £20 previously and as good as it was it was too generous with the cals.

Hellbent_Heidi

I wonder this myself. I have the MIO watch one (no chest strap) and I use it for outdoor exercise or spinning sometimes, because those bikes don't give me a calories burned number, but honestly, I don't use it that much, so the idea of investing money in a 'better' one is probably not that smart in my case.

Being close to my goal weight, I think I can ballpark my calories burned close enough at this point (not like I'm going to gain 5 lbs or slip into "starvation mode" if I miscalculate a little here and there).

jtp5184

I have a Polar FT4 and I couldn't even think of doing cardio without it! Also, seeing my heart rate come down as I continue working out shows me that I am becoming more in shape.

JoniBologna

I have never bought one, and I've been pretty successful! Too many people are dependent on them and expect them to be accurate. They still just give estimates of calories burned, and there are many factors that can cause inaccuracies.

stayxtrue

Definitely worth it if you want to get a much more accurate reading. I bought goes on your body fat%, age, weight and height, it gives me a completely different calorie burn to what MFP does and I find that this is much more accurate

ashleynicoleh04

totally worth it! I bought mine over a year ago and wear it during every workout! I love that I am able to accurately track my calories burned and check on my heart rate during an exercise. Seriously. Get one! I have a polar FT7 heart rate monitor with a chest strap...don't know what I would do without it!

Bsnell10

it is so worth it!! I bought my Timex zone trainer about a month ago on amazon for about $60..I could not believe my calorie burn!! I was going by what MFP said for certain exercises i did. MFP was actually 500-600 calories lower, now this is for me i am 28 5' 6" and now 145 pounds. it has been soo helpful. I take a spinning fusion class and during the 100 mins of class i burn anywhere from 1200-1500 calories in that one class i would have never guessed i burn that many calories because there is no way to record everything we do beside 45- 50 mins of spinning. hope this helps good luck!!

Butterfly3730

I have tried a few and always ended up taking them back because they were just way to complicated and only did the calorie burn while running or walking. I finally got a Polar FT4 and love it. It does have a chest strap, but it is so easy to use and it does one thing. It measures your heart rate and tells your calorie burn. It will calculate your target rates and such, but it takes minuted for initial set up and a push of a button and your ready. I like this one because I can use it for weights, running or anything. Don't have to be moving, just need a heartbeat.

^^^This! I love my Polar FT4. Keeps me honest with my calorie burn.

^^This

starrstarr007

I second all those people who say the chest strap is important and those who love their Polars - I am in the same boat.

MFP was WAY overestimating my calorie burn most of the time so it was giving me a very false calorie goal every day. I use mine every day now for all kinds of activities - I know mine you can even wear swimming (Haven't tried that yet though).

It also gives me a tool to push myself - for example I can set a calorie burn goal and work until I achieve it. I wouldn't go without mine!

jlguenther

I am a #'s person, and get very obsessed with numbers and wanting to calculate things- like calories burned, etc. While a HRM is great to know if you are in your target zone or not, it is really only an estimate on calories burned. Heartrate is not necessarily related to calories burned.. I read an interesting article on it, what I wish I could find again and post here. I found that I was actually disappointed in the results I would get from my HRM. So, i wouldn't spend a ton of money on one... but sounds like there are some good reasonable options out there....

hdtoolgirl

I love mine!! I I get a better, more accurate account of my calorie burn. I take whatever the total was and subtract my hourly BMR number and add to my log. Pushes me to reach my burn goals..

EPICUREASIAN

I love my Polar FT40. It took me some time to realize that I wasn't making any progress with my workout due to the high MFP estimations. Being a app/gadget geek, I did try look for apps that worked with my smartphone to help calculate HR and calories...but they still gave what I considered ballpark calculations. And RPE was too subjective a measurement to rely on. I figured it was a worthwhile investment to invest in a chest strap to get the most accurate readings possible.

As for ease of use, if you have trouble programming your DVR, then an HRM may be too complex. I may be overstating this but I feel that most folks who use/navigate their smartphones daily won't have any issues using an HRM.

I found this entry from an MFP blogger that may be helpful in your HRM search:
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

almc170

Just relying on RPE has worked fine for me so far.

this may be a stupid question but what is that and how do you figure it out?? thanks!

It refers to "Rate of Perceived Exertion." Basically, you estimate a workout's intensity based on corresponding physical reactions. When figuring calories, I will use RPE to select the activity from the MFP database (i.e., Walking--brisk pace). Hope this makes sense!

You can find more info here: http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/measuring/exertion.html.

Kimsied

If you want accuracy go for Garmin or Wahoo or even Timex make a few that are pretty good
Most HRM's like Polar only guess based on a few inputs and the rest is using generic calculations.
Look for ones that allow you to not only enter your Age, Sex, etc. but resting heart rate and heart rate zones.

I think Polar's vary by the model. Mine does have me input quite a lot (or gives me the option to). I need to input birth date (with year), gender, height and weight. It has a test that estimates resting heart rate and vo2max, but I can enter resting heart rate, vo2max and maximum heart rate if I want those to be something other than the formula/test estimates. And those do influence whatever calorie burn formula it has. My Polar is the F11 (which has been discontinued and replaced with one of their newer models, I forget the number). But they have a lot of different monitors at different price points and levels of sophistication.

minnow54151

100% recommend getting a body bugg! So worth it!

4caramel

i love my hrm , helps alot if ur doing any HIIT, it encourages to push whn i want to quit but i know i can burn another 100 cals

nikki8783

I brought 2 and returned them both lol couldn't figure them out.

dad106

A HRM is worth the investment.
If you want accuracy go for Garmin or Wahoo or even Timex make a few that are pretty good
Most HRM's like Polar only guess based on a few inputs and the rest is using generic calculations.
Look for ones that allow you to not only enter your Age, Sex, etc. but resting heart rate and heart rate zones.
But if you really don't care about accuracy just get something cheap and cheerful from a store that'll take it back after a few days if you're not happy.

I'm sorry but you are very misinformed.

Timex is one of the worst brands for estimating calories burned.. Why? Because most of them only take weight, and max heart rate into consideration. While Polar, takes age, weight, height, gender and Vo2max(FT40 and up).

Polar is one of the best HRM brands out there for a reason.. and it's because their products can be pretty spot on if set up correctly.

Ianultrarunner

Actually this has been my experience, misinformed has nothing to do with it.
I know three people who have Timex HRM at our gym and love them.
I've been through four Polars and they all failed within three months.
I now own a Garmin Forerunner (for over six months) and love it.
If you like Polar then great, but please don't assume how one comes about information.
Oh, I didn't say all Timex were good either, just the ones my gym buddies showed me.

Caitlinhappymeal

Hi, I'm just buying my 3rd HRM in 10 years, I've just worn my last one to its death, they are great for cals burned and fitness progress, I've always had polar but this time I'm going for suunto as suunto and scientific Oregon are the only 2 brands that give a true calorie end reading with no manual deducting of BMR from the final figure needed, go for it xx

leadoff

Actually this has been my experience, misinformed has nothing to do with it.
I know three people who have Timex HRM at our gym and love them.
I've been through four Polars and they all failed within three months.
I now own a Garmin Forerunner (for over six months) and love it.
If you like Polar then great, but please don't assume how one comes about information.
Oh, I didn't say all Timex were good either, just the ones my gym buddies showed me.

Don't know about Timex (except that it supposedly will "take a lickin' and keep on tickin'), but I own two Garmin fitness products (405 and FR60) and am very pleased with both. I use the 405 for races and doing intervals and various other workouts that I can create or download. I use the FR60 with the footpod for track and indoor workouts. The FR60 bases calorie count on HR but the 405 does not. Also, the FR60 pairs with the Tanita Body Composition scale, which measures body fat along with 8 other body composition measurements. Very cool! Also, Garmin Connect is awesome if you are looking to track your progress, create courses, download workouts, etc!

gregavila

Absolutely worth it. I love my Polar FT60.

PeaceLoveVeggies

I have the Polar FT4 and I have had it for the past month - or maybe less than that. Anyway, I love it. It's great, accurate and it's very easy to use. Not complicated it at all.

Oh, and it was only $62.

sc1572

I got one for Christmas, a Polar FT7, and it was fabulous for a few weeks! Then, it started messing up, and I haven't been able to use it. I'm actually kind of glad it stopped because it takes less time to get ready for the gym since I don't have to wet the strap, set it up, etc. However, I do miss it for my outdoor runs, races, group classes, etc. It was much more accurate with my calories burned on the elliptical (turns out I was burning about 300/hr instead of 600), but all my other readings were generally the same as the machines.

When I get it fixed, I plan to only use it for non machine related activities, like kickboxing, Zumba, races, etc., and still use the machines for all other workouts. I found with my HRM I become WAY too obsessed about burning calories, and I hated it.