HRM

wellbur
wellbur Posts: 240 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Wonder if anyone could give me some advise re HRM's, i have been reading forums where people have been using them and found them useful to calculate calories burnt. Do you where them all day, do you have to wear a band around your chest or are there other types available?

How much do they cost? UK prices if possible.

Sound a bit ignorant but interested to help me on my journey. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    HRMs are very useful for calculating calories burned. They should only be used during aerobic exercise like walking/running, elliptical, etc. They are not accurate for anaerobic exercise like weight lifting, etc. There are watch only types and those with a chest strap. ONLY get the one with a chest strap! The watch only ones are NOT accurate.

    In US dollars, a Polar FT4 is around $65 and is a great buy. I have a Polar FT7. Polar is a very good, very popular brand.

    Looks like Amazon has them for £53.28: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Polar-FT4M-Heart-Rate-Monitor/dp/B001U0OFCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333632291&sr=8-1
  • I'll go with the above person.

    I have a Polar FT4 and love it..... it encourages you to do that little bit more. If you have walked and burnt 253 calories, you seem to want to go that little bit further to get to 300 and the roller coaster goes on an on and on.

    Again like the above person, you don't wear it all day and yes get one with the chest strap. The others are just not accurate enough, although saying that, I have just treated myself to a FitBit (advertised on this site) and you wear that 24 hours a day and I love it more than my HRM. £79,99 it logs your sleep, your steps, your calories burnt and how far you have climbed. Had I bought this first, I might not have bought the HRM BUT the HRM would be better for gym classes and static machines I think... its a minefield but I would definitely go with one or the other.

    Polar FT4's when I was looking were cheaper on Amazon than anywhere else and when mine stopped logging they replaced it without a problem!
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,179 Member
    I have a Polar FT4, and it ran me $90 at Target (had to have it now, or I'd have saved money on Amazon), so... about 57 GBP? I only wear it when I work out or do something I consider a workout, i.e. going somewhere to walk around that I otherwise wouldn't have done that day, like a swap meet/flea market. I don't wear it all day at all.

    Do make sure that it has a chest strap, as mentioned above! The chest band is a soft and stretchy material that sits right below your bra line, and is pretty much undetectable under clothes unless they're skin tight.

    There's a version goes off the pulse from your wrist, but I've read that it's not as accurate.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member


    I have a Polar FT4 and love it..... it encourages you to do that little bit more. If you have walked and burnt 253 calories, you seem to want to go that little bit further to get to 300 and the roller coaster goes on an on and on.

    OMG, I know what you mean! When I work out I'll say 'oh, I'll go until I hit x calories'. Then I get there and say 'oh, after this song ends I'll stop'. Then the song ends and I say 'oh, I'm almost to 3 miles, I'll go until I hit that'....and then it starts all over LOL. Unless I'm running. Then when my time interval is up, I stop LOL.
  • wellbur
    wellbur Posts: 240 Member
    thanks for all your help, think i will look at the chest band HRM:laugh:
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