HRMs with Pulse Sensor - Your experiences/help needed

MinkyMoo13

I'm currently not able to buy the Polar HRM i wanted to in the interim i have got a cheapy £5 one off ebay which another MFP pal has brought and swears by but it gives me crazy readings.. Yesterday for example i decided to do a 2 min run in between each set of weights so i took my heart rate after each set. After one 2 min run it said i had burned 200 odd calories from my heart rate! It was really high giving my whole 30 min work out a total of 1135 cals burned.. So today i decided to wear it while doing 2 hours of house work again it over estimated saying i had burned nearly 700 when usually it's more like 200-300..

Has anyone else had good or bad experiences with these? I'm not having much luck. I got a fit bit but that just stopped working on me. I then got a Polar fitness monitor but that didn't register my movement as it should.. I'm after a Polar FT4 but they aren't cheap and i'm currently saving..

Could my heart beat be off which is why it's giving a weird result??

determinedbutlazy

I couldn't afford the POLAR models either, but I got an own brand model with a chest strap from Lloyd's pharmacy and it has been working great for me.. I think the battery is dying as it sometimes "forgets" its settings and I need to re-enter all my data, but that's ok... It was only £12!

http://www.lloydspharmacy.com/en/lloydspharmacy-watch-and-heart-rate-monitor-35281

Dauntlessness

Unfortunately you get what you pay for. Those numbers are so high, its almost unbelievable. When I talked to my doctor about what HR I should have and how many calories I can burn an hour. He told me that someone really exerting themselves usually burn around 600 cals an hour. That's sweating and burning. During cardio, I burn around 600-700 an hour, during strength training, around 400 and I am moving my butt off.

I have a polar ft4 for about a year now and it is am-az-ing. I never had any issues with it and for what I can tell, its very accurate. That is def the best pick.

I'm sorry you had bad experiences. Is your fit bit under warranty? You can prob call the manufacturer and see if you can send it back and get a referb for cheaper then buying a whole new HRM.

HeidiMightyRawr

I had that before, I bought a cheap one from Argos, for around £20-30 and it just gave me readings off like 200 for my HR when I was sitting down!! I took it back, got a refund and bought a Polar FT4 instead for £70. I know it was more expensive, but it's so much more worth it. IMO I'd save for that, rather than wasting money on cheap ones that are no good.

MinkyMoo13

Thanks guys yea I am currently saving for the FT4 but using this £5 one in the mean time. I did get a full refund for the fitbit but have since spent the money from the refund on something else lol!!

smithy85

I've got a lloyds one but don't understand the calories burnt number?

Anyone tell me?