Ohmygosh HRM results vs. What I thought I was Burning

tracyhall63

so I recently bought a HRM, Polar FT7 with a chest strap, and have used it twice. I have used it in two step classes where the standard burn for using a 6 to 8 inch step would be like 700ish. Yesterday I my new friend told me I burned 328 calories and today 358.

Can you say wake up call? Needless to say I am now eating less . . .

Has this happened to anyone else?

DianeG213

Yes - I also was shocked at the differance - but I would rather have the accurate info from the HRM.

StrawberrySt

I did not see too much of a difference between the suggested calorie burn though MFP and what my HRM tells me I burn but I do love the accuracy of it and find it pushes me to burn more and keep going.

graelwyn

I found out I was actually burning more than mfp said, doing my cycling, if my polar ft4 is to be believed. Not by a huge amount, but by enough to make some difference. I have not yet checked out walking to see how that compares but my cycling involves some nasty hills and constant effort due to inclines and my quite heavy bike, so I suppose I was not that surprised.

AmyRhubarb

Yep - happened to me when I got my HRM too. Even now I notice that calorie burns vary quite a bit - my Runkeeper app, MFP and my HRM all tell me different things (I always go with the HRM of course), and sometimes the difference isway over, way under or pretty close! But since the HRM is the only thing that is actually monitoring my heart, I go with that.

At least you've got a better guideline now!

tracyhall63

Diane I quite agree! results are the goal and accuracy is the only way to get there.

ChrisGoldn

Have to be careful with this... If you set your heartrate too high or too low the amount it gives you will vary ALOT. there is a guide in a thread somewhere on here that helps you set it up right.
If your HR is set "too low" you will burn alot more calories then you really are because your HR will be considered to be elevated way to high for a extended period of time during your workout.
And if its set "too high" then the reverse, you will not burn close to what you nearly are burning because your HR will never reach the correct Activity Zone.

Larisonlj

yes, it did. That's exactly why I wanted a HRM so badly. I knew the estimates weren't what I was truly burning, so if I was tracking my food down to the calorie I wanted a true calories burned as well. I love it!

meshashesha2012

Have to be careful with this... If you set your heartrate too high or too low the amount it gives you will vary ALOT. there is a guide in a thread somewhere on here that helps you set it up right.
If your HR is set "too low" you will burn alot more calories then you really are because your HR will be considered to be elevated way to high for a extended period of time during your workout.
And if its set "too high" then the reverse, you will not burn close to what you nearly are burning because your HR will never reach the correct Activity Zone.

this ..

make sure to take your fitness test thingy every now and then so your HRM will have a better idea of what your V02 max might be

tracyhall63

Goldn that is an impressive loss!

I was afraid that the max was set too high on my HRM and have been looking for info regarding how to figure it for two days. My resting heart rate is very low, like 49-55 range. I am also pretty conditioned aerobically since I do about 6-7 cardio intensive classes a week. I will have to look for that thread. I don't want to overestimate what I am burning, but I don't want to underestimate it either. i need to eat enough to fuel the workouts.

ChrisGoldn

Here i found the link:


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/298844-if-you-are-going-to-buy-a-hrm-then-read-this-please?hl=before+buying+a+HRM