Heart Rate Monitor or Smart Phone? Which helps more?

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  • KansasGal
    KansasGal Posts: 268 Member
    Smartphone. I today, just downloaded an app that does what a HRM does. There are free apps on there that you can buy a certain chest strap and it will work off of that. There are tons of other things you can do with it as well!

    I have the LG Ignite... don't recommend it! My hubby has the Motorola Milestone X 2 and I love it a lot more! Good luck and congrats on winning the contest!
  • suerun11
    suerun11 Posts: 136 Member
    You guys are making me want both!
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    Congrats on winning! I won The Biggest Loser competition that my job held and got a $100 visa gift card :D
    That is a tough choice! Personally I'd go with the HRM so you can more accurately calculate the calories that you burn during a work out.
    Just make healthy eating choices and log them on MFP when you get home and can get on your computer.
  • Absidey
    Absidey Posts: 116 Member
    With a smart phone, you can get a blue tooth chest strap to track your heart rate on the phone. Then you get a HRM plus all the stuff a smart phone is capable of.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Get the right smartphone and app and you can get a HRM strap that will BlueTooth to it - best of both worlds in that case.

    Minor annoyance of carrying the smartphone perhaps, but cases for that.

    Other great thing there is - you can do GPS logging on the smartphone app too.

    Just search for bluetooth HRM and see what your options are.
  • Josie_lifting_cats
    Josie_lifting_cats Posts: 949 Member
    Smart phone. You can get all kinds of fitness apps, too. I have an HTC Android, but I'm seriously drooling over the biking apps on iPhone. Cadence and speed sensor kits! Crazy!

    I use the app on my iPad, my android, and the computer. I think I love the iPad version the best, and I would assume that the iPhone is pretty much the same. A little more capability than android, although android was just improved.

    I also use mapmyride for my bike rides on my phone - available on iphone or android as well.

    Honestly, mapmyride gives me similar calorie counts to what my HRM does, unless it's super windy or I'm fighting extra hard for some reason (lack of energy, sick, etc.) Maybe invest in an FT4 and a $100 iphone? If you shop online I think I saw the FT4 for like $50.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    With a smart phone, you can get a blue tooth chest strap to track your heart rate on the phone. Then you get a HRM plus all the stuff a smart phone is capable of.

    Funny, writing the same answer at the same time - what are the odds!

    What do we win!
  • BrawlerBella
    BrawlerBella Posts: 400 Member
    I have an HTC EVO 4g and a Zephyr HxM HRM syncs via bluetooth to my Endomondo Pro app. Keeps all my workout data in one place. You can also store your music on your phone's micro sd card and have an all in one per say.
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
    Smartphone. I today, just downloaded an app that does what a HRM does. There are free apps on there that you can buy a certain chest strap and it will work off of that. There are tons of other things you can do with it as well!

    I have the LG Ignite... don't recommend it! My hubby has the Motorola Milestone X 2 and I love it a lot more! Good luck and congrats on winning the contest!

    I have an Android phone from HTC and the Polar bluetooth HRM. The phone is probably going to be your bigger investment, but it will obviously do a lot more. Be sure you research the phone itself and how much it's going to cost to get a data plan or unlimited data. That can be a big expense every month, and it you have a phone now that doesn't use data the additional cost might shock you. My cell phone bill went from $35 a month to over $100 with the unlimited data plan from Sprint.

    That being said, I would still invest in the phone and then maybe add a bluetooth HRM later on. I absolutely love mine. I use it with an app that logs my heart rate, page, mileage, speed, and gives me some nifty little maps and graphs for every workout. And you can use the app with non-moving workouts in the HR only mode. So I use that when I do yoga or my elliptical. It's great! :)
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    Congrats on winning the competition and on your weight loss! Awesome!

    Tough decision on the phone or HRM, I rely heavily on both!

    But after giving it some thought, I would say the HRM - you can use it for all your workouts, and while the ability to look up food choices on the go is very handy, it's something that you could eventually nail down as you discover what foods are better than others, best choices at restaurants, etc - whereas the HRM is a tool you'd keep using, as your calorie burns will change from workout to workout and as you continue to be more fit!

    So I'd go for the HRM!

    ^^^I agree completely with this! I use both religiously, but if I had to live without the app on my phone, I could do it. I'd be pretty sad without my HRM, though.
  • kmoore02
    kmoore02 Posts: 167 Member
    If you do basic exercises the smartphone would be most useful however choose a phone with a good battery life.
    I personally use a HRM and a smartphone. I like to do hill sprints, yard work, weightlifting etc. There are other calculators out there that can calculate calories burned for running/jogging.
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
    I will also add that a friend has a HRM strap that works with an app on her iPhone (though I'm sure there are apps for Androids and Blackberries, too). I kind of like not having my phone in the room with me when I'm Spinning (plus when I run, I don't like to hold anything, so I use my iPod Shuffle clipped onto me and with my wristwatch-style HRM, my hands are free), but that's just a personal preference.

    My HRM is a Polar FT4 and cost me about $65 on Amazon. My new phone (LG Spectrum), with discounts and rebates, cost me $50 last Saturday. So do your research, and perhaps you can swing both!
  • wood2415
    wood2415 Posts: 53 Member
    Congrats!

    I have a iPhone and love it! I only use my HRM three times a week when running but, I use iPhone fitness apps every single day. I would get an iPhone first and then get a Wahoo Bluetooth HRM. It will connect with your iPhone. Good luck!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    If you get a smart phone with WiFi, and autonomous GPS if that aspect is desired, you would not even strictly need cell service.

    Sync when you get back to WiFi. Preload maps before you go out. Ect.

    I don't think all those apps require absolutely cell service all the time.

    Just in case the thought of higher monthly charges for this is scaring you, or you already have cell service that does what you need.

    Kicker with this method, you'll have to find the phone somewhere cheap, because without a subsidized phone on a 2yr service contract - you get to pay full boat for it.

    That being said, plenty of folks looking to upgrade their iPhones to newer, and their older may be just fine.

    Not sure if the iPhones work without service though, or can be setup through WiFi totally.
  • suerun11
    suerun11 Posts: 136 Member
    This is why I love MFP, thank you all! It seems I can have the best of both from what most of you are saying....now to narrow down that best phone compatible with the HRM....What is the most affordable package...anyone know...good cheaper phone that would work with a HRM?

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