BMF vs HRM for Bootcamp

tameejean

I am sure this has been asked, but I do a bootcamp class 5 days a week. We do every other class as metabolic (cardio) focused training (with weights, body weight, trx, etc with a brief rest in between rounds) and every other class as strength based (same equipment, but slightly less cardio and no real rest between rounds). Anyway, I usually wear my HRM, but today I wore both my Bodymedia Fit and my Garmin HRM. Today was a strength day, but I was sweating like a pig and heart rate was still up quite a bit. The calorie burn between the two was a big difference! My HRM said 385 and for the one hour time frame, BMF said I burned 220. I know in the long run it's not a big deal, but which would you go by?

gjriddle

I'm definitely no expert, but I have encountered the same thing! I have a Fitbit and a Polar FT4 HRM. I wear both when I work out, and it really depends on what activity I'm doing as to the results.

For cardio, I almost always stick to treadmill.. I like the variety it offers for HIIT. Typically my HRM and Fitbit are in fairly close agreement, +/- 20 cals or so. But when I do strength, my HRM is always much higher. I don't know as much about a BMF, but I know that my Fitbit only calculates burn based on my stats, plus steps taken & stairs climbed. So, when I do my strength training the Fitbit is pretty much reporting a resting burn, since I'm not moving around very much, but my HRM definitely reports a high burn since my heart is pumping!!

I'm sure someone who understands BMF can give you some more insight into that particular device, but personally I rely primarily on my HRM for strength training burns, and I use an average of the two for cardio.

tameejean

Thanks for the input Yeah, for cardio I definitely trust my HRM more! I run outdoors and the numbers it gives me seem fairly accurate (roughly 100 cal/mile depending on how fast I run). Strength day at Bootcamp does involve a level of cardio because we just go from one exercise to the next in a circuit with little to no rest and my heart rate stays reasonably high. I've given myself a little bit of wiggle room in my base calorie (before exercise) allotment, so I think I will just go with my HRM going forward unless the format of the workout changes to too much rest between sets.

For what it's worth, I have a Fitbit too and when I run the numbers are *very close to my HRM/GPS

juliebeannn

i have a fitbit but i track my boot camp calories with my heart rate monitor. like you said, there's a good amount of cardio built into the programming since you're hardly ever resting between each exercise.

in general, i use my HRM #s to override the #s tracked by my fitbit for any exercise i do.