Fitbit? HRM? What to get?

daniellexcara
daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Im looking for something that will tell me how many calories i burn doing certain exercises like while i'm at the gym, so my logging is more accurate. Im a poor college girl so something semi inexpensive would be nice. I thought about the fitbit because I found one on ebay for like 40 which seems like a good deal. Anyone have any suggestions about what to get?

Replies

  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    A HRM would be the best bet for tracking exercise. It's vastly superior to the FitBit for tracking calories burned. Spend an extra $20 and get the Polar FT4. (Around $60 on Amazon or try http://www.pedometersusa.com/polar-ft4.html)

    You didn't say which exercise but I'm assuming some type of cardio like the elliptical or treadmill. Most of those devices can read the signal from the Polar transmitter and you'll see your heart rate right there on the machine in front of you.
  • argenterie
    argenterie Posts: 93 Member
    A fitbit (which I have) is more for your "daily energy expenditure", as in, what you burn walking around your workplace, chasing the kids, shopping, walking from your parking garage to the building, all that stuff.

    A HRM would be best for sustained, high-effort, short-term cardio exercise like running, treadmills, doing weights, etc. It is super accurate. I am going to get one myself one of these days!

    The Fitbit is really nice too, but not as accurate for exercises (especially things like biking where you're not taking "steps".)
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    I'd go with a HRM. Polar makes excellent ones. I've had mine for 6 years and it still works like the day I bought it. Only had to replace the battery which was really easy to do. Check out Performance Bicycle - http://www.performancebike.com - they usually have some sweet online deals, especially this time of year as summer is winding down.

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