Polar Fit F4T... Calories are WAY lower than I thought!!

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BluthLover
BluthLover Posts: 301 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just tried out my new HRM today. It said during 50 min of running I burned 256 calories. My average HR was 131. Highest HR was 163. I went a little over four miles. Just seems like I should have burned more! Maybe not though. My resting heart rate is 60 bpm. I'm 135lbs and 32 years old. Does anyone have any input? Thanks!

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  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    That's a pretty low average HR. You must be quite fit. When I run, my average HR is in the 170s. For your stats, that burn sounds about right. You're resting HR doesn't seem abnormally low either - mine is around 62 (I'm 37)
  • BluthLover
    BluthLover Posts: 301 Member
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    Thanks :)
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    You know, rethinking this, it does seem low. I checked a couple estimators and it doesn't seem right. Are you sure you have it set up correctly?

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm

    http://www.calories-calculator.net/Calories_Burned_By_Heart_Rate.html
  • vienna26
    vienna26 Posts: 115 Member
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    I bought a hrm the other week is the polar ft4 and for 50 mins running i burnt 486 cals my resting heart rate is 72 and my average was 152 and max was 169 im 27 and 139lbs, depending on the pace you ran i think that sounds around right what your hrm said, i dont run at one pace i do interval training throughout the whole 50mins i workout. :-))
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    That seems low to me too. Could be that you're super fit or it could be that you need to make some adjustments.

    Not knowing how you're using it, here are some suggestions:

    1) make sure your personal info is current and correct (gender, height, weight, DOB)
    2) make sure you wet the strap every time you use it so the sensors work correctly. there is no need to use gel but some folks do
    3) make sure you clean it as directed. If you no longer have your user guide, you can view/download one from the Polar website
    4) make sure the strap is snug and placed correctly - it should be just below your pecs/breasts and against your skin (not over clothing)
  • jenhelle
    jenhelle Posts: 14 Member
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    Is running easy, or hard for you. My HR gets up to 190 when I run. The 133 # sounds low. It may be what another poster said, that you are really fit, so it is harder for you to burn. You may try some intervals to get your HR up more.
    The weightlifting should have been less though, so there may be something not right.
  • BluthLover
    BluthLover Posts: 301 Member
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    Thank you everyone !! All the info is correct. I was doing some intervals, I cycle my running. A minute at 5 then 6 then 7. Then steady at 6. The online calculators seem to disagree. When I enter in the info the HRM gave me the calorie burn is higher than the HRM said it was. I'll try again tomorrow and see if it seems the same.
  • BluthLover
    BluthLover Posts: 301 Member
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    Is running easy, or hard for you. My HR gets up to 190 when I run. The 133 # sounds low. It may be what another poster said, that you are really fit, so it is harder for you to burn. You may try some intervals to get your HR up more.
    The weightlifting should have been less though, so there may be something not right.

    I guess running is easy? I've been doing it for so long. I could probably talk if I had to while I run.
  • Colbyandsage
    Colbyandsage Posts: 751 Member
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    That sounds very similar to my burns. I burn between 70-10 calories per mile. I am 5'3 and 131.

    When I am full out running for training my HR is 160 but most of the time it is high 130's.
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
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    sounds about right actually for that HR and your size. It's possible your HRM was only displaying exercise calories burned and not total calories like most do. Pretty much any HRM display will be 100-150 cal/hour too high because it includes BMR.
  • maloryv
    maloryv Posts: 1
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    How do you see the recap on your Polar after your workout? I just exercised for the first time with mine but I don't know the buttons yet :(
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    When you stop your session, the watch will display the summary, you can scroll through by pressing the upper and lower buttons on the right side of the watch.

    If you've already backed out of that, you can hit the upper button the right to get to the menu. Hit the middle button to select "Data" then hit it again to select "Training Files". This will display a bar graph which represesnts your recent workout history, the date and time of your workout is displayed as well. Hit the middle button again to select the correct date and it will display the duration and total calories. Use the upper and lower buttons on the right to scroll through to see your average and max HR and zone times.

    All this info is in your user's manual as well. Here's a link in case you don't have it

    http://www.polar.com/e_manuals/FT4/Polar_FT4_user_manual_English/Polar_FT4_user_manual_EN.pdf

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