Question about HRM and Calories Burned

echamin

How do you count the calories burned? After your workout is done or until your heart rate goes down to your resting heart rate?

SashThompson

I start my hrm when i start the first cardio machine i get on and i stop counting/stop my hrm when i get back to the changing rooms.

sunshine1992

I only use mine when I am actively exercising. If I am running outdoors from when I step out the door until I step back in.. At the gym when I walk in until I walk out. At the gym I count my stretch but running I don't.
Mainly because I don't want to drag down my av. HR and my stretch is a substantial drop in HR when I am doing cardio.. When I am doing weights my HR is already relatively low, and I am not really all the interested in HR then anyway, I only really wear it as a guide.

bsharrah

HRM's are not as accurate as people want to believe, so don't let yourself get too caught up with their readings.

That said, the relationship between your heart rate and calories burned has only been shown to be statistically significant when the increased heart rate is the result of active cardio exercise, and even then only during specific ranges. Your heart rate is still increased during your cool down but not due to active exercise because your workout is complete, so the accuracy of those readings are far less than during the workout itself. Is your body still burning calories, of course, it was burning calories before you started exercising, but outside of active cardio exercising, the heart rate has not been shown to be an accurate measure of how many calories your are burning.

To get the most out of the readings, which even then should be considered rough estimates, I would turn it off once the workout is complete. IMO, HRM's are best served as a guide and not as a tool to accurately measure calories burned (because they do not do that). When using as a guide, then I do not think it really matters when you take it off, so long as you do it consistently.