Who should get a HRM?

forgetregret

Thanks everyone! Got a lot more responses than I thought I would. Just ordered an FT4 so we'll see how it goes you guys rock.

llangstraat

Everyone says HRMs are not good for weight training. WHY not? Does it say you've burned more or less? How do you know?

A HRM won't give you an accurate idea of how many calories you burn during strength training, because the relationship between heart rate and calorie expenditure is not the same during strength training as during cardio exercise, which is what the HRM's estimate is based on. Unless your weight training is very vigorous circuit training, the heart rate monitor will be overestimating your calorie burn by a fair amount.

The problem is a technical one. Calorie burning isn't determined by heart rate, it's determined by the number of muscle cells that are activated to perform a given activity. It's the working cells that actually use the energy (calories) and consume oxygen. When working muscle cells need more energy and oxygen, your heart rate goes up to deliver these things to the cells via the blood stream.

Any muscle that performs a high intensity or maximum effort (strength training) will trigger an increase in heart rate and blood flow. But if only a single muscle group is on the receiving end to utilize that extra oxygen (doing a strength exercise that isolates your biceps, for example), only a relatively small amount of oxygen (and calories) will actually be consumed.

So while a series of strength training exercises may elevate your heart rate like aerobic exercise does, you're not actually using as much oxygen and burning as many calories as you would be if you were steadily using several large muscles all at once, as when walking, running, swimming, or doing aerobics for example.

The heart rate monitor doesn’t know whether your increase in heart rate is due to several large muscle groups working (cardio), an isolated muscle group lifting a weight (strength training), or even if adrenaline or excitement is increasing your heart rate. It just knows your heart rate, and the formulas it uses to estimate calories are based on studies of aerobic exercise, not other activities. So, it's going to overestimate your calorie expenditure when the rise in heart rate is stimulated by using isolated muscles at maximum intensity, which is what occurs during strength training.

BTW... This article was written by Dean Anderson, Certified Personal Trainer

Thank you for this! Very helpful!

Heather_RT

I think a HRM is a very useful tool for beginners. I failed in progressing so many times in the past because I worked too hard too quickly and never was able to build the cardio base that is necessary to progress. It takes 12 to 14 weeks of moderate (65%-75% max heart rate) to build a decent cardio base for beginners. It takes 6 to 8 weeks for elite athletes to regain their conditioning after an off-season. The HRM allows you to keep within this targeted area. I have been at it since early July and I can attest to how fantastic it is to progress at a measured pace and how good it feels to increase my cardio base. I would never had been able to do this without the HRM. I use a Polar H7 which I pair with my iPhone 4S and Digifit app.

Thanks, Alienrite, for this post, and the info about your HRM. I am going to try the same thing! - Heather

sphyxy

I bought mine after I lost 25 pounds. It was my little gift to myself to keep going. I got a Polar one (after reading the boards) and was amazed at how off the numbers were. I realized how little I was burning when I wasn't putting my all into my workouts. I use it every time I go to the gym now. My HR transmits to my watch part as well as to the machines at the gym, which is great! I love seeing my HR pop up in front of me without touching the handles.

It is really worth it.

Duck_Puddle

My HRM was totally worth it. While I do look at the calories burned portion, that's not my primary use. I am a runner, and some days runs are just awesome, and some days they just suck. When I started out a year ago, more often than not, runs were of the suck variety. Wearing a HRM allowed me to track how hard I was working to accomplish roughly the same task from day to day, week to week, month to month. I was able to watch my HR go from the 170's, to 160's, to 150's and eventually down to the low 130's. So while my brain wasn't really able to distinguish runs as less sucky than a month ago, the HRM gave me the data to see measurable progress. Eventually, runs became awesome more often than sucky, and now I really enjoy it (even the sucky runs). I don't think I would have made it over that hump without something that definitively said "you ARE getting better-even if you still think it sucks".