How do HRM's work?

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Oompa_Loompa
Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been thinking about getting a heart rate moniter just to keep track of how many calories i burn. Are they accurate? How do they work?

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  • T_R_A_V
    T_R_A_V Posts: 1,629 Member
    You input your specifics on your height/weight/age/ and it calculates your heart rate as you exercise to coorelate with your caloric burning

    Need to have a chest strap for the accurate measurements though
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
    You input your specifics on your height/weight/age/ and it calculates your heart rate as you exercise to coorelate with your caloric burning

    Need to have a chest strap for the accurate measurements though

    whats a chest strap? like do you wear it around your neck? lol I know there are prob done questions
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
    If you get an HRM, get one with a chest strap. It's more accurate. The strap goes under your breast and bounces a signal/energy off of your heart to pick up your heart rate. Using this information, it can also tell you how many calories you've burned and are currently burning.
  • lt_mrcook
    lt_mrcook Posts: 389 Member
    not a neck strap...CHEST strap...
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
    do you wear the strap under your clothes?
  • T_R_A_V
    T_R_A_V Posts: 1,629 Member
    You input your specifics on your height/weight/age/ and it calculates your heart rate as you exercise to coorelate with your caloric burning

    Need to have a chest strap for the accurate measurements though

    whats a chest strap? like do you wear it around your neck? lol I know there are prob done questions

    Under your chest/breast muscles
  • kingnatalie
    kingnatalie Posts: 163
    Good questions/comments. I have been curious about this as well.
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
    Agree w/DrBorkBork, and yes under your clothes, because it needs contact with your skin to get the best reading.

    My husband got me the Oregon Scientific SE300 for Valentine's Day. The chest strap is pretty comfy, not to mention I love the accuracy it gives me!
  • T_R_A_V
    T_R_A_V Posts: 1,629 Member
    Not sure how your gyms are but mine all have the polar inset to adjust to polar HRM's....its useful if you ever jump on the elliptical or the treadmill
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
    not a neck strap...CHEST strap...

    lol! I cannot stop laughing at this..
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
    do you wear the strap under your clothes?

    Hey girl - I just got an HRM about 2 weeks ago and mine came with a chest strap as well. The HRM does calculate calories burned and monitors your heart rate during exercise, even walking, even sitting.
    The chest strap is part elastic material part soft textile material that you strap on under your clothes right underneath your boobies. You can adjust the tightness of your strap so it can be comfortable for you.

    Mine has a diary of exercise time, calories burned, exercise count, weekly and daily diary, etc. It's pretty cool.
  • DG82
    DG82 Posts: 105
    Lol... this sounds like an interesting concept... but aren't the underwire bras already enough accessorizing under our clothes?! Hehehe... I think I would just be fidgeting away at it the whole day!! :-) This post made me laugh w/the boobie comments and all though, haha!
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
    Your heart rate is a product of moving oxygen to cells and waste (carbon dioxide) out of cells. This is why you breathe harder when you exercise. You need more oxygen for your cells and you need to get rid of more carbon dioxide.

    Example: Lance Armstrong's resting heart rate is probably in the high forties. Yours may be in the seventies or eighties as you start your fitness journey. Mine currently resides in the mid fifties when I'm well hydrated (better hydration means your body doesn't have to work as hard).

    One of the biggest reasons you should use a heart rate monitor is because you body works harder at first to do the same exercise. Your body gets more efficient, and you need to work harder to burn as many calories as before.

    This means that as you get better at exercising your caloric use will drop!!! When you start at MFP, you may use 150 calories to do one exercise that six months later you will use 100 calories to do. This decreases your deficit!

    A good heart rate monitor will use your heart rate, gender, weight and sometimes other factors to determine just how many calories it takes to run your body during increased oxygen demand.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
    .....Example: Lance Armstrong's resting heart rate is probably in the high forties. Yours may be in the seventies or eighties as you start your fitness journey. Mine currently resides in the mid fifties when I'm well hydrated (better hydration means your body doesn't have to work as hard).....
    Actually, Lance Armstrong's RHR is low 30s.
    Mine is currently low 40s...here's a slip from my BP test I did last week: http://www.fatguysredemption.com/2010/03/01/vitals/ :happy:
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
    .....Example: Lance Armstrong's resting heart rate is probably in the high forties. Yours may be in the seventies or eighties as you start your fitness journey. Mine currently resides in the mid fifties when I'm well hydrated (better hydration means your body doesn't have to work as hard).....
    Actually, Lance Armstrong's RHR is low 30s.
    Mine is currently low 40s...here's a slip from my BP test I did last week: http://www.fatguysredemption.com/2010/03/01/vitals/ :happy:

    Thanks! I was just guessing about LA.

    That's pretty cool about your heartrate! Definitely a sign of good health. Unless of course you need a pacemaker...

    Just kidding!
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