Best Heart Rate Monitor

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cwhiteley
cwhiteley Posts: 9
in Fitness and Exercise
I have already lost 10 pounds using MFP to keep track of my calories and exercise. But I am ready to take it to the next level. I would like to purchase a heart rate monitor. Can anyone tell me which one is the best?I was looking at the Polar brand but there are so many options. I don't need the top of the line, but I want one that will help me reach my fitness goals and continue to lose weight! Thank in advance.

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  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
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    I use two. I use a garmin forerunner 405 for my running, and a polar f55 for my gym and wii work.

    If you run or bike, or think you might in the future, it would be worth it to invest in one of the polar watches that you can add a foot pod or gps unit to later. Believe me on this.
  • afyfe
    afyfe Posts: 93
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    I have the Polar F6 and love it.
  • AmberMcDowell
    AmberMcDowell Posts: 47
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    I just bought the Reebok Precision XT off of Ebay and I love it. I bought it because it also counts calories burned.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I don't know about every HRM, but I do know about Polar and Suunto. You need to decide which features are most important to you. Polar and Suunto are the best at estimating calories (even they are at best only about 80% accurate, but the others are much worse) and you need more than the basic models to get that feature. If you want accurate (as possible) calories, you need a HRM that will allow you to manually enter V02max.

    Just because an HRM has a calorie-counting feature doesn't mean it actually estimates calories with any degree of accuracy. Some one recently posted comments about a Timex watch that cost $60, but the calorie count feature was no more accurate than the MFP tables--actually not as accurate for some activities. Polar and Suunto use the most sophisticated technology and software for estimating calories. Maybe there are other brands that do as well, but those two companies are the only ones I am sure of.

    They are not cheap, however. Before you spend the extra $$ on a Polar, keep in mind that these are not precise instruments. Given all the variables involved, as I said, they are only 80% accurate, maybe 85% if you can do a good job of getting accurate setup information. And that's for cardio exercise and some types of circuit training. They cannot accurate estimate calories expended during strength training or at rest. For most people that is good enough, but make sure you are comfortable with that reality.

    I have used HRMs since they first became available, and I think they are great workout tools, but I also have a lot better understanding of their strengths and limitations than most people so I don't have to worry about buyers remorse.

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