An HRM Primer

Azdak · March 2010

It seems like there has been a surge of questions about HRMs lately. I thought I would put together a more in-depth article for anyone who is interested.

In order to make it more visibly available, I wrote it on my blog page rather than as a forum post.
Feel free to come back here with additional comments or questions.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

There is also a companion article on my blog about HRMs and strength training.

mamtz26 · March 2010

Thank you!

nikhil_c8 · March 2010

Thank you.That was Enlighting

SHBoss1673 · March 2010

Read it, LOVED it. Read this Blog, he did some serious good work here.

immacookie · March 2010

tagging to read later!

Phillips28 · March 2010

Bumping to save to read again! Thanks!

jillybeanruns · March 2010

Thanks for the info! Wish you had written this 6 weeks ago before I bought mine

...but apparently the Polar FT60 is a good investment

kicklikeaGIRL · March 2010

Great post, and very thorough. Thank you for taking the time to explain it to us! This is definitely helpful. One question I've had is where can you get a VO2 max done? Is it something I would call a physician to get? I know they only do VO2 submax at the gym I belong to. Just wondering where you would find something like that, and approximately how much something like that would cost to have done? I'd love to have better accuracy with my calories burned and with my fitness goals overall.

Azdak · March 2010

Thanks for the info! Wish you had written this 6 weeks ago before I bought mine ...but apparently the Polar FT60 is a good investment

I think you did just fine w/the FT60.

Azdak · March 2010

Great post, and very thorough. Thank you for taking the time to explain it to us! This is definitely helpful. One question I've had is where can you get a VO2 max done? Is it something I would call a physician to get? I know they only do VO2 submax at the gym I belong to. Just wondering where you would find something like that, and approximately how much something like that would cost to have done? I'd love to have better accuracy with my calories burned and with my fitness goals overall.

The problem is not just finding a place that can do a VO2max test, but then actually DOING one and getting good results. It's not easy. Many people cannot push themselves hard enough to actually reach a true HR or VO2 max.

I have an advantage in that I have been tested --albeit 25 years ago-- and I know the subject and my body in great detail, so I can do a pretty good job of "guesstimating". One thing I think I have mentioned before--at the center where I am working now, we use a submax test program on a Life Fitness treadmill for the aerobic portion of our fitness assessment. It's a 5 min walking test--1 min flat and 4 min @ 5% grade (you select the speed between 2.0 and 4.5 mph). The more I use it, the more I am liking the results. I tested my coworker and he got the exact same score as he did doing a 1-mile run test earlier. I also did it on myself on Sunday and got a number that is within 5% of my max these days. So, if you have access to a newer Life Fitness 95T, 97T or Classic, I would recommend trying this on yourself.

There is another alternative. I can't believe I am saying this, but Lifetime Fitness is offering VO2 metabolic testing at many of their clubs. They don't do a max test, but they do take you beyond your anaerobic threshold, and you do get a reading of *actual* calories burned at different submax HRs and workloads. From this, you can do some extrapolating and that will most likely be sufficient. Just beware of the handout and "speech" that comes afterwards. Basically, the "report" contains the old "fat burning" logic, only in a more detailed form. Ignore the "fat burning" nonsense and you will still get a LOT of good information about YOUR response to exercise. It's about $250.

kicklikeaGIRL · March 2010

The more I use it, the more I am liking the results. I tested my coworker and he got the exact same score as he did doing a 1-mile run test earlier. I also did it on myself on Sunday and got a number that is within 5% of my max these days. So, if you have access to a newer Life Fitness 95T, 97T or Classic, I would recommend trying this on yourself.

Sorry if I'm bugging you... I do have access to those treadmills, or at least one of those versions. So, is it a program on the treadmill called "Fit Test" or something? Do I wear a HRM? And, what...in the end is this test going to tell me? And how will it apply to my VO2max? In simple terms...