Calories burned monitors

MichaelBrewer2634

How do they work, and are they worth it?

now_or_never13

I think they are worth it provided you get a good one. I have a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor. It is an amazing tool!

When looking always research what brand/models you are looking at. I would suggest making sure you get one that has a chest strap (if you go for a HRM). A chest strap takes a constant HR and can give you a more accurate burn reading than the watch only models. The watch only models only get your HR when you put your finger on the button on the watch. So, if you are working out hard and don't check your HR the burn reading will only be based on the most recent one which may be a much lower HR than you have during the more intense parts of your exercise.

Also, make sure you get one that at least allows you to enter your age, sex, height and weight. I had one model which only let me enter if i was male or female. The readings were incredibly different than the one I have now which allows me to enter everything. The more you can enter the more accurate the HRM will be.

I find i workout harder now that I have a HRM. I love seeing what my calories burned are when I am working out and where my HR is. I find I push myself more. Beofre getting the HRM I always thought I was working out at a great intensity however I wasn't.

WBB55

I myself have a FitBit, which is more of a glorified pedometer. It works really well for tracking estimated calories burned thru everyday activities (like shopping and cleaning and walking at work) as well as exercises like walking, jogging and climbing stairs. It doesn't track bicycling or lifting weights very well (and you can't take it swimming), so for those activities, I have to add them manually. It's been a great motivator, and I've learned more about what my ACTUAL daily caloric needs are. But it doesn't actually count calories burned, per se. It uses some algorithms to guess your calorie use based on the altimeter and accelerometer it has and your stats like age, weight and height.

MichaelBrewer2634

I'm thinking about getting one to find out how many calories I burn on my job. I climb cell towers for a living. I know it's a lot of energy. I use circuit training to post as exercise after a climb.

mousetu

I just got a fit bit wondering do you log those calories burned in my fitness pal