Heart rate monitor

hope25

I want a heart rate monitor to be able to see my calories burned while exercising. What is a good user friendly monitor for a beginner?

GretchenB02

I use a basic polar (f4). Really liked it. Although I have quit using it for a while because I was becoming fixated with the numbers.

meggwyn

I love the polar ft4, too!

KyliAnne26

I also just got the polar ft4. used it for the first time this morning! Felt like it was easy to program and use. It beeps at me every time my heart rate gets below or above my 'training range' so that was very helpful so I knew when to pick up the pace or slow down. Good luck!

zentha1384

I have the Polar FT4 and it is a good model, easy to use model. I got mine through Bodytronics.com for about $55

AshyyMM

lol, I also have the polar ft4.. and love it..
I got mine at a local sports store..but mostly the online prices I'd end up paying the same as i did after I considered shipping..and I got it right away vs waiting multiple weeks...

tarafreeman353

i am also looking for one, seem the polar is the way to go lol

Cairine63

I have a Garmin Forerunner 305. I like it as it also has the GPS function.

CoderGal

Keep in mind that heart rate monitors are more accurate for pure cardio only burns, not so much anything else.

jzammetti

Keep in mind that heart rate monitors are more accurate for pure cardio only burns, not so much anything else.

People keep telling me that too so I sent an email to Polar and asked them if it was true. This is their response:

Dear Jen,

Thank you contacting Polar Customer Care, we apologize for the delayed response, Polar has received an influx of e-mails recently.

Calories are calculated by heart rate data and user information (age, weight, height, gender). Therefore your calories would be accurate no matter how you were exercising.

As long as the transmitter strap is wet, snug around your sternum and you are seeing accurate heart rate data on your watch, your watch will calculate your calories accurately.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly using the link below. We have representatives available via Livechat, E-mail and our toll free line Monday-Friday 9am-5:15pm EST.

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en

Thank you for training with Polar!

Katherine
Polar Customer Care
POLAR ELECTRO INC.

jc1961AA

I have a Garmin Forerunner 305. I like it as it also has the GPS function.

Got that one but it does not do calories count for indoor activity (classes, weight lifting etc.), I just ordered a Polar FT7 now, thus the 305 is brilliant for outside activities, I use mine all the time for cycling and running, and I can link it with Endomondo which is great, instead of using my smartphone.
JC

psm450

Another vote for the Polar FT4, simple and reliable

felinaslp

I have a Garmin with a digifit ANT adaptor doohickey for the ipod/ipad. It's a chest strap and instead of seeing your HR on a watch, you see it on the ipod/ipad (or iphone). You can see neat graphs, charts, etc and it has an app (of course) so you see all your progress easily. I really like it when I exercise at home, but when I go to the gym for a class, it's kinda hard to keep the ipod within 3m of me or something like that so it keeps connected to the monitor (I don't have a strap yet to keep my ipod strapped to my arm or something). Sorry if my explanation is wonky...

kelly_c_77

Interested also. Bump!

CoderGal

Keep in mind that heart rate monitors are more accurate for pure cardio only burns, not so much anything else.

People keep telling me that too so I sent an email to Polar and asked them if it was true. This is their response:

Dear Jen,

Thank you contacting Polar Customer Care, we apologize for the delayed response, Polar has received an influx of e-mails recently.

Calories are calculated by heart rate data and user information (age, weight, height, gender). Therefore your calories would be accurate no matter how you were exercising.

As long as the transmitter strap is wet, snug around your sternum and you are seeing accurate heart rate data on your watch, your watch will calculate your calories accurately.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly using the link below. We have representatives available via Livechat, E-mail and our toll free line Monday-Friday 9am-5:15pm EST.

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en

Thank you for training with Polar!

Katherine
Polar Customer Care
POLAR ELECTRO INC.

Sorry, but they don't know what they're talking about. I'm surprised they said that actually, it makes me suspect they hired a telemarketing company to handle this stuff. Good for you for asking though. I'd send them along another message with their documents showing the equations they use are based on cardio. Particularly since they should know the math in their watches are based on cardio activities. Even universities know this (I've seen some studies come out of a University on polar watches and energy expenditure showing that even cardio calorie burns can be 33% off for women, someone made a thread about it here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study ). The math for weight lifting is different. Particularly since you aren't moving around as much and not burning as much. That's kind of a silly response when you think about it actually. Heart rate, age, weight, height, gender 'therefore' calculate calories accurately? That doesn't make sense. If that were true the solution to everyones problem would be to watch a scary movie, get a hot bath, or sit out in the hot sun to spike the heart rate. I had a resting rate of over 100bpm when I was over weight, I should have been losing all kinds of weight sitting around by those standards.

Edit: And God love Heybales:

It will be totally inflated value for lifting.

The formula's that tie HR to calories burned only apply to steady-state aerobic activity, so 3-5 around same HR.
Lifting and intervals is both anaerobic, and non-steady-state with HR jumping 30-60 bpm easily.

The HR being displayed on the machines is not used in any calculations for calorie burns if that's what you meant.

For the treadmill, walking 2-4 mph or running 4.5 - 6.3 mph will be much more accurate than HRM if you input weight on the machines. Treadmills have been used for decades of research and the amount of energy (calories) needed to move so much mass so fast is just easily calculated. Unless you efficiency is way off the normal because of a club foot or something.

So great test to see how close the HRM is.

And then an adjusted HRM will be more accurate than elliptical because those formula's aren't based on studies like walking has been.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/post/new/838180-hrm-for-weight-training?quote=12587613

tdawg875

I have the Polar FT7. It's pretty simple to set up and use. One of my best purchases! The calculators on machines or on myfitnesspal are not accurate for me at all.

phjorg

Keep in mind that heart rate monitors are more accurate for pure cardio only burns, not so much anything else.

People keep telling me that too so I sent an email to Polar and asked them if it was true. This is their response:

Dear Jen,

Thank you contacting Polar Customer Care, we apologize for the delayed response, Polar has received an influx of e-mails recently.

Calories are calculated by heart rate data and user information (age, weight, height, gender). Therefore your calories would be accurate no matter how you were exercising.

As long as the transmitter strap is wet, snug around your sternum and you are seeing accurate heart rate data on your watch, your watch will calculate your calories accurately.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly using the link below. We have representatives available via Livechat, E-mail and our toll free line Monday-Friday 9am-5:15pm EST.

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en

Thank you for training with Polar!

Katherine
Polar Customer Care
POLAR ELECTRO INC.

thats nice and all, except it's blatantly not true. Once you understand how HRM's calculation works (hint oxygen/heartbeat) you see how things like anaerobic activity (hint: does not use oxygen) make your HRM completely useless for anything other than steady state cardio.

HillaryAnnMaroney

This is such a great topic post. I've been meaning to buy a heart rate monitor for myself, and everyone is saying to get a Polar. Thanks!

jonnythan

CoderGal is right. I'll go even further and say that HRMs are rarely accurate even for cardio thanks to differences in cardiovascular systems.

BodyMedia and Fitbit are far better IMO.

jzammetti

Keep in mind that heart rate monitors are more accurate for pure cardio only burns, not so much anything else.

People keep telling me that too so I sent an email to Polar and asked them if it was true. This is their response:

Dear Jen,

Thank you contacting Polar Customer Care, we apologize for the delayed response, Polar has received an influx of e-mails recently.

Calories are calculated by heart rate data and user information (age, weight, height, gender). Therefore your calories would be accurate no matter how you were exercising.

As long as the transmitter strap is wet, snug around your sternum and you are seeing accurate heart rate data on your watch, your watch will calculate your calories accurately.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly using the link below. We have representatives available via Livechat, E-mail and our toll free line Monday-Friday 9am-5:15pm EST.

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en

Thank you for training with Polar!

Katherine
Polar Customer Care
POLAR ELECTRO INC.

Sorry, but they don't know what they're talking about. I'm surprised they said that actually, it makes me suspect they hired a telemarketing company to handle this stuff. Good for you for asking though. I'd send them along another message with their documents showing the equations they use are based on cardio. Particularly since they should know the math in their watches are based on cardio activities. Even universities know this (I've seen some studies come out of a University on polar watches and energy expenditure showing that even cardio calorie burns can be 33% off for women, someone made a thread about it here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study). The math for weight lifting is different. Particularly since you aren't moving around as much and not burning as much. That's kind of a silly response when you think about it actually. Heart rate, age, weight, height, gender 'therefore' calculate calories accurately? That doesn't make sense. If that were true the solution to everyones problem would be to watch a scary movie, get a hot bath, or sit out in the hot sun to spike the heart rate. I had a resting rate of over 100bpm when I was over weight, I should have been losing all kinds of weight sitting around by those standards.

Your link does not work...

I see good weight loss results using the numbers on my Polar FT4 and unless I see otherwise I guess I'll stay ignorant and believe the manufactureer of the device (crazy, I know).

MercenaryNoetic26

I love my polar! I went with the FT60 for women. It's pricier but it does a fit test and 3 HR zones and other stuff.

Eta: haven't tried viewing calories while burned. I don't see the point in that. My goal is not to burn x amt of calories rather the quality of the workout. I'm happy seeing the results post workout.