HRM---What's the point?

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Raebug123
Raebug123 Posts: 79 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I just bought a new HRM but it is very basic its a watch with a chest strap and it displays my HR. So what is the point? Why do I need to know my HR just so I know that I'm in a target heart rate to burn calories. Do I just need to shell out more money and get one that shows calories burned? Wouldn't that help. I bought this HRM thinking I knew what I needed to know and now I'm second guessing my purchase. Any info will help!

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  • wombat94
    wombat94 Posts: 352 Member
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    Does your HRM have the ability to show you average HR for the length of the workout?

    That is mainly what I use mine for... with the average HR, length of the workout, your age and weight, it's easy to calculate a much closer approximation (though it is still an approximation) of the amount of calories burned.
  • ZyheeMoongazer
    ZyheeMoongazer Posts: 343 Member
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    I had a very basic HRM like that for years before I finally upgraded to a fancier model. Like wombat94 said, as long as yours tells you average heart rate you can use online calculators to find your calories burned.

    There are tons of online calculators to use. What I did is create myself a spreadsheet that used the formulas provided by LIVESTRONG http://www.livestrong.com/article/221621-formula-for-calories-burned-during-exercise/ If you aren't great with excel formulas, etc. Send me a message with your email address and I will share mine with you.
  • KWNurse
    KWNurse Posts: 45 Member
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    I use polar hrm. It tells you calories burned and avg hr. I glance at it during my workouts to make sure I am not slowing down. If you can return yours to get one that shows calories burned, I would. I found I am not "the average" when it comes to calories burned.

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