Heart Rate Monitors

annjohnson85
annjohnson85 Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
Any suggestions on an affordable heart rate monitor that works well? Strapless or with the strap?

Replies

  • gambit82
    gambit82 Posts: 5
    heart rate monitors aren't very reliable or accurate. I would be careful if I were you.

    Most cardio machines have built in ones anyways. If you do decide to get one anyways know that it's just an idea of what ur heart rate it at not 100% I was tired of seeing my heart rate at 220+ :P


    Feel free to add me as a friend or anyone else who wants to add me please send a friend request I will accept and lets all keep each other motivated.
  • freew67
    freew67 Posts: 348 Member
    heart rate monitors aren't very reliable or accurate. I would be careful if I were you.

    Most cardio machines have built in ones anyways. If you do decide to get one anyways know that it's just an idea of what ur heart rate it at not 100% I was tired of seeing my heart rate at 220+ :P

    You got a crap HRM then. The machines HRM are kinda a joke. Just search the forum shere for HRM or heart rate monitor and there will be 100's of post already on this subject. Good luck!

    http://freew67.blogspot.com/
  • porcelain_doll
    porcelain_doll Posts: 1,005 Member
    HRMs are more reliable than what the machine tells you. I would get one with a chest strap. I bought the Polar FT7 and love it, but it is a little pricey ($75). There are other brands that might be cheaper, but I don't know of any off hand. If you search in the forums for "heart rate monitor" or something to that effect, you might find more advice. Not to mention, a HRM will allow you to see what you burn during activities that you aren't using a machine for, like walking outside or swimming, so it is definitely a good investment! :) Good luck!
  • No_Other_Choice
    No_Other_Choice Posts: 1 Member
    Yeah...I really want to get a heart rate monitor as well. Not just for my heart rate, but to have a more accurate calculation of calories burned during my workouts...
  • sunnie326
    sunnie326 Posts: 721 Member
    HRMs are more reliable than what the machine tells you. I would get one with a chest strap. I bought the Polar FT7 and love it, but it is a little pricey ($75). There are other brands that might be cheaper, but I don't know of any off hand. If you search in the forums for "heart rate monitor" or something to that effect, you might find more advice. Not to mention, a HRM will allow you to see what you burn during activities that you aren't using a machine for, like walking outside or swimming, so it is definitely a good investment! :) Good luck!

    ^^^ I have this one as well and LOVE it!!!! ^^^
  • TXCC
    TXCC Posts: 56
    I have a sportline hr monitor that comes with a chest strap. I get a kick out of seeing how many calories I burn with each workout. I bought it at Sports Authority for under $100.
  • carrots25
    carrots25 Posts: 11 Member
    thanks I will look it to the brand you have.
  • shennard80
    shennard80 Posts: 23 Member
    I also have the Polar FT7...works great and is quite reliable and accurate. I got mine for somewhere in the $60's I think and there were cheaper ones if you didn't mind the unpopular colors.
  • kuger4119
    kuger4119 Posts: 213 Member
    I just bought a garmin forerunner 110 GPS watch with the heart rate monitor chest strap. I don't think I did a good job of "moistening" the sensor to start with, so it didn't do that well initially on the heart rate, but did better once I started to sweat. BTW, it was on sale at Amazon for $149 earlier this week and I'm pretty happy with it so far. Not a lot of bells and whistles but it does what I need.

    I have a Mio watch with a heart rate monitor as well and the treadmills we have at the YMCA here read almost exactly the same as the watch consistently. Based on everything I've seen, I think they are fairly accurate. They can be annoying though.
  • Daisy1008
    Daisy1008 Posts: 9 Member
    I just got my first HRM. It's a Timex & I love it! Easy to use & seems accurate.
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I have the pink Polar one with the chest strap and I love it :)
  • 1960HikerDude
    1960HikerDude Posts: 215 Member
    I got a Polar FT4. Good basic HRM with a chest strap. Got mine on Amazon for about $65 USD
  • jennadiane_
    jennadiane_ Posts: 36 Member
    I gave in and purchased a real HRM, a Polar FT4 a few weeks ago. Love it! Best thing ever! It was $65 on Amazon. It's basic; comes with a strap.

    I had a cheap one that I had to stop and use my finger for - that just got frustrating.

    The ones on the machines are just not right.

    I do a lot of workout videos, so there's not way to really gauge how many calories you're burning - the watch helps me so much. It's a great investment!
  • drwgal
    drwgal Posts: 66
    I'm getting a pyle in pink with a chest strap and watch for $28.00 on Ebay. Don't know whether it's junk or not, but it's cheap enough for me to buy and find out. As of now with planning a wedding, kids going back to school, and buying a house, I really can not afford a Polar. I have yet to find any under $90.00 even on craigslist.
  • blb1230
    blb1230 Posts: 69 Member
    My husband and I have had our Polar FT4 for 2 months. We purchased it from Best Buy. It was easy to set up and easy to use. It has the chest strap but it is easy to get used to. A couple of things that we didn't know when we started using it. First, if you are a swimmer, make sure to tighten up as tight as you can handle it. Once we learned where we needed to tighten it to, we have had no more issues while swimming (it was very annoying trying to get it to work and it kept zeroing out). Second, if you use a treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, ect. at the gym, it will most likely sync up with the display. The thing about it is, if your watch gets close to hand rails, it will zero out, therefore not count the calories (you don't lose the calories burned, it just stops counting as if the chest strap isn't connecting). We have learned to take off the watch and just put it on the top of in the bottle holder.

    These are very small things compared to the greatness of the Polar FT4. I would recommend it 100%!! :flowerforyou:
  • cmb0267
    cmb0267 Posts: 7
    I bought a HRM two weeks ago on the advice of a Physical Trainer I'm seeing through a sports medicine clinic. After comparing several models and the pros and cons of a strap, I went with the Polar FT7, which does have a chest strap. It keeps records of all your workouts, tracks between fat burn and fitness, calories burned, etc. It was more expensive than I thought it would be but I think it's a good value for the money, as I can constantly monitor heart rate/calories/zone as I'm exercising, rather than have to stop or try taking my pulse whilst I'm moving.

    Many cardio machines do have built-in HRMs, but how accurate they are with all the use they're subject to is anyone's guess. You also have to input your weight and age into the machine in order for it to accurately track calories. You yourself would have to know what your target heart rate is for fat burn vs. fitness mode if the machine you're using doesn't have that functionality. Besides, I wear my HRM whilst I'm working in the yard or cleaning house and download those data for my exercise entries on MFP.

    One thing you might consider: I could have bought a display-case HRM for about 40% less than a new one, because they were clearing out last season's models and the batteries were conked. They were new and had all the manuals, just out of the packaging and needing new batts. You could ask at the sporting goods store if they have any such models or buy one on clearance - that will save you some money. Either way, if you're going to spend the money on an HRM, buy one with a chest strap and get the best use from it you can. Good luck!
  • Tribbey143
    Tribbey143 Posts: 388 Member
    I love my polar FT7 get one with a strap my dear!
  • dward2011
    dward2011 Posts: 416 Member
    I have a Garmin Forerunner 210. GPS, chest strap included, rechargeable watch battery, and tons of features. I love it so far.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    The Polar FT7 is very accurate. I also have a Nike+ GPS Sport Watch that uses a Polar NIke+ HRM sensor and it is also quite accurate.

    If you just need an HRM and not a GPS running device you can't go wrong with the FT7.
  • glenette1
    glenette1 Posts: 140 Member
    HRMs are more reliable than what the machine tells you. I would get one with a chest strap. I bought the Polar FT7 and love it, but it is a little pricey ($75). There are other brands that might be cheaper, but I don't know of any off hand. If you search in the forums for "heart rate monitor" or something to that effect, you might find more advice. Not to mention, a HRM will allow you to see what you burn during activities that you aren't using a machine for, like walking outside or swimming, so it is definitely a good investment! :) Good luck!


    I have this one and it works great! My HRM is always accurate and NEVER shows me an unreasonable HR. I don't think you can go wrong with any model in Polar brand but I also have a friend who uses the Timex Iron man without complaints. You definitely want the chest strap for accuracy.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I have a polar FT4 & now a Polar FT60. Get the 60. Trust me its so much better because it gives you the GPS option & footpod option (so you know how many steps you take) and also 3 workout zones. Each one you have to fill out 100% each week. Also gives you a calorie burn target each week as well as a time target. Makes it better cause you know you MUST reach it.
  • oeagleo
    oeagleo Posts: 70 Member
    I have the Polar FT7 as well, and as above, absolutely love it. Not only does it tell me when I'm getting close to the upper threshold of my maximum heart rate, (something I need to watch, mostly because of my age, and original weight), but at the end of my session, I can tell how long I was working out, as well as the calories burned.
    This is especially helpful, as the Fitbit, while I love it too, doesn't "record" too much during a weight training episode. I use the FT7's information after doing the treadmill for a cardio warmup. I can tell when my heart rate get's too high, and hold off before beginning another exercise that uses another large muscle group.

    I got mine on "that auction site", and got it really reasonable, (@$50)
  • LaLaMoss
    LaLaMoss Posts: 18 Member
    I purchased a MIO HRM from amazon for 34 dollars. I love it!!
  • moonlightturk
    moonlightturk Posts: 398
    heart rate monitors aren't very reliable or accurate. I would be careful if I were you.

    Most cardio machines have built in ones anyways. If you do decide to get one anyways know that it's just an idea of what ur heart rate it at not 100% I was tired of seeing my heart rate at 220+ :P


    Feel free to add me as a friend or anyone else who wants to add me please send a friend request I will accept and lets all keep each other motivated.


    I bought a HRM for around $70 bucks, and was tempted to return it because I don't spend that much on anything. I decided to use it for some more or keep it. The machines at the gym are inaccurate. It is off atleast 200-300 for me. I have the HRM with the strap so it is pretty accurate. I thought I was burning around 700-800 per 60 minutes of running, but I was really burning 450-500 barely.

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