Heart Rate Monitors? - Please tell me all I need to know!

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  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    If you don't have much money to spend, save it.

    Everyone thinks they are the holy grail, they aren't. They monitor your heart rate. That is all. If you find that info useful, then great. If you are looking for a calorie burn, MFP is fine. HRMs can be way off on their estimates for calorie burn. They actually have no idea how many calories you burn, they only know your heart rate. they use algorithms to guess your cals.

    I have tested my HRM against MFP estimates, and I think it's. Waste of money. The important thing is consistency, not accuracy. So, always use the same method for you estimated calorie burn.

    There is a different aspect to hrms than just this!!!

    I actually find mine is an AWESOME motivation tool! (and during some activities yrs, MFP can be way off in estimates). I bought a timex HRM at first which turned out to be a waste of money. It doesn't take into account your age or weight so the calorie estimate is usually wrong. Then I tried the polar ft4 an it's WAY simpler, and cheaper.

    It really motivates me to make my workout worthwhile when I'm wearing that chest strap (and your bust size doesn't matter, it fits under the bustline). You can check your calories burned AS your working out, which I find often pushes me to workout longer, an you can check your heart rate and heart rate zone as well which usually makes me go a bit harder.

    I think it really gives me a much better workout than I otherwise would get, plus I feel good knowing the accurate amount of cals burned. For me, it was definitely worth it!

    You can get the ft4 on amazon.com, most ppl on MFP re co end it and Ive never seen a bad review.

    Hope this helps!

    ^^this, totally.
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
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    Good to know that my ample 'puppies' won't get in the way, in my head the chest strap was some huge contraption but now I know it fits under a sports bra I feel happier!!
    Not large at all. :) Mine is an elastic band, about an inch wide. The monitor itself is about the same size and made of plastic. It fits snugly against my breastbone, right under my bra strap. It isn't bulky or anything. I can't even tell it's there after a while.
  • Healthy_Melva
    Healthy_Melva Posts: 91 Member
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    I promised myself a HRM for reaching my 1st mini-goal of losing 20#, which I attained 2 weeks ago. I just ordered the Polar FT 60 and FlowLink. I can't wait to get them! My husband has used a Polar HRM for more than 15 years. They are a great company to do business with, and he finds the HRM a valuable tool.

    :happy:
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
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    Just bought one today. Mio Motion, no strap to deal with. Already love it.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    ZONES anyone?!?! thats the confusing part for me.

    I have a HRM. I think its more motivational to have than to not. I always try and burn more calories the next time around. I thought it was beneficial. I have the Garmin FR60. It came with a foot pod that can go inside my nike shoe and a chest strap. I got it for about 100 bucks on amazon. Im in the US...

    Zones are still confusing though. Never know if zone three is more beneficial than zone four. Be cool to know that if anyone cares to answer..

    Zones are only useful if you really know what your MaxHR is (220-your age is wildly inaccurate, a stress test is the only truly accurate way to establish that). Even then using "zones" rather than perceived effort may hinder your weight loss especially if you mistakenly buy into the "fat burning zone" myth.

    Yes, at 50to 65% of MaxHR your body will use a higher proportion of calories from fat to fuel your exercise but, in total, uses far fewer calories than training at higher intensities.

    You may also want to establish your lactate threshold if you're an endurance athlete (top end of aerobic performance) otherwise you can pretty much forget about zones.
  • Healthy_Melva
    Healthy_Melva Posts: 91 Member
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    I used my HRM yesterday for the first time, and I am in love! By watching the watch, I knew when I needed to pick up the pace to get my heart rate past warm up and into the area I have decided is best for me right now. (Fat burn according to the charts is too low, but I'm not ready for the cardio according to the charts.)

    The greatest benefit is seeing when I went over my target heart rate, so I knew when to slow it down. Also I cooled off until I was down to what I began my walk at. I felt much better for the longer cool down period.

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