Can I use my heart rate monitor for most things?

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skinnyitaliannn
skinnyitaliannn Posts: 187
in Fitness and Exercise
Such as all types of cardio (at home workouts, running, in the gym), and pilates? I understand a lot of people are saying not to use it for strength training and lifting but is pilates okay?

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  • mandorla
    mandorla Posts: 81 Member
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    Curious to see the answers to this question.
  • skinnyitaliannn
    skinnyitaliannn Posts: 187
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    Curious to see the answers to this question.

    me too, i'd really like to know so i'm not "eating back" more than i should!
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    All types of cardio yes...pilates, probably not. If it's true pilates, I wouldn't count that as cardio. I used to attend a "pilates" class which had a lot more cardio in it (kind of like a boot camp) so that I would have used it for.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Pretty much, yeah. I find HRMs supply the same amount of functional, useful accuracy on pretty much any type of activity.
  • pamperedlinny
    pamperedlinny Posts: 1,585 Member
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    Honestly, I use mine for everything... and I've even used it for strength training. You'd be surprised how much your heart rate goes up after you get started. I find it helpful to judge what I'm doing and how my body is responding.
  • maddmaddie
    maddmaddie Posts: 160 Member
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    Yep, I use mine for cardio and strength training. Mine shows how many calories I burn during my working. pretty sweet!
  • shellyk972
    shellyk972 Posts: 56 Member
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    I use it for all exercise. You burn calories, so why not ;) It's interesting to see how different exercises burn different calorie amounts.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I use it for all exercise. You burn calories, so why not ;) It's interesting to see how different exercises burn different calorie amounts.

    Yes, all exercises "burn calories", but HRM calorie estimates are only "accurate" (such as they are) for steady-state cardio, or similar occupational activities. Anything else--yeah the HRM spits out a number but it is just a random number--it doesn't mean anything.
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
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    HRM's calculate cardio only for calories burn. as such, things like yoga, strength training, housework, sprinting, or anything else that uses the fatty acid energy system, lactic acid system or ATP-CP system instead of the cardio system will not be accurately calculated by an HRM...
  • SashThompson
    SashThompson Posts: 130 Member
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    Personally, I wear mine for everything because it actually helps me during my workouts to keep an eye on my hr and if its starting to get low (even during my weight lifting) I go and do some cardio based exercises to push it back up. What's the point of buying one if you're only going to wear it sometimes?
  • skinnyitaliannn
    skinnyitaliannn Posts: 187
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    HRM's calculate cardio only for calories burn. as such, things like yoga, strength training, housework, sprinting, or anything else that uses the fatty acid energy system, lactic acid system or ATP-CP system instead of the cardio system will not be accurately calculated by an HRM...

    Well I'd hope it's accurate for things such as sprinting, because I do sprinting intervals while I run!!
  • KenSmith108
    KenSmith108 Posts: 1,966 Member
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    Such as all types of cardio (at home workouts, running, in the gym), and pilates? I understand a lot of people are saying not to use it for strength training and lifting but is pilates okay?

    The HRM will monitor your heart. :smile: I use mine all the time. Where it gets a little confussing is the calorie burn. My heart rate shoots up for the 30 seconds I lift then it slows for the1 minute rest. The HRM doesn't know I'm resting so it counts the heart rate and keeps giving me working calories. For the calorie burn to be somewhat accurate your heart rate should be pretty steady.
    This also kinda holds true for the heart rate average function too, it will give you an average but what I would use it for ????

    I find my HRM earns its keep on the treadmill. I have mine set to alarm when I go out of the zone I want to be in. I can usually keep my heart rate within 5 beats using the speed and incline settings on the treadmill.
  • skinnyitaliannn
    skinnyitaliannn Posts: 187
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    So its still fine if I use it for sprinting? :p
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    HRM's calculate cardio only for calories burn. as such, things like yoga, strength training, housework, sprinting, or anything else that uses the fatty acid energy system, lactic acid system or ATP-CP system instead of the cardio system will not be accurately calculated by an HRM...

    For the most part, the "fatty acid energy system" IS the "cardiovascular system.

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