Heart Rate Monitors?

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schnicklefritz1
schnicklefritz1 Posts: 130 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been seeing that many of you have HRM's. I have not ever used one. Do they just monitor your heart rate, or do they estimate calories burned? How do they work and can some one recommend a good HRM that is not an arm and a leg? I get very frustrated when I work out on the Wii for example. I know, at my fitness level, I am burning more calories than they say that I am, I am in horrible shape and become very winded and sweaty and they tell me that I burned 200 calories or something like that...I am wondering what the advantage of having a HRM is. Comments please?:huh:
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Replies

  • aerobicgirl
    aerobicgirl Posts: 354 Member
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    I JUST BOUGHT A POLAR F6 I LOVE IT. ACCURACY? I HOPE IT IS. MINE GIVES HEART RATE, BURNED CALORIES AND OTHER STUFF. BUT THATS REALLY WHY I WANTED IT/
  • tikimatt
    tikimatt Posts: 23
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    ANybody know if they come in a waterproof model? Very hard to estimate calories burned surfing...

    .....never mind, I forgot, that's what Google is for.......found pages of them!!
  • hallswan
    hallswan Posts: 90
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    Essentially the heart rate monitors takes into account your height, body weight, gender and age coupled with your heart rate to give a personal reading of how many calories you have burned - thus avoiding the inaccuracies of the machines in your gym or your Wii.

    The HRM monitors your heart rate for the whole time your exercise (taking into account your warm-up - where you wouldn't burn so many calories- to when you are full on - and probably burning the most). At different heart rates you actually burn more fat (and calories) - to be most effective at the burn, you want to be at around 60% of your max heart rate for your age and gender (a good heart rate monitor should tell you all of that). If you go to the 80-100% of your heart rate - you won't burn as much! Therefore when you are training you can ensure you remain in the right zone and you can programme some HRMs to beep if you are out of it!

    A good brand are the polar - if you get an F7 (or the older model F6) you will find that it a good investment. There are plenty of other brands out there - have a look online - but you will see from older post most people on here seem to use Polar

    Hope this helps and good luck :)
  • BassBoneBabe
    BassBoneBabe Posts: 226 Member
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    I just bought a Sportline, and I don't think it works properly. I did the 30 day shred wearing it and it said I burned 8 calories. I am sure it was far more than that since I stayed at about 85% of my HR the whole time. Anyone have a clue what the matter is? Thinking I could need some conductive gel, but don't know if that will do it either.
  • hallswan
    hallswan Posts: 90
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    ANybody know if they come in a waterproof model? Very hard to estimate calories burned surfing...

    Polar HRM are waterproof up to a certain depth - take a look - but I use mine when swimming
  • Miss_Chievous_wechange
    Miss_Chievous_wechange Posts: 1,230 Member
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    I have a Polar F6 and LOVE IT! It's the most accurate one I have found and I've done my research on this. This model is water resistent up (or down) to 5 meters (I believe).
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    Tikimatt: Many of the polar ones are for swimming. My next big purchase is to get one of those so I can use it swimming. Do you wear a wetsuit with a shirt? It is something to consider with the chest strap styles which everyone seems to find more accurate than a wrist model.

    They are expensive. When I first started I purchased the Reebok on for about $40.00. I wish now I had just spent the extra $70.00 to have a really nice one. I wasn't thinking about swimming when I bought the Reebok one. It works well enough though if you are not sure or just do not want to spend a lot of cash right now. I use it almost every day and have had it for over a year. The batteries need to be replaced fairly often at $5.00 a pop.
  • lwest008
    lwest008 Posts: 26 Member
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    I just bought a Sportline, and I don't think it works properly. I did the 30 day shred wearing it and it said I burned 8 calories. I am sure it was far more than that since I stayed at about 85% of my HR the whole time. Anyone have a clue what the matter is? Thinking I could need some conductive gel, but don't know if that will do it either.

    If your model has a chest strap, try wetting the sensors with a bit of water before you put it on - it helps conductivity without dealing with messy gel.
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Tikimatt: Many of the polar ones are for swimming. My next big purchase is to get one of those so I can use it swimming. Do you wear a wetsuit with a shirt? It is something to consider with the chest strap styles which everyone seems to find more accurate than a wrist model.

    They are expensive. When I first started I purchased the Reebok on for about $40.00. I wish now I had just spent the extra $70.00 to have a really nice one. I wasn't thinking about swimming when I bought the Reebok one. It works well enough though if you are not sure or just do not want to spend a lot of cash right now. I use it almost every day and have had it for over a year. The batteries need to be replaced fairly often at $5.00 a pop.

    I've had my Reebok XT for almost 2 years and I've never had to replace the battery once. The thing works like a dream and the best part was that it only cost me $40.00. I love the thing!
  • schnicklefritz1
    schnicklefritz1 Posts: 130 Member
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    Thanks every one for the tips. I will get on line tonight. Just got done working out on the Wii for 49 minutes and it said I burned about 274...that is what I entered for the day, but it would be interesting to see if that is correct. Are most of them worn on the wrist, upper arm? I can check into that....just wondering. Thanks and have a great day all!!! The work out felt great and now off to work!!!
  • BassBoneBabe
    BassBoneBabe Posts: 226 Member
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    If your model has a chest strap, try wetting the sensors with a bit of water before you put it on - it helps conductivity without dealing with messy gel.

    Thanks! I don't have the chest strap, but I will try it on the "watch" itself and see if that works.
  • mhotch
    mhotch Posts: 901 Member
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    You could try ebay, where they are a bit cheaper than retail. I would suggest at least the F7 if you work out in a gym. The F7 has a small advantage over the older F6, that you can change the battery yourself w/o sending it in to Polar. You won't be sorry spending your money on a HRM.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    I just bought a Polar FT60. Just arrived today, so I have no feedback but all the reviews have been good.

    Be careful if you buy a Polar on eBay or another site though; the warranty is void if not purchased through an authorized retailer. Just something to keep in mind if you spend $200 on one and it's a defect, you're stuck with it.
  • rishl
    rishl Posts: 2 Member
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    I also have a Polar F6 and it works great. Really keeps you motivated seeing how many calories you burn.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    With the Polar F6/F7, is there a chest strap that goes with it or is it just the wrist watch? I have a Reebok HRM, but I'd like to upgrade to a better model without the chest strap.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    The F6 and F7 both have the coded transmitter belts (the chest strap). I'm not sure if you meant to type what you did, but the better models are the ones with chest straps because they are much more accurate.
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    Tikimatt: Many of the polar ones are for swimming. My next big purchase is to get one of those so I can use it swimming. Do you wear a wetsuit with a shirt? It is something to consider with the chest strap styles which everyone seems to find more accurate than a wrist model.

    They are expensive. When I first started I purchased the Reebok on for about $40.00. I wish now I had just spent the extra $70.00 to have a really nice one. I wasn't thinking about swimming when I bought the Reebok one. It works well enough though if you are not sure or just do not want to spend a lot of cash right now. I use it almost every day and have had it for over a year. The batteries need to be replaced fairly often at $5.00 a pop.

    Wow! I have had to replace my batteries at least 5 times in the past year!

    I've had my Reebok XT for almost 2 years and I've never had to replace the battery once. The thing works like a dream and the best part was that it only cost me $40.00. I love the thing!
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
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    With the Polar F6/F7, is there a chest strap that goes with it or is it just the wrist watch? I have a Reebok HRM, but I'd like to upgrade to a better model without the chest strap.

    HRM without chest straps aren't as accurate as ones with so I don't think it would be a good idea to switch to one without a strap.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    The F6 and F7 both have the coded transmitter belts (the chest strap). I'm not sure if you meant to type what you did, but the better models are the ones with chest straps because they are much more accurate.

    Oh okay, I didn't know that! Thanks for the info!
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    No problem. There's a tonne of information out there on them, and it's so hard to digest!

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