Heart Rate Monitor Suggestions

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anarjackson
anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi! What is a great heart rate monitor to purchase? I would prefer to buy a watch. I've heard of a brand named Polar that is really good. Any suggestions? Thank you in advance. :)

Replies

  • gts175
    gts175 Posts: 38 Member
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    I will be watching. What info do they give you? Calorie burn for the day?
    Please sell me on why I should have one as well which ones are recommended.
  • giglqueen
    giglqueen Posts: 74 Member
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    I just bought a Polar F7 and I love it. It's a watch and has a chest strap. It isn't uncomfortable at all and I totally forgot I had it on. The watch was more annoying to me!
  • Secondgoround
    Secondgoround Posts: 61
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    I really enjoy using the Nike HRM. It has a chest band with a monitor in it and you wear a watch. It also comes with a doo-dad you can put in your shoe (most Nike shoes have a slot for it under the footbed) to also track your progress. There is also a program to put on your computer or smart phone that shows you how much time you exercised, calories burned and also a GPS tracker to show the course you ran. I think it's pretty accurate because you also create a profile with all of your pertinent info. I use it when I do zumba with my Wii or when I do treadmill or biking.
  • OddChoices
    OddChoices Posts: 244 Member
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    Polar is good. So is Timex.

    @Poster who asked why they need one- because HR figures on machines in gyms are rarely accurate. You need to prrsonalise your reading. HR is a good indicator of exersion level-fat burning, cardio, aerobic etc. In short it tells you how effective was your workout was.

    Do you need one? It depends. Takes some practice but You can tell by your breathing where your HR might be.
  • FinallyFindingLisa
    FinallyFindingLisa Posts: 222 Member
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    Polar 4 & I agree with giglqueen, the watch is more annoying than the strap.

    I like it because I don't need any other software to adjust the settings (weight, age, etc) it's all done right on the watch. It's super easy to use, push a few buttons. The only problem I have is remembering to hit start the 2nd time after it picks up my heart rate.

    (It's OE, I'm multi tasking to get my music going, the elliptical or bike programed etc., and I hit it the first time and move on!)

    I don't use it for swimming, it is water proof, but I've found that the connection between the strap and the watch doesn't maintain while I'm swimming.

    I got it 2nd hand from eBay about 5 months ago and haven't had any problems with it.
  • anarjackson
    anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
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    Polar is good. So is Timex.

    @Poster who asked why they need one- because HR figures on machines in gyms are rarely accurate. You need to prrsonalise your reading. HR is a good indicator of exersion level-fat burning, cardio, aerobic etc. In short it tells you how effective was your workout was.

    Do you need one? It depends. Takes some practice but You can tell by your breathing where your HR might be.

    I really want a HRM because I know the machines are no accurate. I always calcualte at least 10% less calories burned than what the machines read. I want to make sure I get accurate readings so it can help with my weigh loss, etc. :)
  • anarjackson
    anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
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    Thank you for all the suggestions! I am looking forward to purchasing one! :)
  • anarjackson
    anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
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    I just bought a Polar F7 and I love it. It's a watch and has a chest strap. It isn't uncomfortable at all and I totally forgot I had it on. The watch was more annoying to me!

    I've heard this one recommended a few times. I just looked on Amazon and they are not too expensive.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I think Polar is the best and most reliable brand. You need one with a chest strap for accuracy and you need to wear it properly as well. The chest strap needs to be snug to keep making connection and the electrodes need to be moist when you put it on to make proper contact. There are all different levels of HRM depending on how much information you want to know. The FT4 is a good model if you are only interested in knowing your HR and your calorie burn.
  • sarahsaca
    sarahsaca Posts: 50 Member
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    I just bought a Polar F7 and I love it. It's a watch and has a chest strap. It isn't uncomfortable at all and I totally forgot I had it on. The watch was more annoying to me!

    I've heard this one recommended a few times. I just looked on Amazon and they are not too expensive.

    I have the Polar F7 and love it!! Super easy to use!!
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
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    Thank you for all the suggestions! I am looking forward to purchasing one! :)
    Make sure whatever you buy actually calcuates calories burned based on your heart rate. Some of the ones that track heart rate don't do this. They do it based on time. Some don't even calculate calories burned so make sure whatever features your looking for are present in whatever one you select.

    I went with a bluetooth one that syncs with my phone because I want to log all that data and analyze it after. I'm a geek that way. It will actually post it to the internet live.
  • anarjackson
    anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
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    I think Polar is the best and most reliable brand. You need one with a chest strap for accuracy and you need to wear it properly as well. The chest strap needs to be snug to keep making connection and the electrodes need to be moist when you put it on to make proper contact. There are all different levels of HRM depending on how much information you want to know. The FT4 is a good model if you are only interested in knowing your HR and your calorie burn.

    Thank you for the feedback! Helps me alot!
  • anarjackson
    anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
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    Thank you for all the suggestions! I am looking forward to purchasing one! :)
    Make sure whatever you buy actually calcuates calories burned based on your heart rate. Some of the ones that track heart rate don't do this. They do it based on time. Some don't even calculate calories burned so make sure whatever features your looking for are present in whatever one you select.

    I went with a bluetooth one that syncs with my phone because I want to log all that data and analyze it after. I'm a geek that way. It will actually post it to the internet live.

    Yes, I am looking out for that. Thank you. :)
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
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    I also have a Polar FT7 and love it so far. The chest strap seems like it'll be uncomfortable but then it's not. I just stick it under the band of my sports bra. The watch tells me (in big numbers) my heart rate and then if I hit the up/down arrows, it'll tell me other stats like calories burned, what the effect of my exercise is (which zone I'm in) and duration of my workout. It's easy to use (push the middle button on the right twice to start it, push the button on the left once to pause, twice to stop) and I like that when I work out at the gym, it transmits to the machines (at least for Life and True Fitness machines) so I can watch my heart rate on the machine rather than trying to read my watch while running/cycling/etc.

    I got mine on heartratemonitorsusa.com. It was the cheapest I could find and I had a decent experience (shipping was a little slow but I'm spoiled by Amazon 2 day shipping).
  • RandomMiranda
    RandomMiranda Posts: 298
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    I've had my Polar FT4 for about 6 months and I love it. It's a great motivator for me, like if I only have a few minutes left on the machine, but I'm only 50 calories off from the next 100 I'll push a little longer. While working out it shows you your heart rate, calories burned, whether you are in "the zone" and the time. After the workout it shows total time and calories, minutes in "the zone" and some other stuff I rarely look at. It also keeps a running total, so you can reset it at the beginning of the week if you have a weekly goal. The chest strap doesn't bother me at all. The watch is fine (I have the women's version, but I don't know whether it is shaped differently from the men's or just called women's because it is pink). I use it running, swimming, everything and no problems at all. I also make sure to rinse it thoroughly after every use. I know there are other models that do more stuff, but this does everything I want it to.
  • anarjackson
    anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
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    I've had my Polar FT4 for about 6 months and I love it. It's a great motivator for me, like if I only have a few minutes left on the machine, but I'm only 50 calories off from the next 100 I'll push a little longer. While working out it shows you your heart rate, calories burned, whether you are in "the zone" and the time. After the workout it shows total time and calories, minutes in "the zone" and some other stuff I rarely look at. It also keeps a running total, so you can reset it at the beginning of the week if you have a weekly goal. The chest strap doesn't bother me at all. The watch is fine (I have the women's version, but I don't know whether it is shaped differently from the men's or just called women's because it is pink). I use it running, swimming, everything and no problems at all. I also make sure to rinse it thoroughly after every use. I know there are other models that do more stuff, but this does everything I want it to.

    That's exactly what I want/need! I am super excited now! LOL! Thank you!!!
  • anarjackson
    anarjackson Posts: 79 Member
    Options
    I also have a Polar FT7 and love it so far. The chest strap seems like it'll be uncomfortable but then it's not. I just stick it under the band of my sports bra. The watch tells me (in big numbers) my heart rate and then if I hit the up/down arrows, it'll tell me other stats like calories burned, what the effect of my exercise is (which zone I'm in) and duration of my workout. It's easy to use (push the middle button on the right twice to start it, push the button on the left once to pause, twice to stop) and I like that when I work out at the gym, it transmits to the machines (at least for Life and True Fitness machines) so I can watch my heart rate on the machine rather than trying to read my watch while running/cycling/etc.

    I got mine on heartratemonitorsusa.com. It was the cheapest I could find and I had a decent experience (shipping was a little slow but I'm spoiled by Amazon 2 day shipping).

    I LOVE Amazon. I am going to check out heartratemonitorsusa.com and see if they have a better deal. Thanks girly!

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