Is my HRM overestimating?

whipa494
whipa494 Posts: 41 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi!
I just went for a 70 minute walk near my house and there were some hills involved but it wasn't all hills. My HRM (a polar FT4) said I burnt 636 calories. Do you think this is too high? I was looking at the MFP database and it said that if I was walking uphill at 3.5 mph it would only be 480. I am 21 5'3 and 151 lbs.

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Assuming you entered all the data in correctly when you set it up then I'd believe it. I've had mine for almost 2 years now and it's pretty accurate as far as I can tell by comparisons.
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
    Did you look at what it said your HR was during these times? If it's often in your target zone then it's probably pretty accurate especially if you're new to exercise
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    I think it's accurate. You will burn more calories doing intervals (going up and down hills at varying paces) vs a steady pace on a flat surface. This is why whenever I do the treadmill I do an incline of at LEAST 4.0 at 3.8-4.0 mph. I'll do 4.0 at 4.0 and if I up the incline to 6-7 I'll then drop the mph to about 3.6-3.8.
  • manda1978
    manda1978 Posts: 525 Member
    Next time keep an eye on your heart rate. My FT4 tells me that my Heart Rate is 200+ when I'm standing still :|

    Give the sensors on the strap a really good scrub with an old toothbrush, I found doing that regularly has helped with its accuracy.
  • whipa494
    whipa494 Posts: 41 Member
    Yeah my heart rate would get up to about 170 even 180 up hills and would go down to around 130 if I was on the flat for awhile. Ok maybe it is accurate then. Thanks guys for your feedback :)

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