heart monitors

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johnny26113
johnny26113 Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
hi have got a polar heart monitor .wore it first the first time for gym .and it shows i burnt off more cal than want it shows on gym machine . does any one else wear them. the day i got it i wore it all day and burnt off 2700 in 12 hours

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  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    They won't measure accurately when you aren't workout out... so the 2700 number is probably way off. As for the discrepancy between the HRM and the machine, they are both just estimates. What machine was it? Treadmill or stationary bike, the machine is probably pretty accurate. Anything else and it's little more than a guestimate.
  • aliciab307
    aliciab307 Posts: 370 Member
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    I've never had/wore a HRM. In fact I just ordered a polar ft4 to measure calories burned. I do notice though that on the treadmill it will only give me an 'accurate' reading if I'm consistently holding on to the silver plate where they measure the heart rate through your hands. If i dont hold onto it it will give me an estimate of what it thinks i should have burned.
  • johnny26113
    johnny26113 Posts: 10
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    polar heart monitors are very accurate .because you put in your details height weight age. the machines at the gym are not accurate .because they do not know peoples detail
  • johnny26113
    johnny26113 Posts: 10
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    the ft7 is better monitor has you wear a chest band so its more accurate
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    polar heart monitors are very accurate .because you put in your details height weight age. the machines at the gym are not accurate .because they do not know peoples detail

    Not necessarily true.

    In most cases, a basic treadmill or stationary bike is going to be more accurate than the fanciest HRM as there is a known workload for that exercise, so the only variable is weight (which most machines allow you to enter).

    Most other machines/exercises are a crapshoot.
  • adidrea
    adidrea Posts: 275 Member
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    Your heart rate monitor is not built to measure calories burned when you're not exercising....it's for steady state cardio only (which means it may also not be very accurate when doing things such as lifting weights). When using it during steady state cardio the calories burned should be fairly accurate because the HRM constantly tracks your change in heart rate whereas the machine may not.

    Good luck!
  • SillyFitMe
    SillyFitMe Posts: 130 Member
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    Your heart rate monitor is not built to measure calories burned when you're not exercising....it's for steady state cardio only (which means it may also not be very accurate when doing things such as lifting weights). When using it during steady state cardio the calories burned should be fairly accurate because the HRM constantly tracks your change in heart rate whereas the machine may not.

    Good luck!


    My HRM is all over the place. I have Garmin Forerunner 110 and my numbers (based on the same exercise, time, and exertion) vary significantly from week to week. When I strated, it said I burned 400 calories for an hour of Plyometrics. Just 1 month later it says I burn 250 for an hour of Plyometrics. The number appears to be going down every week despite the same level of exertion. Weird. I'm also really confused as to how I read this.
  • 78brownie_wechanged
    78brownie_wechanged Posts: 291
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    I have never received an accurate number from machines. Your hands aren't stable enough to get a clear reading. Most machines don't take into account your height, weight, resting, and target heart rate. Keep in mind that someone may burn 300 calories and the next person may burn 1,000 doing the same routine.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    polar heart monitors are very accurate .because you put in your details height weight age. the machines at the gym are not accurate .because they do not know peoples detail
    the ft7 is better monitor has you wear a chest band so its more accurate


    You are overestimating the capabilities of a heart rate monitor.
    HRMs use the relationship between heart rate and VO2. There is a correlation between HR and Vo2 max while doing moderate intensity exercise. There is a low correlation during sedentary and low intensity exercise.

    They do not accurately estimate (which is what they are doing anytime) calories burned during strength training or while not doing cardio exercise.


    A great thread on accuracy of hrM. Heybales has a few great posts on them in their blog if you want to check it out.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn

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