HRM?

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Im ready to get my first HRM and dont know where to start.. Where can I buy one, which brand is the best, any information on HRM would greatly help.

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  • Qbaimee
    Qbaimee Posts: 157 Member
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    I have the Polar FT4 and I love it!! I got mine at Target for $100 I believe. Very easy and it also has the chest strap.
  • mrandolph69
    mrandolph69 Posts: 197 Member
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    My wife and I both have Polar FT7s and love them. We got ours from http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/ We bought hers most recently and got it for about $75 delivered.
  • tonam2
    tonam2 Posts: 5
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    I got one from Bensout.com for 20 bucks works great!
  • holdingon2faith793
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    And here is me being a fitness idiot i guess... What is the point of the heart rate monitor? Why do you monitor your heart rate? is it like the higher the heart rate the more cal you burn or what?
  • crunchy_runner
    crunchy_runner Posts: 23 Member
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    I have the Polar FT4 and purchased it off Amazon for $67. Comes with strap. I absolutely love it!
  • Dee_84
    Dee_84 Posts: 431 Member
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    I have the Polar FT4 and purchased it off Amazon for $67. Comes with strap. I absolutely love it!

    ^^ This. Polar FT4 from Amazon, great investment :)
  • KirstenTheFamilyCoach
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    I bought the WaHoo one because it syncs to my iPhone and I :heart: LOVE:heart: it!
  • faceoff4
    faceoff4 Posts: 1,599 Member
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    And here is me being a fitness idiot i guess... What is the point of the heart rate monitor? Why do you monitor your heart rate? is it like the higher the heart rate the more cal you burn or what?

    If you want to learn how many calories you are accurately burning the HRM is the best bet (ones with a chest strap only). The higher your heart rate the more calories you will be burning. But dont confuse calories burned as the end all for working out. Strength training will do a significant amount for fat loss and boosting your metabolism but will burn much less calories than straight cardio (running, eliptical, etc). By using a HRM and tracking your nutrition you will get a good sense for the best amount of exercise and dietary needs for you to hit your goals. Another benefit to having a HRM is you will learn a lot about your body and if you are also competitive it can give you an added piece of competition to do better than your last work out.

    I am a big fan of HRM's and have used them for 10+ years for both cardio and weight training. As most suggested go with the Polar brand and the FT series (FT4, FT7, FT40, etc) are excellent.
  • lauraellie10
    lauraellie10 Posts: 273 Member
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    I bought the WaHoo one because it syncs to my iPhone and I :heart: LOVE:heart: it!

    Sorry if I sound dumb. Is this just for running or can u use it for all type of exercise.
    How do u wear it. Sorry for all questions.
    Does it link with my fitness pal? Xx
  • justiceotb
    justiceotb Posts: 2 Member
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    I decided on the Zephyr HxM, a bluetooth HRM that connects to my smartphone. That way I can use apps like Endomondo, which does sync the calorie results to MFP. I use it while cycling (outside and inside), running and yoga.

    If you don't want it to sync to your phone, the Polar HRM's are really quite good.
  • lovesbikes
    lovesbikes Posts: 26 Member
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    FYI there are some new ones that got showcased at CES, they are not immediately available though.

    1. Basis Watch http://www.mybasis.com/
    2. Withings activity tracker (like fitbit) with HRM http://withings.com/en/activitytracker/keepmeinformed?clickid=wZiyjrS1rRs5XltTSl008xjFUkRUn1V2XUukxs0
    3. Mio Alpha http://www.alphaheartrate.com/#product will work with Bluetooth and Ant+ (so will sync to your smartphone).
  • Amber1070
    Amber1070 Posts: 106 Member
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    I bought my polar ft7 on amazon for like $50. Love it!
  • Erica002
    Erica002 Posts: 293 Member
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    I got the Polar FT4 off Amazon for $50 with free shipping. I've had it for a year and a half now, I love it!
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    I have the Polar FT4 and I love it!! I got mine at Target for $100 I believe. Very easy and it also has the chest strap.

    Yep - I got mine on Amazon.com - highly recommend it.
  • ShrinkingShona
    ShrinkingShona Posts: 218 Member
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    Another vote for Polar. I have the FT40. Once I learned how to look after the strap I was cooking with gas.
  • Pspetal
    Pspetal Posts: 426 Member
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    I got my Polar FT4 just a few weeks back from bodytronics.com for $53 (shipping included) with coupon code POPO. It looks like I might have gotten a defective piece though.
  • hatethegame
    hatethegame Posts: 267 Member
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    Polar is a good brand and they are very reasonable. As you can see by reading the posts, many people have that brand, I have the Polar FT4 and I'm really happy with it. The FT4 is the lowest end Polar HRM that tracks calories burned (which you want). As you go up, there will be more advanced features that you may not need. Any sporting goods store will carry Polar or you can buy online.
  • Morgie87
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    I'm going to be getting a polor ft4 with wearlink+ since it will connect to my phone and couch 2 5k app through bluetooth