HRM or Treadmill?

WhoDat10
WhoDat10 Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

I recently purchased a Polar RS100 HRM. It comes equipped with a chest strap and watch monitor. For a week I was walking/jogging on the treadmill at a fairly new gym in town. The treadmills there are Cybrex brand and seem pretty new and fancy. Of course like most I thought the treadmill calories burned was an overestimate, but it felt good to know I was at least doing something. During the week I researched online to find my target heart rate zone and purchased the Polar HRM. I typically spend 45 minutes to an hour on the treadmill in one session alternating between 3.5 and 4.0. NO incline. When I log my exercise on MFP the calories burned are pretty close to the treadmill. The first time I used my HRM I was supprised to notice that the treadmill itself has a built in wireless receiver and was on point with my HRM. However, here's where the tricky part comes in. My HRM says in those 45 minutes i burned a whopping 487 calories. Treadmill read 206. That's a significant difference. My HRM is set to my height and weight. I checked to make sure it was the correct units as well. I did not bother to enter that into the treadmill though. So my question is.. which one can i trust? I see a lot of posts about poeple having the exact opposite problem so i am rather stumped. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cristen

Replies

  • kellybean14
    kellybean14 Posts: 237 Member
    Go with your HRM!
  • juicemoogan
    juicemoogan Posts: 994 Member
    Treadmill is not measuring your body 100% of the time.

    Never trust the treadmill
    go with the HRM no question.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    I would follow your HRM because your HRM has your profile. It takes into account your age, weight, etc... The treadmill only takes into account a portion of that. This happens to me often, mainly since I have my HRM I don't bother entering in my specs into the treadmill, I just hit go. So it is on the default or last settings of the person before me. Trust your HRM over the treadmill.
  • 4_Lisa
    4_Lisa Posts: 362 Member
    The HRM. It is monitoring you the entire time and telling you how hard your working, the treadmill is just estimating averages 2 ppl at the same height and weight doesn't account for how physically fit one is against the other.
  • LessMe2B
    LessMe2B Posts: 316
    Trust Herman R Munster....he doesn't always give you the numbers you'd like to see, but he won't steer you wrong. :laugh:
  • punkinkat
    punkinkat Posts: 85 Member
    I agree with everyone above. Since you've invested in a great HRM, why not use it? Mine's not as fancy as yours, but it's usually closer to the truth. I think the one on the treadmill itself is more for a general idea, for people who aren't seriously doing the math like we are :)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Treadmill is not measuring your body 100% of the time.

    Never trust the treadmill
    go with the HRM no question.

    Actually treadmills if you have your age, gender height and wegiht are probably more accurate than an HRM. An HRM estimates intensity and V02Max based on % of Max HR, whereas the treadmill actaully measures the work you did using Mets. Unlike elliptical the embedded calculations in treadmills are fairly accurate and have been proven time and time again. HRM's just estimate the amount of work, based on HR but work (Mets) does not correlate 100% with HR.
  • ambervaldez79
    ambervaldez79 Posts: 210 Member
    Ya know, I have a Polar FT4. I lOOOOOOVEEEE it. Sometimes the calorie burn seems so high.
  • LBJordan99
    LBJordan99 Posts: 25 Member
    Can you tell me what the differences are in the HRM? I am a beginner in the fitness world been going to the gym for about 3 months and wanting to get the most out of my workouts. Any suggestions?

    Thanks
  • Irizzzle
    Irizzzle Posts: 12 Member
    Hi! I also recently purchased a heart rate monitor, I got the Polar FT4. I've used it on the treadmill and elliptical machine, and on both machines, my heart rate from my monitor is displayed on the machine, which also surprised me. My heart rate monitor also tells me that I burn more calories than either the treadmill or the elliptical tell me. I normally go with the heart rate monitor, since I've heard that the calories burned readings on exercise equipment is generally inaccurate. I'm also not sure if the treadmill or elliptical is calculating my calories burned based on my heart rate. Even though my heart rate is displayed, I think it doesn't use it when making the calculation of the calories burned. My guess is that if you're on the treadmill for 45 minutes, you're burning more than 206 calories, I'd stick with what the heart rate monitor is telling you.
  • DaniJeanine
    DaniJeanine Posts: 473 Member
    I recently compared the treadmill's stats to my HRM and the difference was only 14 calories. But the key was putting my height and weight into the treadmill. I'd say if you're really nervous about it, try only eating back half the calories. Also, maybe do another comparison on a different machine to see if you get a different result. Either way, an HRM is usually the more accurate tool...
  • WhoDat10
    WhoDat10 Posts: 2
    Well this is awesome! I definitely thought I had bought a messed up HRM. Haha Thanks for all the quick replies :) It feels great to know I'm doing something positive for myself and see the proof of my hard work. I have a long way to go and it's nice to have a community of people in one spot who are on the same road :)

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