questions about a heart rate monitor ???

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So I am thinking about buying a heart rate monitor because I want to know how many calories I am burning when I exercise. Can anyone recommend a good one? I don't want a super expensive one but I do need one that shows calorie burn, not just my heart rate. I really know nothing about buying one of these so any advice or input you could give me would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

Replies

  • FireRox21
    FireRox21 Posts: 424 Member
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    What kind of exercise/activites are planning on doing while wearing your HRM? That could make a difference as to what kind you might want to get.

    I have a Polar F6 and love it. My only source of exercise is swimming and I wear my HRM religiously. It has made a HUGE difference. The Polar F6 is easy to use and isn't super complicated. I bought it for the same reasons that you are looking for one; I wanted something to tell me my heart rate and calories burned and that's it.

    I bought mine online from heartratemonitorsusa.com
  • Norbert2010
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    I also have a Polar and though they are a tad more expensive than others they are excellent.

    Used mine during my early forays into running but more to control my exertion level in order to prevent injury and overtraining. If you can get an accurate measure of your MAX HR then this is a very sensible way to train. Don't just look at calories burned, for quite a while I did everything under 70% of my maximum HR, that way it will also enhance your weight loss and prevent you just getting tired out all the time.

    Good luck with it.
  • sillyhappykitty
    sillyhappykitty Posts: 3 Member
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    At the risk of sounding redundant I have a Polar too and have not been disappointed. Super easy to use, and a great motivator- just Google some reviews of heart rate monitors and see what the latest models are and what people are saying about them... Buying online sounds like a good idea- I bought mine at REI, and probably could have got it for less if I'd shopped the Internet.
  • janetgardiner
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    I have a polar FT7 and love it my sister has a Garmin FR60w and she love 's hers.
  • mrsyatesy
    mrsyatesy Posts: 173
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    Hi, I have a Garmin FR60 - it's the love of my life!!! It has a heart strap, watch and foot pod. It tells me distance run, cals burned, I find it very motivating to see my heart rate during gym type activities so I know when I am maybe just cruising a little rather than really making myself work! It has an internet interface which you just put the watch next to the pc and it uploads your training data from that session (or from as many sessions as you ahve done since the last upload), I find it really really motivating and it's the only way I can get myself going some days knowing that I'll see what effort I actually put in, not what I assume I will have put in. Have fun!