Heart Rate Monitor calorie burn

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loveasunnyday
loveasunnyday Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My elliptical tells me I have burnt around 500 calories in 30 minutes if I put in a solid effort but today after using my Heart Rate monitor for the first time the monitor only showed around 230 in half an hour. I purchased a Polar FT 4 monitor. Any advice? And how important is it to stay in your zone? What percent of your maximum heart rate do you like to work at? I feel like at 70% I am hardly working at all!

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  • Rose_bee
    Rose_bee Posts: 226 Member
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    Elliptical (& other) machines like to lie like that about calories.

    Believe your HRM, and ignore the machine. :)
  • ravenrxx
    ravenrxx Posts: 455 Member
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    Your HRM would be right.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,112 Member
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    Work as hard as you want. The "fat burning zone" meh, Google it. You're burning fat anytime you have extended periods of elevated HR - as long as your food intake is under control.

    If you paid for the monitor, you may as well use it. Make sure all your stats are entered correctly. It will be as good a guess as any, and definitely better than a machine that doesn't ask for as many control parameters.


    .
  • morningcoffeeyum
    morningcoffeeyum Posts: 16 Member
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    BUMP!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    That's why you get a HRM, because machines lie. Don't worry about the "zones", it's all garbage. Your body doesn't have switches to change from one fuel to another at certain heart rates.
  • DeMarraDontStop
    DeMarraDontStop Posts: 342 Member
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    Yes a HRM is a rude awakening! It is more accurate than the machines and the calories MFP gives... I always go with the lower #. I do try to stay in the fitness zone during cardio usually drop to fat burning while doing strength... Good luck!

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