Heart rate monitor

agreed. you have a severe misunderstanding on how caloeies are burned. muscles being used is what burns calories. not your heart.

And yes, if you're sleeping in bed, weighing in at 250lbs, and your HR is 110 bpm, you're burning the same amount of calories as if you were on a treadmill, at 250lbs, keeping your HR at 110 bpm

This is absolutely 100% untrue.

Do you know that if you use your muscles, your heart rate will go up? HR is just a measurement of your exertion. If you're sleeping, and your HR is 110, you will not be walking with 110 bpm. It will be higher. Because you're exerting yourself more. And using your muscles.

your heartrate is NOT a sole indicator of exertion.

To elxplain it like you're 5. There are 4 energy systems in the body. only 1 is exertion correlated to heartrate (the cardio system). this is because when your muscle do work, the energy to do this work comes from a mixture of carbs/fat in the body combined with oxygen to make atp. The oxygen is from the air you breath transported in the bloodstream by the heart. So the more your muscles do work, the more oxygen is required, thus the harder the heart beats to provide it.

Ok great. Makes sense so far. Now what about when you're scared, or sit in a sauna? Your heartrate will increase. But your muscles are NOT doing more work. Remember, your muscles doing work burns calories. So in this case, an increased heartrate has ZERO correlation to an increase in calories burned.

Time for example 2. You're weight lifting. Now we're using anaerobic energy systems. Here's the important part about them. They do NOT use oxygen to make the muscles to do work. Reread that if you must. They do NOT use oxygen. They instead use stored fuel from carbs directly to make atp. So your heartrate could be 60, could be 160. Doesn't matter. The work being performed is not impacted by heartrate. (this is also why people are dumb for focusing on things like keeping heatrate elevated by doing cardio in between sets. Simply don't. if you're lifting heavy, then do it for lifting heavy and training those energy systems and muscle types and don't worry about your heartrate when it's not an indicator of anything for the work you are performing. Save the cardio for cardio.)

To elxplain it like you're 5. There are 4 energy systems in the body. only 1 is exertion correlated to heartrate (the cardio system). this is because when your muscle do work, the energy to do this work comes from a mixture of carbs/fat in the body combined with oxygen to make atp. The oxygen is from the air you breath transported in the bloodstream by the heart. So the more your muscles do work, the more oxygen is required, thus the harder the heart beats to provide it.

Ok great. Makes sense so far. Now what about when you're scared, or sit in a sauna? Your heartrate will increase. But your muscles are NOT doing more work. Remember, your muscles doing work burns calories. So in this case, an increased heartrate has ZERO correlation to an increase in calories burned.

Time for example 2. You're weight lifting. Now we're using anaerobic energy systems. Here's the important part about them. They do NOT use oxygen to make the muscles to do work. Reread that if you must. They do NOT use oxygen. They instead use stored fuel from carbs directly to make atp. So your heartrate could be 60, could be 160. Doesn't matter. The work being performed is not impacted by heartrate. (this is also why people are dumb for focusing on things like keeping heatrate elevated by doing cardio in between sets. Simply don't. if you're lifting heavy, then do it for lifting heavy and training those energy systems and muscle types and don't worry about your heartrate when it's not an indicator of anything for the work you are performing. Save the cardio for cardio.)

Really? You'd explain *this* to a 5-year old?

:laugh:

Keep in mind that heart rate monitors are more accurate for pure cardio only burns, not so much anything else.

People keep telling me that too so I sent an email to Polar and asked them if it was true. This is their response:

Dear Jen,

Thank you contacting Polar Customer Care, we apologize for the delayed response, Polar has received an influx of e-mails recently.

Calories are calculated by heart rate data and user information (age, weight, height, gender). Therefore your calories would be accurate no matter how you were exercising.

As long as the transmitter strap is wet, snug around your sternum and you are seeing accurate heart rate data on your watch, your watch will calculate your calories accurately.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly using the link below. We have representatives available via Livechat, E-mail and our toll free line Monday-Friday 9am-5:15pm EST.

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en

Thank you for training with Polar!

Katherine
Polar Customer Care
POLAR ELECTRO INC.

Excellent. I'm glad they sent you this. Because now you can sue them for negligence.

Keep in mind that heart rate monitors are more accurate for pure cardio only burns, not so much anything else.

People keep telling me that too so I sent an email to Polar and asked them if it was true. This is their response:

Dear Jen,

Thank you contacting Polar Customer Care, we apologize for the delayed response, Polar has received an influx of e-mails recently.

Calories are calculated by heart rate data and user information (age, weight, height, gender). Therefore your calories would be accurate no matter how you were exercising.

As long as the transmitter strap is wet, snug around your sternum and you are seeing accurate heart rate data on your watch, your watch will calculate your calories accurately.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly using the link below. We have representatives available via Livechat, E-mail and our toll free line Monday-Friday 9am-5:15pm EST.

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en

Thank you for training with Polar!

Katherine
Polar Customer Care
POLAR ELECTRO INC.

Sorry, but they don't know what they're talking about. I'm surprised they said that actually, it makes me suspect they hired a telemarketing company to handle this stuff. Good for you for asking though. I'd send them along another message with their documents showing the equations they use are based on cardio. Particularly since they should know the math in their watches are based on cardio activities. Even universities know this (I've seen some studies come out of a University on polar watches and energy expenditure showing that even cardio calorie burns can be 33% off for women, someone made a thread about it here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study). The math for weight lifting is different. Particularly since you aren't moving around as much and not burning as much. That's kind of a silly response when you think about it actually. Heart rate, age, weight, height, gender 'therefore' calculate calories accurately? That doesn't make sense. If that were true the solution to everyones problem would be to watch a scary movie, get a hot bath, or sit out in the hot sun to spike the heart rate. I had a resting rate of over 100bpm when I was over weight, I should have been losing all kinds of weight sitting around by those standards.

Your link does not work...

I see good weight loss results using the numbers on my Polar FT4 and unless I see otherwise I guess I'll stay ignorant and believe the manufactureer of the device (crazy, I know).

I wouldn't believe the manufacturer 100% but use it as a tool.. similar to a scale, measuring tape, calipers and the like. I like my HRM and I couldn't really give a flying pig what people want to say about how it's inaccurate and it's this and it's that. I see it as a tool.. more accurate, not perfect but more accurate than believing what a stupid treadmill tells me when it doesn't even account for the same data that my HRM does.

For people who still have > 20% BF to lose, a HRM is a great tool to invest in. Those who have less will post all the garbage in the word to tell people not to buy one. As long as you see that it is not perfect but a guide or a tool, you will be fine.

I wouldn't believe the manufacturer 100% but use it as a tool.. similar to a scale, measuring tape, calipers and the like. I like my HRM and I couldn't really give a flying pig what people want to say about how it's inaccurate and it's this and it's that. I see it as a tool.. more accurate, not perfect but more accurate than believing what a stupid treadmill tells me when it doesn't even account for the same data that my HRM does.

For people who still have > 20% BF to lose, a HRM is a great tool to invest in. Those who have less will post all the garbage in the word to tell people not to buy one. As long as you see that it is not perfect but a guide or a tool, you will be fine.

I agree with the use as a tool and understand that you don't care about the inaccuracy. I'm not telling people not to buy one, I try to make people understand how to use one properly and as a more effective tool.

The treadmill doesn't need all that info. The HRM requires all those data points because of the formula it uses. Calories burned is weight and intensity. Things like walking are fairly easy to calculate if weight is know If the treadmill doesn ask for weight, then ok. But the fact it doesn't require all the same info doesn't mean it's less accurate.

In to learn more. I plan to buy a HRM later this month.

Apparently, DavPul does not approve.

It's a TOOL- same as anything else. 99% of the food you track is not accurate down to the exact calorie either.

I have a Polar FT4 and it has definitely helped me track my cardio. At the end of the day, between my ESTIMATED calorie burn and my ESTIMATED calorie intake, I'm an ESTIMATED 500 calories under my ESTIMATED TDEE.

It gives me a number I trust far more than MFP or the elliptical that does not take my weight or age into consideration.
And yes, I have been steadily losing so while it may not be exact, it has its benefits.

I wouldn't believe the manufacturer 100% but use it as a tool.. similar to a scale, measuring tape, calipers and the like. I like my HRM and I couldn't really give a flying pig what people want to say about how it's inaccurate and it's this and it's that. I see it as a tool.. more accurate, not perfect but more accurate than believing what a stupid treadmill tells me when it doesn't even account for the same data that my HRM does.

For people who still have > 20% BF to lose, a HRM is a great tool to invest in. Those who have less will post all the garbage in the word to tell people not to buy one. As long as you see that it is not perfect but a guide or a tool, you will be fine.

I agree with the use as a tool and understand that you don't care about the inaccuracy. I'm not telling people not to buy one, I try to make people understand how to use one properly and as a more effective tool.

The treadmill doesn't need all that info. The HRM requires all those data points because of the formula it uses. Calories burned is weight and intensity. Things like walking are fairly easy to calculate if weight is know If the treadmill doesn ask for weight, then ok. But the fact it doesn't require all the same info doesn't mean it's less accurate.

I respectfully disagree.. I mean, someone who is 5'6" like me, same weight/age and someone else who shares same stats but different height or BF% is certainly not burning the same as me and vice versa. Most treadmills only ask for weight and age, height/bf%/lean mass estimates would probably provide for a better calculation. It's not a perfect world, neither are HRMs but yeah..

Polar FT 7

I have the Wahoo Fitness Blue HR. I love love love it. It works through blutooth with with my iPhone. So, if you don't have an iPhone then it won't work for you. I love all the different things it tracks. I have never had connectivity issues. I just keep it tight and right under the band of my sports bra.

Another point to throw into this conversation is to account only for your net calorie burn, not your gross calorie burn.
Your body is burning calories all the time, even at rest, so you don't want to count those resting calories for the duration of your workout, because you would have burned them anyway.
I use this calculator:
http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.aspx
to get my net calories, and that's what I input into myfitnesspal. I figure it's better to underestimate my total burn than overestimate and eat too much.