heart rate watch

HRM just helps kinda keep you in line...push you more when you need it (or as hot as it has been lately) help you slow down if needed....and even though MFP does a great job being pretty accurate with calories for exercise....each of us exercise at different intensities...so wearing your HRM (one that includes a watch and chest strap are usually the best)...it will give you your exact calories and fat burned along with other things....I love my HRM....one of the best investments I've made yet!! hope this helps!!

Assuming you have one with a watch and chest strap, once you've entered your personal data it will give you exact information on how many calories you are burning which is a real eye opener as the calculator on this site really over estimates (no offence MFP, I love the site). Also your watch will tell you at what percentage of your maximum heart rate you're working out at. To be burning fat I think it should be about 65% of your Maximum heart rate (other posters will correct me on this number if it's not excatly right). It really does help you to see exactly how hard you are working during a work out. Sometimes I find I had the tendency to coast through my workouts not giving it my all by my HRM has really helped with this.

Hope this is useful:glasses: :glasses:

I have the Polar F6 as well and LOVE IT!!! I use it for making sure I burn the amount of calories that I want to. The HRM is much more accurate then my treadmill so if I want to burn 300 calories....I check my HRM and if it says 240, I know I have 60 more to go!!!! It was the BEST investment...I got mine off Amazon-as per the rec. of someone on MFP!!! This site is the best!!!

I believe that when your heart reaches a certain rate you are burning fat.

Some HRM's do not report calories burned. If this is what you're looking for, make sure you get one that does.

I have to say my success came from using a Polar HRM. I try and stay within my target heart rate and I leave the gym once I hit my goal of calories burned. It pushed me to up my intensity. Best thing ever. At first I had bought just the watch and it wasnt that great until a salesperson told me nothing better then polar. I have to say they were right. My friend has the timex brand and its not as accurate.

I just bought one (a Polar w/ chest strap), really for the accurate calorie information. Having used it for 2 days I have learned 1) my elliptical overestimates calories by 50% (I had been assuming 30-35%) and 2) there is a big variance based on how you feel that day. After 2 days I burned much fewer calories today than I did yesterday. I don't think I would have seen that just basing it off of what the elliptical told me.

Eye opening! No wonder I'm at a plateau!

I haven't figured out what else to do with it yet (understanding maximum heart rate, intensity levels, etc) but plan to this week!

have fun w/it!

Oh yeah! I love all the info I found out. One day I ate a doughnut at work at 3pm. went tot he gym at approx 5 pm and busted my hump for an hour......burned LESS calories! Some weird stuff.....I love walking on the beach, enjoying myself, and looking down to see my HR is 150! Fun AND burning cals?? Life is so good!

I also found out that I burn twice as many calories in the AM than I do in the PM...Wierd but I thank my HRM for that!!! And my treadmill was also wrong in what I was burning...Is there a certain HR when you start to burn fat? I had no idea until I just saw someone post something above...

there is much debate on this but you tend to burn FAT at lower heart rates and MUSCLE at higher heart rates, which is why slow and high resistance is better than fast and easy (depsite getting your heart rate up faster).

Various trainers have told me different things but I believe 140. Do not trust my word alone, do some research.