What are the benefits to having a fitbit AND a hrm?

larovers · May 2013

I am thinking of buying a fitbit to track my daily steps since I am so sedentary (thought it might motivate me to get up off my *kitten* more often since I work at home) but I also have a polar HRM that I LOVE to see how hard I am working during workouts. Do any of you have both of these type of things and how do you work them into your calorie planning with MFP?

Babeskeez · May 2013

You dont need to have both. I do, but I got the Fit Bit before the HRM.

The fit bit measures steps and sleep, thats about it. It does estimate cals burned based on those steps however, if you do other activities like riding in a car, riding a bike, or anything bumpy; it tends to over count thinking its activity. Its been good for me because I realize that besides me working out, I am pretty sedentary. So I try hard to get more steps in.

My HRM is also awesome because it calculates cals burned during your workout. You're not suppose to use it while lifting but I do (rebel!). This is a more accurate way of calculating cals burned during a workout.

ETA: I dont really change cals based on my FitBit. Just on my HRM.

changeyourlimits · May 2013

I have a HRM and love it. I do use it to adapt my meal plan for the day. It helps determine how much more calories i need more accurately. I don't have the step tracker so not sure about that.

haymancm · May 2013

I have the fitbit zip & my Garmin HRM. I LOVE them both! My steps have dramatically increased over the last 2 months, since I bought it. I've gone from sedentary to very active. With my workouts, I've made a personal goal to walk more than 10k steps before getting off the treadmill. With the HRM, I have also made it a personal goal to burn 1000 cals before I get off the treadmill.

With the 2 combined, I have seen a lot of progress on the scale & with my clothes within the last 2 months.

go2grrl · May 2013

I use a Fitbit only to help me determine my TDEE. And then I use an HRM to get my average heart rate during exercise, which I then plug into a formula based on my VO2Max to figure calories burned and enter that number here on MFP. So far, so good. The only thing that motivates me is how my jeans fit

tcraw15 · May 2013

You dont need to have both. I do, but I got the Fit Bit before the HRM.

The fit bit measures steps and sleep, thats about it. It does estimate cals burned based on those steps however, if you do other activities like riding in a car, riding a bike, or anything bumpy; it tends to over count thinking its activity. Its been good for me because I realize that besides me working out, I am pretty sedentary. So I try hard to get more steps in.

My HRM is also awesome because it calculates cals burned during your workout. You're not suppose to use it while lifting but I do (rebel!). This is a more accurate way of calculating cals burned during a workout.

ETA: I dont really change cals based on my FitBit. Just on my HRM.

Why aren't you supposed to use an HRM during lifting? I've never heard that before, but I always wear mine when I lift. I don't have Fitbit either, so I can't really say anything about that.. But I do love my HRM. I would say the main thing I use it for is to monitor my heart rate during exercise. That part comes in REAL handy when working out.

jlbeals · May 2013

I have both and use them both regularly. I definitely don't regret either purchase. I don't like to wear the HRM when I run and I take a lot of random short walks through the day when it wouldn't be practical to go grab my heart monitor. I work on a college campus, so I sometimes end up walking quite a ways between buildings for various meetings, even if I'm sedentary for the most part. The fitbit is great for that. It's good motivation to do "just one more set of stairs" or jog in place for a while to get your steps in. Every little bit helps! I also frequently have sleeping problems, so I love the sleep monitor feature.

I use the HRM for my non-step related workouts like P90 or Jillian. I find when I do wear both for a step-related workout, the calorie count isn't that far off. YMMV.

kendrafallon · May 2013

I have both, a Fitbit Ultra and a Polar FT4. I've found the Fitbit totally inaccurate for cardio workouts, or even set periods of walking/running. That's when I'll use a HRM, but for just walking around, it's great. And also if you're predominantly sedentary, the charts on the main site are great motivational tool.

Flab2fitfi · May 2013

i wear my fitbit all the time and then when I go to the gym/ running i also use my Hrm. MFP ties in with the fitbit so it takes the calories I get on the HRM off the fitbit for the same time so it does not log both sets of calories.

The HRM is more accurate but I also like to see how many steps i do in a week plus it measures all those little things i do.

mariposa224 · May 2013

I have a FitBit One (which they sent me as a replacement for my broken FitBit Ultra), which I had bought before getting my Polar FT4. I use them both all the time. I wear the FitBit daily and I use the HRM to track my actual workouts. When I enter the workout in with the data from my HRM, any adjustment that had been given for that time frame from my FitBit is either adjusted accordingly or is erased. I like having the FitBit, especially since I work out only 3-4 times per week now. The FitBit give me exercise credit, mostly on my non-workout days, if I spend a good bit of time walking throughout the day. Like when I go grocery shopping, or something of that sort, and am walking all over the store, I get a lot of steps and I usually will get a credit from my FitBit. It just varies, according to the day and my activity, but I find them both to be useful tools. For people wanting to buy one or the other, I usually would recommend an HRM over a FitBit, to help accurately record workouts, but the FitBit is really a nice tool to have as well.

BerryH · May 2013

FitBit gives you a good idea of your TDEE as it can be worn all day, and records all activity, not just formal exercise. Mine ties well with various online calculators and tallies nicely with my maintenance calories.

HRMs are only calibrated for steady-state cardio at an elevated heart rate. The calculations they use are not accurate for lifting as the heart rate spikes through a different mechanism to cardio. You also can't wear one all day and expect to get anything like a reliable estimate of TDEE. And although most are water resistant and can be worn swimming, they do not transmit well through the water.

If you link FitBit and MFP you can record workout burns on MFP over the specific time period and it'll feed that back to FitBit so you don't record twice, and ideally get an even more accurate daily burn.

HRMs can also be used to target your cardio workout. Runners, for example, can set different target limits for long-slow runs, tempo runs and intervals to improve speed and endurance.

hunterman95 · May 2013

I've had a HRM for 3-4 months, and just got a Fitbit Zip 3 days ago. I use the HRM during my workouts so I get a more accurate count of calories burned. I've found the calories I actually burn can be far different from what MFP's database shows. Some days at work I am a lot more active than others. I got the Fitbit so I could get a reading of calories burned during those busy days. I plan on monitoring it for a while to see what a "normal" day's burn is, then only record on MFP calories burned that are over and above that. Hopefully the Zip will also motivate me to move more as well.

angieroo2 · May 2013

I've had a HRM for 3-4 months, and just got a Fitbit Zip 3 days ago. I use the HRM during my workouts so I get a more accurate count of calories burned. I've found the calories I actually burn can be far different from what MFP's database shows. Some days at work I am a lot more active than others. I got the Fitbit so I could get a reading of calories burned during those busy days. I plan on monitoring it for a while to see what a "normal" day's burn is, then only record on MFP calories burned that are over and above that. Hopefully the Zip will also motivate me to move more as well.

This is pretty much the same for me, except I just got my Zip yesterday. A lot of the time I'm just sitting at my desk at work, but sometimes I run around a lot, so I want to see the difference in my calories burned and to be more accurate.

Lyerin · May 2013

You dont need to have both. I do, but I got the Fit Bit before the HRM.

The fit bit measures steps and sleep, thats about it. It does estimate cals burned based on those steps however, if you do other activities like riding in a car, riding a bike, or anything bumpy; it tends to over count thinking its activity. Its been good for me because I realize that besides me working out, I am pretty sedentary. So I try hard to get more steps in.

My HRM is also awesome because it calculates cals burned during your workout. You're not suppose to use it while lifting but I do (rebel!). This is a more accurate way of calculating cals burned during a workout.

ETA: I dont really change cals based on my FitBit. Just on my HRM.

I am the same except I owned my HRM first. LOL I use my fitbit for the daily motivation stuff - steps, going farther, etc. I use my HRM to calculate the calories burned during an actual exercise session. I like having both.

crubinetti · May 2013

Unlike the previous posters, I have found my FitBit to be quite accurate except in a golf cart. I take 3 steps for every 2 of his (my husband) and we both have them and that deffinately shows up. As for the HRM, I have considered getting one but there are some con's depending on the activities you have. If you try to get your workouts in throughout the day they aren't really practical. Also if you are on certain medications such as a beta blocker (as I am) it will not be accurate. I have read (as noted in previous posts) that the HRM will not be as accurate during lifing, but it would be interesting to know if that is just lifting or if that is also true for things like cross fit.

At any rate, I like my FitBit and it works. The HRM, while interesting, won't work for me.

mazdauk · May 2013

Ditch the golf cart - the walk is better for you AND you'll get a more accurate reading!

What are the benefits to having a fitbit AND a hrm?

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