HRM- Chest strap vs no chest strap

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doctorsookie
doctorsookie Posts: 1,084 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Can I be enlightened on how these work. I understand (for the most part I think) the chest strap type hut the watch only I am puzzled. Does it monitor you heart rate continuously or only tell you what it is when you press and hold a button? If this is the case, how doe it measure calories burned? I want to incest in one but I want to know what to expect first. Should I go strapless or get a chest strap? Thanks to all who respond.

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  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    I think it depends on the model. Chest strap is usually more accurate. I have a polar FT7, and I can change the display to show what I want (heart rate, time, calories) and it stays on that until I want to change it. I find that my monitor (personally) inflates my calorie burn (sometimes double what MFP suggests), but this is probably due to some sort of error on my part...
  • kiddoc88
    kiddoc88 Posts: 244 Member
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    Here's the way it works; the chest strap has a snap on transmitter, which reads your heart rate. the watch portion is simply your display and control of when to stop and start recording data. You moisten the chest strap, put it right under your bust, snap on the transmitter, put on your workout shirt. Program the watch portion with your statistics ( age, weight, etc- this is how it calculates calories burned). When you start your workout, you'll be able to press start on the watch to start recording your cal byrn and heart rate stats for that workout and press stop at the end of your session. I have a polar FT4 and definitely reccomend it
  • kalachuchi
    kalachuchi Posts: 2
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    HRMs come in different configurations; mainly chest strap or watch. It's main function is to monitor your heart rate while you're wearing it, so you'll get a reading whenever you check it. The higher your heart rate is, the more calories you burn.

    I have the Polar H7 (chest strap) that connects to an iPhone app via bluetooth. I wear it & prep my iPhone when I workout so I can constantly see how I'm doing. My sister, on the other hand, prefers the watch since it doesn't require a connection to a phone.
    It all comes down to your personal preference..

    Hope this helps :)
  • sr_erick
    sr_erick Posts: 25
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    Calories burned uses a formula to correlate your average heart rate over time in combination with a your personal VO2Max calculation (based on age, weight, etc). It comes down to this. Your body uses more oxygen when it is working. When your body is working harder your average heart rate it higher, thus you are using more oxygen. Oxygen is a component of creating energy by burning fuel (calories). Think of a fire, you need fuel and oxygen or it won't burn. Based on the amount of oxygen being consumed one can devise a formula to fairly accurately determine the number of calories burned in that given timeframe.
  • doctorsookie
    doctorsookie Posts: 1,084 Member
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    So the watch will monitor the HR from when I hit start to finish? What am I thinking of if I am looking for something that will help me figure out how many calories I a burning throughout an entire say?
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    So the watch will monitor the HR from when I hit start to finish? What am I thinking of if I am looking for something that will help me figure out how many calories I a burning throughout an entire say?

    It depends on the watch. Mine tells me how long I worked out for, cals burned, average HR, max HR, time spent in my fat burn zone and time spent in my fitness zone. I have 3 months worth of data on here atm, which I can look at in daily or weekly summaries. Some watches also sync up to programs online so you can get better graphs, etc.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    If you're looking for an all day device, you need a FitBit, BodyBugg or something along those lines.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
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    Here's the way it works; the chest strap has a snap on transmitter, which reads your heart rate. the watch portion is simply your display and control of when to stop and start recording data. You moisten the chest strap, put it right under your bust, snap on the transmitter, put on your workout shirt. Program the watch portion with your statistics ( age, weight, etc- this is how it calculates calories burned). When you start your workout, you'll be able to press start on the watch to start recording your cal byrn and heart rate stats for that workout and press stop at the end of your session. I have a polar FT4 and definitely reccomend it

    Yup, love my FT4!
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
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    If you are looking for something easy to give you an idea of your entire day, I would recommend the Fitbit. It's small and unobtrusive. I wear mine 24/7 (only taking it off for showers). I do have a HRM too, and I put that on for some workouts to get a second opinion on calorie burn and to see the heart rate during (the Fitbit does not show heart rate ... it counts steps, steps per minute and has all your stats and gives you a calorie estimate that way).

    I did a post about the Fitbit (I'm a fan *Ü*) on my blog, if you wanted to check out all that it does and if it might be what you are looking for ... http://jenbsjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/wondering-about-fitbit.html
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
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    Get a Polar FT4, they come with a chest strap and a transmitter. I have one, best gadget I bought in a long time!

    HRM'S are probably the best way for tracking an accurate calorie burn.
  • doctorsookie
    doctorsookie Posts: 1,084 Member
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    Thanks everyone...I have to read that blog tomorrow as its past my bedtime...yeah I have one too and I keep missing it. LOL
    I was thinking of Fitbit but I am leaning toward the one everyone is raving on.
  • XTSH
    XTSH Posts: 129 Member
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    One day, I decided to get the Polar FT7 after work after reading some user feedbacks on this very same website. Not cheap since I actually got from a retail store instead of online but I still think this is one of my best impulse purchases.

    Generally, most would say the gym equipment gave much higher caloric readings and suggested taking the HRM readings instead. I experienced the opposite. I update my stats on the HRM frequently. I didn't bother to enter my stats on the gym equipment. The readings on the HRM always comes up higher. Then again, I often pushed my heart rate into the Anaerobic zone so I like to think my HRM is tracking my caloric burnt accurately based on heart rate.
  • Pamm8577
    Pamm8577 Posts: 17 Member
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    I Have the Polar 4 & I Love Mine! Bought Over 3 Years ago Since Then I have owned a BodyMedia Arm Strap Which Is Cool But Don't Come With a Watch To Show You What Your Doing & You Have To pay a Subscription each month. The Polar watch is so awesome I Wear Mine All Day Long, I Stay active and never stop & at the end of the day I easily have burned up to 1200 calories in a days time. When I am ready to get busy I put it on & I hit Start on the watch then I forget about it until I go to bed at night. You personalize it to your age/weight and I like that, I like the fact I can be doing something & I hear the watch beeping it means I am in the Heart Rate Zone & It Motivates Me. You Can turn the beeping on silent. But I love it! I want to know my heart rate during each activity that way I know what burns the most calories. When I am done I push stop then it gives me a summary like I stay active for up to 7 hours at a time without stopping & then it tells me min. heart rate, maxium heart rate & how long I was in my target heart rate zone & it estimates the calories like that. I find them to be very active. Most people doesn't even take into account all the running around they do during the day only workouts. But we burn calories all day long. I found mine on E-bay for a Great Deal. You might pay up to $60 for one but trust me its a long time investment you will get your moneys worth out of it for sure you won't be disappointed. It would be nice if we could like the Polar Watch up with My Fitness Pal like I could with Bodymedia armband. The Only Negative is sometimes it gets uncomfortable under my chest area especially when I am sweating it will try to slide down but it does adjust. But don't like the way it feels sometimes, but you get use to it over time. But out of 10 I give it a 10..:tongue:
  • RedheadHen
    RedheadHen Posts: 249 Member
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    I have had both kinds of HRMs. Just the watch HRM is NOT accurate. Yes, they are cheaper then the Polars but they were WAY off on calorie burn ...IMO. And I wonder how accurate a watch can be vs a chest strap. I mean the chest strap is right there next to your heart!! I have a Polar FT4. They do go on sale on Amazon and I got mine for around $50. I had to get a new strap for my FT4 and you no longer have to wet the strap. It's also much more comfortable compared to the older strap. I found that the watch only HRM was all over the place on my HR and calories burned during the same workouts. Once I got the FT4, my HR and calories burned are much more consistent. I also have a FitBt One. I still use my HRM to record all my workouts. I keep my FB on all the time too. But I like using the HRM for logging my workouts. The FB is a pedometer on steroids! So, if you are doing aerobics or lifting weights or yoga it's not gonna give you an accurate caloric burn, where a HRM will give you a more accurate burn.

    So I am in the "I Love my FT4" camp! I think it's great for watching your HR - especially if you need to hit a target HR for a certain amount of time. I also love my FB pedometer thing. It does so much and it really motivates me to walk around more during my day.

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