HR monitore and Cal's Burned at Gym

29bubbles
29bubbles Posts: 126 Member
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,
I have a HRM, but the watch part is confussing.... if I wear the chest piece while at the gym the machines keep track of my HR. Do any of you know if the cal burned would be accurate if your on a gym machine & it's reading your HR?

If it helps, I'm going to the Y and using the stationary bikes... I'm gonna guess they have a lot of the same or similar equipment at other YMCA's accross the contry.

Thanks for you input!!

Replies

  • Elbita
    Elbita Posts: 13
    Hi!
    I think it should be pretty accurate or close. I wear my HRM chest strap and watch and when i'm doing the machines that read the HRM, they seem to be accurate compared to the watch. Although, some times the machine reads 1 bpm less than the watch, but it shouldn't make a significant difference.

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  • Jenks
    Jenks Posts: 349
    When I wear my chest strap and the watch the treadmill gives me a difference anywhere from 40-80 calories less then the watch, and vise virsa with the elliptical.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    The heart rate display on a piece of equipment is just that -- a display. A small Polar receiver is plugged into the console of the equipment--it just picks up the signal from your chest strap and displays the number.

    When an HRM estimates calories, the programming that interprets the heart rate and uses that number to estimate calories burned is all built into the "wristwatch" that you wear--none of that is on the machine.

    Machines estimate calories burned by a completely different method--they have their own algorithms, etc build into the display and estimate calories based, not on heart rate, but on the actual intensity of the work being performed. Theoretically, that should be more accurate because it is directly measuring the aerobic cost of the work being performed (while an HRM is a much more indirect estimate). However, most manufacturers put little time or effort into developing those algorithms, so the calorie counts are usually way too high.
  • JensLogin
    JensLogin Posts: 74
    I find that my HRM and the machine are generally in sync within a beat or two. However, the calories burned on my HRM can be signficantly different from the machine I am on reflects. I would trust what the HRM says, as it is specifically programmed for your specifications, while the gym machine is set to a specific formula based on speed or incline, etc. and is the same for everyone.

    I hope this helps. I love my HRM!
  • 29bubbles
    29bubbles Posts: 126 Member
    Thanks a ton!!! I'll try to figure out the watch... it wasn't very expensive... in retrospec I should have gotten a good one. :)
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