HRM-advice and opinions.

somerisagirlsname
somerisagirlsname Posts: 467 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Holy crap. There are a lot of heart rate monitors out there. I just bought a food scale so I can accurately put the right amount of calories into my body. The obvious next step would be to accurately depict the amount of calories coming out of my body. I want to get a HRM, but I am SUPER broke. Are the cheaper ones really inaccurate? Is the MFP weight-calorie correlation relatively close to my probable calorie-burn? Any opinions or advice?

Replies

  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    I use a Polar FT1 which is one of the cheaper ones at around £30 and it is as accurate as any other it does not do as many of the calculations for you is the main difference, however the results are accurate.
  • somerisagirlsname
    somerisagirlsname Posts: 467 Member
    Do you input your weight or when you wear it does it just know how much you're burning somehow?
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    Hey there!! If I could recommend two essential investments to make for successful weight loss, it would be a food scale and a HRM. Awesome for you for buying the scale!

    As for an HRM, I wouldn't get anything without a chest strap. The ones that are just watches do not keep track of your heart rate through your entire workout...only when you put your finger on the little sensor. I think there is a Polar FT1 that is around $40, and this is the lowest I would go. I haven't used it so I'm not sure if I can recommend it.

    I use the Polar FT4. It was $60 online with free shipping. I highly recommend it. It's much more accurate than the calorie burns that MFP and machines at the gym give you. It's also great for home workouts and running outside which is what I do most of the time.

    I would suggest to save up until you can get the FT4. It really is the second-best investment I made for my health, after the food scale.

    Good luck!! :)
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    with the FT1 you put your maximum heart rate in and do the calculations yourself so I am always using up to date information, the FT4 and up do the calculations for you so you put more details in and it calculates calories for you. Personal choice.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    The obvious next step would be to accurately depict the amount of calories coming out of my body. I want to get a HRM, but I am SUPER broke.

    Save your money - HRM isn't the panacea for calorie burn that so many people think it is. Unless you get the expensive ones that allow you to adjust for fitness level by (regularly!) testing for VO2max, they aren't any more "accurate" than the MFP database, and even then only if you use them in specific ways for specific activities.

    They are a great training tool, I use one daily for monitoring exertion level, but they aren't going to get you what you want.
  • mkmfrog
    mkmfrog Posts: 49 Member
    I use the Polar FT4 to monitor my heart rate and calculate my average BPMs. Then plug in the average BPMs into one of these calorie-burned calculators.

    http://www.calories-calculator.net/Calories_Burned_By_Heart_Rate.html or
    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx


    Although they offer it, IMO, HRMs are not really meant to calculate calories burned. They are designed to monitor your heart rate. So, I don't use it for the calories-burned function. I find the "calories burned" calculated by the HRM is much lower than the ones calculated by these two calculators. The two calculators pretty much come up with the same number, so I trust both.

    I bought my HRM on Amazon for $68.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    The obvious next step would be to accurately depict the amount of calories coming out of my body. I want to get a HRM, but I am SUPER broke.

    Save your money - HRM isn't the panacea for calorie burn that so many people think it is. Unless you get the expensive ones that allow you to adjust for fitness level by (regularly!) testing for VO2max, they aren't any more "accurate" than the MFP database, and even then only if you use them in specific ways for specific activities.

    They are a great training tool, I use one daily for monitoring exertion level, but they aren't going to get you what you want.

    I use an FT1 and adjust for V02max which is tested regularly.

    I calculate using

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    and then convert to net using same site according to Medical professionals this is far more accurate than the MFP database.

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