is a heart rate monitor worth it

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Replies

  • Broderick50
    Broderick50 Posts: 842 Member
    How does the chest strap work is it adjustable I'm a pretty big guy.
  • Vee716
    Vee716 Posts: 2 Member
    Yes, I have one which tracks your heart rate and calories burned. I don't have to guess how many calories I've burned. The one I have is the PolarFT4 heart rate monitor watch. I got it on amazon for about $60. I researched which one to get for days and I'm very happy with it. It comes with an adjustable strap to put on right under your chest and when you're working out you don't notice it's there.
  • mcdebbie
    mcdebbie Posts: 940 Member
    Do you wear them all day or just when working out?
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
    I have one, at first i was excited to have it but since i do practically the same workout everyday(30 day shred) i don't wear it every time. my calorie burn only varies a few calories each day so it's a bit redundant.

    if you do different workouts then yes i would say get one, especially if you use exercise machines because they are terribly inaccurate.

    I found that MFP over estimated my burn by about 50 calories a day but it never hurt my weight loss, so i guess it just depends on the person.

    HRM's are only accurate during cardio workouts, they are not accurate for strength training and they are not to be worn all day.
  • Vee716
    Vee716 Posts: 2 Member
    You can do both, but i just wear mine during the gym. Not to mention yes the band is comfortable when working out, but I don't think it would be wearing it all day.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    I guess I'm the lone dissenter. Not worth wasting money on. They are fairly accurate (about 85%) for steady state cardio, but completely in accurate and absolutely useless for any other type of exercising you may do, strength training, intervals, etc.

    I wouldn't waste money on it unless you happen to have the money to waste, and have nothing else you'd rather buy.
  • Aeramis13
    Aeramis13 Posts: 135 Member
    For those that eat back exercise calories, an HRM is pretty much a must. Otherwise you're just blindly guessing (the MFP database is wildly off for a lot of people, for example). Even if you don't eat back your exercise calories (let's say you do the TDEE minus a certain percentage thing like I do), an HRM is a great motivator. I don't leave the gym until my HRM says I've burned X amount of calories, making me push harder than I would if I just listened to my lazy self.

    Also, as you get more fit, having an HRM will tell you plainly that you're not burning as many calories so you can adjust your workout. (I've been working out 6 days/week for just over 4 months and have lost ~30 lbs. since starting the exercise thing. I now seem to burn about 30% less calories on my workouts then when I started. If I were eating back exercise calories, that amount could dramatically change my calorie deficit.

    You can snag a Polar FT7 on Amazon for about $70 w/free shipping: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KMP0TU/ I love this model, but there are many out there worth having. That being said, my previous HRM (Timex Iron Man something or other) was wildly high in it's estimation of my calorie burn. In general, the Polar brand is regarded as being right on, at least here in the MFP forums, I think.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    I have a Polar FT4. I am actually on maintenance and following TDEE, so I don't use it to track calories for logging purposes. I use it more to see where my HR is at throughout my routine, and decide if I need to pick up the pace/push harder or tone it down/slow a bit.

    When I was actively losing and using the standard MFP settings, I did use it to log my (steady-state cardio) exercise and used it to have a better idea of how many calories I should eat back to reach my net goal.
  • simsburyjet
    simsburyjet Posts: 999 Member
    I use it to track heart rate when spinning and doing insanity.. I do not go by calories to eat back the calories are only to monitor
    from class to class.. I bought a cheap wrist one but my wife uses the strap watch.. Hers is very accurate.
  • HRCephei36
    HRCephei36 Posts: 26
    Gonna beat a dead horse here. Have been using a Polar FT4 for a few years now. Love it. Worth every penny.
  • mostein
    mostein Posts: 200 Member
    YES YES YES!!! Any time I forget to wear mine I'm depressed lol. It is great for seeing how many calories you actually burn as well as keeping track of your heart rate.
  • TeamDale54
    TeamDale54 Posts: 186
    Yes! I would not workout without it.
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    It's pointless. I mean why would you need one other than to track your target hear rate? Honestly, learn your TDEE and go by that.
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    Have a Polar FT4 and love it. One of the best investments I have done.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    I love mine :) If I am doing really high cardio I need it to make sure I am not going to far. I can far exceed a healthy heart rate if i am not careful. Also if I am interval training it helps me know how much harder to push or back off.
  • Kimdbro
    Kimdbro Posts: 922 Member
    Absolutely!
  • Will32283
    Will32283 Posts: 1,361 Member
    I ordered the Polar FT4 from Amazon and started using it yesterday. I read on the forums that exercise equipment is way off on calories burned. How true thst is. My bike is off by 125-200 calories. One of the best decisions i have ever made. I advise you to buy one.
  • n_unocero
    n_unocero Posts: 445 Member
    I had a polar FT7, lost the transmitter, then splurged and got an FT60. After the watch crapped out on me, I will never buy another one....

    not saying they are bad. I loved having mine and was pretty pissed when my 60 broke. It was a great motivator because it gave me target times and cals to achieve for each week.

    but, now that I think back they were a waste of money for me. I've always been an athlete (played basketball and softball at the college level) so I've always been active. I knew my body and knew how hard I could push myself and what I should be eating to refuel. The HRMs were just a confirmation of what I already knew about myself.

    So i guess it just depends on the person.
  • kiwitechgirl
    kiwitechgirl Posts: 145 Member
    Do you wear them all day or just when working out?

    Just when working out, they're designed for steady state cardio, not everyday life. You want a FitBit or something similar for that.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    Without one, you're simply guessing at exercise calories. No point in tracking your food accurately if you then guess the other side.

    Sorry but I disagree with this statement. I don't have a HRM, and I probably never will, not for the kind of exercises that I do. I don't like gadgets or having a strap in my chest either.

    I log my food religiously, even when on vacation. I register in my exercise diary whatever numbers the cardio machines gives me (less than MFP counts), and for the rest of my activities I log MFP numbers. If I feel that they are too high, then I log less. Sometimes I eat some of my exercise calories, sometimes all of them. Depends how hungry I am.

    I have been on maintenance for almost three years, so I must be doing something right. If you can lose weight without exercising or without eating clean, then you can lose weight without a HRM.
  • pgn301
    pgn301 Posts: 29 Member
    Yes, I have one and I love it!
  • teamAmelia
    teamAmelia Posts: 1,247 Member
    Yes. I'm always skeptical of everything (burn numbers), so actually being able to compare what my HRM says to what sites like MFP I should be burning set my mind at ease. I find that it motivates me, now.
  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 531 Member
    For me, absolutely! I am an "at home" exerciser, and was finding a wide range of calorie burns for the same activities in different online sources including MFP. Now, with my HRM, I can see exactly how many calories I am burning for the specific cardio I am doing at home (like rebounding, hiking, aerobic dance, etc.). No more guessing! If I see my Heartrate is moving too low within my range, I know to step up the intensity... and in the same vein, if it is too high, I know to slow things up so that I'm exercising in a safe zone.

    I have the Polar FT4; it was affordable, is easy to use, and keeps a record of the last few training sessions in case I'm travelling and can't input them into MFP right away.

    Since I've been losing (eating half of the calories back), and am now moving into maintenance, it will be especially useful as I "tweak" my daily calories so that my weight stays fairly consistent.
  • fullerbrickroad
    fullerbrickroad Posts: 22
    I don't eat back exercise calories, so for me it is not necessary.
  • Pete0725
    Pete0725 Posts: 36 Member
    I too don't eat back exercise calories but I wear the monitor religiously while doing any cardio exercise.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I would be lost without mine. I've used them for years. If find that it itself overestimates my calories burned, by quite a bit, so I use this website to calculate my burns. It gives you a gross and then you can go on to calculate the net.

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I guess I'm the lone dissenter. Not worth wasting money on. They are fairly accurate (about 85%) for steady state cardio, but completely in accurate and absolutely useless for any other type of exercising you may do, strength training, intervals, etc.

    I wouldn't waste money on it unless you happen to have the money to waste, and have nothing else you'd rather buy.

    I've heard people say that. I used mine today during a kettlebell workout and then calculated my calories burned and I think it was pretty accurate. But kettlebell is pretty much continuous movement with not much rest, so I guess you could call it sort of steady state. Though my HR did vary quite a bit depending on what move I was doing.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    So, I worked some overtime and have enough to buy myself a little gift, and I've been hemming and hawing over whether to get a heart rate monitor. I believe the machines at the gym and MFP are both providing inaccurate calorie burns for me as I become more fit because even though I have my goals set to lose .5 pounds per week, I am losing more than I should be. I have a digital scale so I know I'm estimating my food correctly. I don't want to just blindly intake more calories.

    Well, after reading here about your happiness and successes with the heart rate monitors, I am going to buy myself one.

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