If I haven't needed a HRM yet, do I need one now?

missrenahope
missrenahope Posts: 44 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all.
In 2013 I was able to lose 40 pounds on my own - no HRM, no DVD's, none of that, just trying to eat better and exercising regularly. I still have about 30 pounds to go, and I'm realizing that the more I lose, the harder it is to lose more. So, I figured I would try out a Polar FT4 HRM. I haven't bought it yet due to skepticism. If I was able to achieve my goals before, do I need one to continue?
I'm worried that I'm not pushing myself enough to continue to reach my goals, and I know that an HRM would help me monitor that. However, reading some bad reviews on these HRM's has me weary of dropping that much money on something I might not really need. And then there's the whole process of an HRM, washing/wetting the strap and having issues with all of that... it slightly scared me.
Your opinions are much appreciated (and I've tried to look through all related posts on here, I'm sorry for making another HRM oriented one :( )

Replies

  • glreim21
    glreim21 Posts: 206 Member
    The following is just my opinion:).... If you want to monitor your heart rate during exercise they are a great tool. If you are using it to find out how many calories you burn during exercise, remember it is just an estimate. I guess you have to ask yourself, why do you want to monitor your heart rate? For me, I use mine for running and need to keep track of my pace, and heart rate. You should be able to tell based on your exertion level if you are training hard enough, you should not need a heart rate monitor to tell you that. If you do decide to get one, the chest strap is easy to take card of and I don't even wet the sensor anymore and it works just fine.
  • missrenahope
    missrenahope Posts: 44 Member
    Thank you for that, it helps! My main goal was indeed to track how many calories I'm burning during my workouts.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Thank you for that, it helps! My main goal was indeed to track how many calories I'm burning during my workouts.

    For most kinds of exercise routines, an HRM won't be particularly accurate. You're almost certainly better off just tracking closely and figuring out your actual burn from your actual results.

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