Heart Rate Monitor

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melissarmonroe
melissarmonroe Posts: 30 Member
in Getting Started
I think I am going to get one of these, to get a better accurate of calories burned and my heart rate during exercise. I have been doing insanity (until I got shin splints so bad I couldn't keep going) and am now doing Hip Hop Abs and walking. I don't really trust the calorie measures for some of these. Long story short, I am wondering if you all recommend one with the chest strap or without. I like that the chest strap provides a continuous monitor, but I am not certain I will like wearing it. How do the watch ones work if you only touch it every so often? Not sure then how it can get an accurate calorie read. Any helpful hints those of you who have used one can share would be appreciated. Plus, I don't want to spend too much, so what would you recommend under say $50?
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  • roanokejoe49
    roanokejoe49 Posts: 820 Member
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    I think I am going to get one of these, to get a better accurate of calories burned and my heart rate during exercise. I have been doing insanity (until I got shin splints so bad I couldn't keep going) and am now doing Hip Hop Abs and walking. I don't really trust the calorie measures for some of these. Long story short, I am wondering if you all recommend one with the chest strap or without. I like that the chest strap provides a continuous monitor, but I am not certain I will like wearing it. How do the watch ones work if you only touch it every so often? Not sure then how it can get an accurate calorie read. Any helpful hints those of you who have used one can share would be appreciated. Plus, I don't want to spend too much, so what would you recommend under say $50?

    $50.00 is a stretch. Spend the extra money and get a decent unit. Go to Polarusa.com and look at their entry level monitors. I've used Polar HR monitors for 25 years. You can't go wrong.
  • melissarmonroe
    melissarmonroe Posts: 30 Member
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    I figured as much. I am just afraid I won't continually use it and don't want to spend a lot of money!
  • Deb_622
    Deb_622 Posts: 694
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    I have the Polar FT4 which has a chest strap with it. I wasn't sure that I wanted the chest strap either, but in researching the monitors, the ones with the chest strap are more accurate and give continuous readouts - which I wanted for Insanity.

    Honestly, I don't even notice that I have it on, and I like that I can just look at the watch to see what my current HR is at any time without taking a break from the workout.
  • chele1028
    chele1028 Posts: 248 Member
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    I want to say I paid $64 online for my Polar FT4, it has a chest strap, and I don't even feel it, not bothersome at all. It has been a wonderful gadget for sure.
  • jobean12
    jobean12 Posts: 99 Member
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    I have a polar and love it!!
  • jobean12
    jobean12 Posts: 99 Member
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    agreed! Love it!~
  • jeffininer
    jeffininer Posts: 204 Member
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    I have a Polar FT7. I was worried about the chest strap too, but I don't notice it at all. No one can tell I'm wearing it either. I wouldn't let that dissuade you. If you can't have a continuous monitor of your heart, you won't be able to tell the calorie burn with any accuracy. Hence, the need for the chest strap.
  • dltp223
    dltp223 Posts: 28 Member
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    I second the Polar FT4 recommendation. It's a basic unit and does exactly what I need it to do. I paid around $60.
  • loubidy
    loubidy Posts: 440 Member
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    If you wear a sports bra, mine just sits underneath the bottom elastic bit of it so I don't feel it. It is my absolute favourite thing I own if you can stretch your budget get a polar FT7 (shop around I got mine for £60 GBP off amazon uk and its £95 in the sports shop).

    I wear it for any exercise I do and its great because it shows me my time spent on fitness or fat burning (the FT4 doesn't have this feature) I'm so glad I got one with a chest strap because I don't notice it at all and it gives me a constant accurate reading so now I am getting to know what heartrate I need to work at to be most effective in my workouts.

    Sorry about the shinsplints, they are killers I'm currently off running due to mine :(
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Heart rate monitors work best for steady-state aerobic exercise without a lot of variation in effort. Think running or bicycling at a constant speed, at a pace where you can talk, but it takes an effort to talk in complete sentences. Your heart speeds up and then reaches a plateau.

    They are not very useful for interval exercise, where the intensity is changing frequently, or for strength training.

    The exceptions are the HRMs that use Firstbeat, Inc.'s proprietary technology, which supposedly does a good job of measuring energy expenditure in interval exercise and other exercises where your heart rate is changing significantly. There are a handful of HRMs that use Firstbeat's technology, made by Garmin and Suunto, and they're fairly expensive.

    Here are some references on traditional HRMS: One study of the Polar F6 showed that, even calibrated with subjects' actual VO2max and HRmax, it overestimated energy expenditure by 27% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21178923). An earlier study showed that the Polar S410 overestimated energy expenditure in women by 12% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15292754). Another study found that the Polar S810i overestimated expenditure when exercising lightly but not moderately (http://www.jssm.org/vol9/n3/21/v9n3-21abst.php). The research seems to suggest that HRMs are less accurate for women than they are for men.

    The study by Keytel et al (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15966347) that produced a widely-used formula found that it was reasonably accurate for groups when VO2max had been measured, but less accurate without measurement of VO2max - in the latter case, over 26% of the variance in energy expenditure was not explained by their equation, which uses heart rate, gender, age, and weight to estimate calories consumed.
  • Michelleh118
    Michelleh118 Posts: 42 Member
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    I love my FT7, wouldn't be without it, I got mine from EBay.
  • SnowWhiteFanatic
    SnowWhiteFanatic Posts: 129 Member
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    I have a FT7. Love it!! Wouldn't exercise without it!
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
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    I have a FT7. Love it!! Wouldn't exercise without it!

    ditto. I got mine for $70 on Amazon. I also didn't think I would like the chest strap, but it really doesn't bother me at all. I forget it's there once the damp strap warms to body temp.
  • taravernier
    taravernier Posts: 12 Member
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    If you have a smart phone, Polar now has a chest strap that connects to that instead of a watch. It is the H7 and I really like it. I have my phone with me anyway and since I like to work with kettlebells I was always worried I was going to break the watch with the bell hitting it.
  • VanillaSmile427
    VanillaSmile427 Posts: 45
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    I have a polar! love it!! :D
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
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    http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00EY4DGFE/sr=8-1/qid=1392769651/ref=olp_tab_all?ie=UTF8&colid=&coliid=&me=&qid=1392769651&seller=&sr=8-1

    polar ft7
  • sonjarogers72
    sonjarogers72 Posts: 110 Member
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    LOVE MY POLAR FT4
  • oceanbreeze27
    oceanbreeze27 Posts: 66 Member
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    I just started using a HRM and I love it! It's not the best one on the market but it was within my budget. Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade to something a bit more accurate in the near future. I love watching that calorie burned number go up and up and up!
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,531 Member
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    I purchased a Garmin 310XT with a hard chest strap. It came with a soft chest strap....you get what you pay for...hence I ordered a "hard". Its great. I use it for any cardio (HIIT, Insanity, biking) and also walking, heavy yard work, etc. Not really use it for weight lifting. My main use is biking tho. It really helped me to see where my calorie burn was at when my energy level tanked (about the 1,350 burn mark). (I don't like running, but works for running, too.) This summer I plan to swim with it as it is water Proof (vs water Resistant).

    Don't look at it as a bunch of money spent on a HRM, look at is a long-term piece of equipment helping you to get to your fitness goals. You'll be glad you spent a bit more and got a better one than a cheapo.
  • misskb11
    misskb11 Posts: 16 Member
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    Agreed! I thought I would hate having a chest strap but I dont even feel it. Sometimes I forget it is on now! Totally go with a Polar, you will love it.

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