should I trust my HRM?

RebeccaKF
RebeccaKF Posts: 27 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a Polar FT7. I like it a lot but I'm wondering if I should trust it when it tells me how many calories I've burned. It's always quite bit higher than what MFP says I burn.

Replies

  • ME0172
    ME0172 Posts: 200
    Yep trust your HRM. It is actually taking input from your body, not an estimated caloric burn that MFP has. That's the whole point of using the HRM - for accuracy.

    EDIT: My calorie burn is always higher than MFP or a generic cardio machine says. My HR is probably just higher than most people when I work out or something, but I always go by my HRM. I eat back my calories and have had no issues with my progress.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Depends what you're doing, bear in mind that the HRM extrapolates an esimate and the accuracy varies depending on the consistency of your exercise.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Yep trust your HRM. It is actually taking input from your body, not an estimated caloric burn that MFP has. That's the whole point of using the HRM - for accuracy.
    A HRM is still an estimate. Yes it uses more data but still an estimate. So they are not 100% but more accurate than most methods
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
    Take it with a pinch of salt (actually don;t that's bad for you :tongue: )...

    BUT my advice would be to continue to use the same method all the time, say your HRM, because even if it's not 100% accurate, it will be consistent and so the Maths for energy input and output will be consistent .. Then if you find that you are losing weight at the rate that you like, the maths is Good or if not, you may have to adjust the amount of exercise until it does (say it's under reading and so you need to do more exercise to compensate)
  • RebeccaKF
    RebeccaKF Posts: 27 Member
    Okay. Thanks everyone! That makes me feel better.
  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    I trust my FT7. map my run says i burn a lot more than my FT7 so but I log what ever is on my FT7 weather it's lower or higher. i just try and keep it consistent.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Just one qusetion since you didn't specify. Are you just using it for exercising or are you trying to wear it all day? And when you do use it for exercise, are you mostly doing cardio or are you trying to use it for strength training?

    HRMs are designed mostly for steady state cardio. They don't tend to work very well at calculating burns when you're at rest or if your resting at intervals during your workout like you would be doing traditional strength training (do a set, rest for a minute or 3, do another set, rest, etc)

    Maybe provide some examples of what you're seeing for burns?
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    If you are using it for running, cycling, elliptical, any other steady state cardio then I would trust it to be relatively accurate. Anything else, it's not accurate.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    it makes a big difference what your doing as far as how accurate it would be

    running or walking or anything were your keeping a consistent level of exertion the entire work out it should work well for

    weight lifting its not going to work at all for really.

    i'd take the lower of the two, or average them, or split the difference
  • RebeccaKF
    RebeccaKF Posts: 27 Member
    Just one qusetion since you didn't specify. Are you just using it for exercising or are you trying to wear it all day? And when you do use it for exercise, are you mostly doing cardio or are you trying to use it for strength training?

    HRMs are designed mostly for steady state cardio. They don't tend to work very well at calculating burns when you're at rest or if your resting at intervals during your workout like you would be doing traditional strength training (do a set, rest for a minute or 3, do another set, rest, etc)

    Maybe provide some examples of what you're seeing for burns?

    I'm using it only for exercise and I'm mainly doing cardio, unless I'm doing like a 30 Day Shred. In that case it's cardio and strength.

    For instance, yesterday I did a Leslie Sansone Walk At Home video. It said I burned 509 calories in 43 min. That seems high to me.
  • RebeccaKF
    RebeccaKF Posts: 27 Member
    If you are using it for running, cycling, elliptical, any other steady state cardio then I would trust it to be relatively accurate. Anything else, it's not accurate.

    What about for something like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred or No More Trouble Zones?
  • RebeccaKF
    RebeccaKF Posts: 27 Member
    it makes a big difference what your doing as far as how accurate it would be

    running or walking or anything were your keeping a consistent level of exertion the entire work out it should work well for

    weight lifting its not going to work at all for really.

    i'd take the lower of the two, or average them, or split the difference

    So, with strength training, would the calorie burn be higher or lower than what the HRM says?
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    If you are using it for running, cycling, elliptical, any other steady state cardio then I would trust it to be relatively accurate. Anything else, it's not accurate.

    What about for something like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred or No More Trouble Zones?

    I'm not sure what those plans entail. If they aren't a steady state cardio activity, then no, they won't be accurate.

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