Heart rate monitor advice

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  • Bamboo678
    Bamboo678 Posts: 5
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    I use a Suunto M2. Basic model..don't need to connect to a computer. Chest belt and the watch are easy to use. Mine cost about $120 at Sail. I like it and it works well.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,606 Member
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    A recent news article said that most companies that make them are planning on gradually getting out of the business, because all of them are notoriously inaccurate. My husband has tried one, and I know others as well. Have yet to run into someone who really liked them, someone who didn't have issues with them, and someone who thought they were all that accurate. Save your money, use MFP's food/exercise log...which is probably much more accurate.

    But if you really want to waste your money, Consumer Reports like the Polar brand.

    PERSONALLY, i'D IGNORE THIS... I LOVE MY POLAR FT4. It matches fairly well with machines at gym... and lets me count things like grass cutting with more accuracy

    HRMs are not designed to track calorie burns on things like grass cutting. They are for steady state cardio only.
    what's the difference between pushing a lawn mower around in circles and up and down a hill and using a computer generated incline/resistance/ speed on a cardio machine at the gym, or jogging through a neighborhood? For that matter trimming hedges gets my heart rate up and keeps it in the zone for the duration. I could those calories burned as cardio.. heart rate in the zone, burning oxygen...therefore burning calories.
  • hsalahud
    hsalahud Posts: 5 Member
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    I have a Timex Ironman HRM. It's basically a chest strap that connects to a wrist watch. I love the fact that I can track my heart rate while working out... but on the flip side I have doubts about its accuracy. Yesterday when i went for a hike it showed that I had burned 1100 calories in 1 hr over a distance of 3.6 miles. I think that number is way too high for that sort of exercise.

    There are really expensive HRM's on the market but I really don't think that starting off with an expensive one is advisable.
  • Jaslene181
    Jaslene181 Posts: 5
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    I'd advise Beets BLU HRM, I've chosen it for a perfect combination of cost and accuracy of parameters, though of course you should remember that much depends on the application here. I'm using it with my favorite smartphone exercise tracking app and I must say it works just great for me.

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