Heart Monitor & Counting Calories

urbanychic
urbanychic Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey ya'll!

I am in the market to purchase a good heart monitor that (hopefully) counts how many calories I'm losing while I'm working out. There are so many out there that is slightly overwhelming. I was wondering if anyone relies on a superb monitor and what does it offer other than monitoring your heart rate. I'll take all thoughts and criticism in this matter.

Thanks !!

Replies

  • laylaness
    laylaness Posts: 262 Member
    Polar makes pretty good ones. I have an FT4 I got for about $50 on Amazon.

    ETA: It tracks your calorie burn and heart rate, and it tracks your history.

    http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Purple/dp/B005M1P85O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399577592&sr=8-1&keywords=polar+ft4
  • TheThriftstorian
    TheThriftstorian Posts: 20 Member
    Polar makes pretty good ones. I have an FT4 I got for about $50 on Amazon.

    ETA: It tracks your calorie burn and heart rate, and it tracks your history.

    http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Purple/dp/B005M1P85O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399577592&sr=8-1&keywords=polar+ft4

    I have the same one and I absolutely ADORE it! Having a heart rate monitor has drastically improved my weight loss and my calorie tracking. Don't rely on machines to tell you the number of calories you've burned-- I've found that I will only ever trust a HRM ever again.

    Also--- only get one with a chest strap. That's the only way you are going to get the most accurate count possible.
  • afortunatedragon
    afortunatedragon Posts: 329 Member
    I have a Polar FT 7
    Brilliant tool. Gives you all you need right away.
    You can even check during the exersice your burned calories.
    And available in many nice colours.
  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    I had the polar FT4 and FT7 both are fine. what kind of work out are you doing? if you are running or walking outside i would suggest a garmin forerunner 110 with HRM. it cost more but it uses GPS to track your distance along with heart rate and calories burned. I paid 140 with amazon prime.

    if you aren't doing steady state cardio activities then I would skip the HRM all together. they are all designed to be used in steady state cardio.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    I love my Zephyr HRM. It's just the chestband, and it connects through bluetooth to a variety of apps on my phone. I have my phone anyway for music/Neflix (depending on what kind of workout I'm doing...I can use cardio equipment much longer if my mind is engaged in a show or movie) and iCardio or Runkeeper or a number of other apps give way more info than a HRM watch does, for about the same price (around $70). I can also set my apps to read out loud when I hit a different heart rate zone, right into my earbuds, so I don't have to constantly look at the HRM app.
  • urbanychic
    urbanychic Posts: 6 Member
    I'm doing a lot of elliptical, intensive pilates, hiit workouts and weight lifting.

    I'm interested in my heart rate for health reasons as well. I have high blood pressure that I'm trying to bring down and my heart rate was higher than it should be. I'm trying to monitor my resting and working out heart rate, as well.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I use the Polar FT4 in conjunction with this site to average my calorie burn: http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    My friend has a Zephyr and she adores it. Both of us use Sporttracker live (the site and the app) to see how long we walk, average speed, estimated calorie burn (can be used with Zephyr to get accurate calorie burn) and to set walking/running goals

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