HRM?

kmkgurl
kmkgurl Posts: 321 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was looking into getting a hrm. I currently don't have a lot of money so I was wondering what are pretty accurate ones that are kind of cheap and work well. also if there are not any good cheap ones that work well I can probably save money up to get one I'm just hoping to find something now.

Replies

  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    what type of work out are you doing. an HRM might not be ideal depending on your type of work out. with that said.

    I have owned both a polar FT4 and FT7. both did their job and are relatively cheap around $75 but I'm sure you can get it cheaper. I do a lot of running outside so I bought a Garmin forerunner 110 GPS enabled with HRM and it only cost me $140. This would be my recommendation. buy once cry once. I bought two polar HRM for the price of one Garmin. so decided how much running or walking you will be doing and chose your gadget to fit your type of work out.

    if you won't do any out door stuff then polar, if you are doing weight training, than skip the HRM all together. just calculate it using calorie charts which are pretty accurate or the same as your polar for any given exercise.
  • OhioTallGuy
    OhioTallGuy Posts: 82
    In for the responses, I am also looking for way to accurately measure calories burned during trips to the gym.
  • cmbauer99
    cmbauer99 Posts: 184 Member
    If you have a smart phone, you can pick up the Polar H7 Bluetooth HRM and it will track all your heart rate on an app. Its like $50 at best buy. I have one and attach to my Polar Loop Love it
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Look for one with a chest strap. A chest strap measures electric pulses the whole time. Wrist only jobs often have you stop your workout to take your pulse. Arm movements can throw these units off also. I have a Polar FT4....not the most fancy, but I'm not in a gym where other HRMs would interfere.

    Prince Eric brings up a good point. HRMs are designed for steady state cardio.....if that's your workout then you should be ok. If you want it for other things, not terribly accurate.
  • jeffininer
    jeffininer Posts: 204 Member
    what type of work out are you doing. an HRM might not be ideal depending on your type of work out. with that said.

    I have owned both a polar FT4 and FT7. both did their job and are relatively cheap around $75 but I'm sure you can get it cheaper. I do a lot of running outside so I bought a Garmin forerunner 110 GPS enabled with HRM and it only cost me $140. This would be my recommendation. buy once cry once. I bought two polar HRM for the price of one Garmin. so decided how much running or walking you will be doing and chose your gadget to fit your type of work out.

    if you won't do any out door stuff then polar, if you are doing weight training, than skip the HRM all together. just calculate it using calorie charts which are pretty accurate or the same as your polar for any given exercise.

    I did this almost exact process. I bought a Polar FT7. Loved it (still do). Great buy for the money. But, if money is tight, the FT4 is just as good. You can get one for $60 off of Amazon. I love the idea of the H7 (just the chest band, no watch), that syncs with your phone. But sometimes you might not have your phone with you, so I like the watch idea better.

    I just this weekend abandoned my Polar for a Garmin Forerunner 210. I've taken up running and found I wanted GPS as well. But the two of us might not be the norm? Some people don't care about running and GPS.

    There are other cheaper HRMs out there, but I had such good luck with Polar, I would definitely suggest that brand.
  • Chain_Ring
    Chain_Ring Posts: 753 Member
    Buy a Garmin device. Not cheap but very well worth the money spent. :-)
  • kmkgurl
    kmkgurl Posts: 321 Member
    I've been running and have been doing workout videos like jillian michaels and I just started lifting weights. sorry im so new to all this hrm stuff. what do you mean by attach it to polar loop? lol
  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    polar loop is like a fit bit, I own one also but don't ever use it anymore. it attaches to a polar loop via bluetooth and you can record your calories that way. but you have to sync it and "pick out" the time you worked out and just record your work out. but again it won't work too well unless you are in steady state cardio like running, walking, biking or swimming. lifting weights i would just use a chart.
  • nolanerinbryon
    nolanerinbryon Posts: 80 Member
    I have a Polar FT4 (chest strap + watch)... it was about $60 at Target.com. It's very easy to use; I use it 5-6x per week for 25-40 mins each day... I've replaced the battery after about 4 months of this use.. I also have a FitBit One but that's more of a pedometer and not an HRM... only good for walkers/runners. I haven't even tried to see if these 2 devices can sync together.

    I've used the FT4 for walking, running, strenuous cleaning, weight lifting & other cardio; it seems pretty effective and accurate to me. The FT4 cannot be used in the water for swimming - if you like swimming as a primary workout, I would not recommend the FT4. I've heard Garmin makes a great device (perhaps the same one others mentioned here?) for the water. Good luck with your decision!
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    Polar FT4 on amazon.com
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    What exactly are you planning to use it for?

    HRMs are designed to monitor HR. Most people on here are looking for HRMs for calorie burn estimations. Depending on which one you are interested in will depend on which model may be more "reliable".

    I love Garmins but they are dedicated GPS devices that also have a HR feature on some models. If you are a runner or cyclist, they are pretty useful. If you aren't, I'd go with a dedicated HRM.

    When deciding whether or not to buy a HRM for calorie estimations, you also need to take into consideration what type of activity you plan to use it for. HRM calorie estimation algorithms are based on steady state cardio at moderate intensity. Things like intervals will affect accuracy. It will not be accurate for low intensity activies nor will it be accurate for things like weight lifting.

    A really great article that explains it all
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    I've been running and have been doing workout videos like jillian michaels and I just started lifting weights. sorry im so new to all this hrm stuff. what do you mean by attach it to polar loop? lol

    A HRM will be quite accurate when used while running, kinda accurate when used doing JM and not at all accurate when lifting weights. It's meant to be used doing steady state cardio, like running. The more you get away from that, the less accurate the results will be, just something it pays to remember. And by loop, they refer to polar's version of a fitbit, though I haven't heard much about it.
  • dan_IRL
    dan_IRL Posts: 204 Member
    I LOVED the Polar H7 in combination with the Digifit app on my iPhone 5 for walking/jogging/spin class/working out. But the only problem is that is breaks A LOT!

    I've had to send it in for repairs twice already and now it's dead again. Every time I sent it in they said it was a dead battery. But I have replaced the battery and it didn't work.

    At this point I'm ready to get a watch based model. But i've fallen in love with the digifit ecosystem and how it integrates with MFP so I don't know how I'll cope with it.

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