Anyone know a good heart rate monitor?

al_pareja
al_pareja Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been looking for a heart rate monitor online but a lot of reviews state that they're rubbish etc. I was wondering if anyone on here uses a hrm and could suggest one that works well. I want to find out more before I go out and buy one.
Preferably under £100 but I'm open to suggestions. I guess you get what you pay for.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    What activities do you perform that you want to wear it during? Do you want one that talks to your phone or to a watch? Do you want one that connects to exercise machines? Do you intend to use it primarily to track heart rates or do you hope to use it for calorie estimation?
  • 113IPA
    113IPA Posts: 11 Member
    Polar FT4. I've been using it regularly for over a year with no problems; comes with a chest strap, wrist watch display, and connects wireless to most cardio machines. I got it for about $60 through amazon
  • FireStorm1972
    FireStorm1972 Posts: 1,142 Member
    I just picked up my Polar FT7 on Amazon.ca 98$ shipped to my door. It's great. Polar is one of the leading companys for HRM.
  • LexisFitMom87
    LexisFitMom87 Posts: 9
    I have a Polar FT4 and I love it. Bought it for about $60 on Amazon.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Any decent brand (Polar, Garmin, etc) will do a fine job of monitoring your heart rate.

    What is it, exactly, that you want it to do?
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    Save your money ... unless you have some desire to know your heart rate, but people almost never really use them for that and are interested in the calorie burn numbers .. which are often ************.

    You can figure it out. I gave my Polar FT4 to my sister.
  • HelenWater
    HelenWater Posts: 232 Member
    If you want to sync your workouts with MFP then Garmin (Ant+ HRM) could be the brand for you as Garmin Connect now talks to MFP.

    If you want something simple that gives heart rate during the workout and a summary at the end (and works while swimming) the Polar FT4 could be the one for you.

    A HRM with Bluetooth will work with Runtastic.

    You need to know what you want from the HRM to chose the one that works for you.

    I use my HRM mainly for when I'm on the rowing machine to help me continue to get fitter, and while walking to encourage me to walk faster. I also use it to estimate my calorie burn for each workout.

    I love gadgets and find them very useful.
  • al_pareja
    al_pareja Posts: 10 Member
    I wanted to use it when running or doing cardio exercises at the gym? I usually do a mix of elliptical trainer, climber, treadmill and such and I'm going to start lifting weights. I just want to keep better track of my fitness so I know if I'm pushing myself hard enough. Tracking calorie burn would be a bonus but I've read that they overestimate how many you burn. I was thinking of buying polar that looks like a good brand. One which I can use whilst swimming would be perfect as I plan to start swimming at my gym. I tend to use the rowing machine a lot too.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    It's probably overkill, but I use a Polar H7. All I do is track my calories burned based on my exercise time and my profile, so it's super simple. I just turn it on, start it and then stop, record burn and turn off. ;-)

    One of the reasons I use it is that most calculators, including MFP seem to track higher than my HRM. I think they use an average weight of 150 or so because no matter what I do, I never burn as high as they say and I believe it's because I am lighter than the calculator data.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    I wanted to use it when running or doing cardio exercises at the gym? I usually do a mix of elliptical trainer, climber, treadmill and such and I'm going to start lifting weights. I just want to keep better track of my fitness so I know if I'm pushing myself hard enough. Tracking calorie burn would be a bonus but I've read that they overestimate how many you burn. I was thinking of buying polar that looks like a good brand. One which I can use whilst swimming would be perfect as I plan to start swimming at my gym. I tend to use the rowing machine a lot too.

    With your focus on the beats per minute aspect over calorie estimation, you have a wide range of choices. If you want a strap that reports to your phone, the Polar H7 is a solid option as are some of the Wahoo straps. If you want the watch band display, compare the Polar lines to see which features you really want or need.

    You say you want to use it for running ... so is GPS compatibility an issue for you? If it is ... pay attention to if the HRM you finally decide upon is BLE or ANT+. It does no good to find a great deal on a piece of gear if it won't talk to your other toys.

    Look around at the software end of the HRMs and see which one presents the data in a way you like best so you can track not just HR during exercise but trends over time. Polar has its own proprietary software which most of their devices feed into. Training Peaks, Endomondo, the Map My Fitness family of apps, Digift, Runkeeper, etc all accept HR data.

    Swimming with a HRM brings about its own set of issues. Polar HRMs are swimming capable with several caveats. First is the strap ... they tend to shift when swimming (especially pushing off the wall) which degrades capability. Second is the straps interpret electrical impulses to count heart beats so the water, usually more the chemicals in the water, can cause disruptions in the reading of that signal. Keeping the strap extremely tight mitigates the issues but it isn't a 100% solution. The last issue is that sometimes the transmitter and receiver just don't like to talk to each other under water ... it varies by model.
  • al_pareja
    al_pareja Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks for all the replies!!

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