Heart Rate Monitor

Standing by for a flood of people saying they love them...

I can't even remember the last time I used mine. So not a cardio bunny or training for any sort of event so it's not much use to me. I wear my fitbit daily.


But yes, if you want one - get one with the strap. You tuck it right up under the bra strap. The watch will show your information. They are for steady elevated cardio only - so not all day, not walking, not strength training, etc... I have the Polar Ft4 - easy to use and not too expensive.

I don't have a lot of money to spend

I wouldn't bother then, there are better things to invest in.

An HRM can help you if you're seriously into performance improvement in something like running, cycling or rowing. For casual exercisers then they're little more than gimmicks.

As far as calorie approximation is concerned, they're no more or less accurate than the estimations here for many activities, as they're rarely used as they're designed to be used.

With respect to effort, just work on rate of perceived exertion. If you feel as if your pushing yourself hard enough, then you probably are, if you feel you have more in you, then push harder.

Standing by for a flood of people saying they love them...

I use my GPS/HRM to keep my distances honest and track heart rate over time (I'm a numbers wonk) I agree with the above if all you're interested in is calorie burn. When I'm running or riding I seldom refer to mine, I base my workouts on perceived effort.

How can I get closer to going for a fat burn heart rate without a HRM?

Do yourself a favour and forget you ever heard the term "fat burning zone". It's low intensity cardio that does burn a higher proportion of calories from fat but far fewer calories overall. Fat burning is important if your an endurance athlete not if you want to lose weight.

With respect to effort, just work on rate of perceived exertion. If you feel as if your pushing yourself hard enough, then you probably are, if you feel you have more in you, then push harder.

I hear what you are saying, but I feel concerned about a couple of things. Maybe you could help me understand them?

1. Sometimes, when I am running, for example, I feel like my heart rate is in the "athletic conditioning" range vs. the "fat or calorie" burn range. How can I get closer to going for a fat burn heart rate without a HRM?

The more effort you're putting in the more calories you're burning, Work on pace rather than heart rate. I'm assuming that you haven't had your maximum heart rate assessed in a lab, which is the only scenario where zone training becomes meaningful.

2. What about the philosophy of getting the hear rate up long enough to the point where it no longer burns calories but taxes muscles more?

That's nonsense, unless you're running 2-3 hours per session several days per week without adequately refueling yourself.

ETA: Re-reading your question, I've interpreted your meaning as consumes muscle, which is a pretty typical broscience piece of nonsense that I've seen in other forums on here. It may be that you've meant stresses, but that's the point of CV training, putting you CV system under stress improves your fitness.

How do you feel the fit bit helps when you're doing classes or when doing weight training? Isn't it only good for walking / running?

Correct - it really only tracks steps. It just keeps me motivated. I personally have no need to know exactly how many calories I'm burning since it is all just an estimate anyway.

When I reach my next goal, I'm rewarding myself with a Garmin Vivo. It's like a Fitbit but also has a HRM and can track a bit more than walking/running.

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On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is absolute maximum effort, most of your training should be between 6 and 8. Going above that can help your oxygen uptake, but given your objectives there is little real benefit.

Its really simple, despite all the nonsense in some of the threads.

That said, a combination of CV work and resistance work, in conjunction with a calorie deficit, is the best approach for your objectives
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As a fitness trainer this is my school of thought. On that 1-10 scale where 1 is resting and 10 is MAX work (meaning you can not continue at his pace) staying between 6-8 is a good. Also, adding intervals is very effective for calorie burn/fat loss. After warm up try doing 30 sec or longer high intensity intervals followed by a short time of rest (can be equal to interval time if you like, more or less) Shoot for 6 or more of these intervals depending on how long your total session is. I tend to recommend 20-30 mins at a time. This will usually work well for a vast number of people. If you are an athlete then you will need to train toward your sport.

Don't forget strength training, very important for muscle tone and metabolism. If you like all the gadgets and will use them, go for it. But if they hinder you, meaning you get too hung up on it and can't work out without it then it may not be for you. Try cardio 4-6x week and strength training 3-5x week. Good luck!