Heart Rate Monitors??

jennycita
jennycita Posts: 40 Member
in Getting Started
I need to buy a heart rate monitor. Any suggestions on which one? Brand? Type? or where I can find a good one. thanks!

Replies

  • IASP94
    IASP94 Posts: 7
    I got mine from ebay its really good and was only about £5.

    Its like a 4 in one, has alarm, pulse, time, exercise all you do is enter your details (height age weight) and then it counts how many calories you burn when its on exercise mode.

    I find it really accurate for the price aswell
  • Jennifer_Lynn_1982
    Jennifer_Lynn_1982 Posts: 567 Member
    I've been looking into one too. I think the strap ones are superior to the watch style (I've had the watch style and it takes too long to show you your HR, plus its awkward to view and hold a button while running or doing an activity). I'm looking at the Polar H7.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    It really depends what you need a HRM for otherwise you will get everyone's suggestion for what suits them and possibly not what suits you!
    Running? Swimming, Cycling? Actually planning on using it as a training aid or as a calorie esitmator?
  • kgronevelt
    kgronevelt Posts: 3
    I've been wondering the same thing. There are so many out there now!
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
    I purchased this one and have been very happy with it. A friend of mine at work has a fancier model of the same brand that has all kinds of extra bells and whistles that I didn't really want. This one tracks number of minutes exercising, heart rate, number of minutes in the desired heart rate zone, etc. I would recommend it (I guess I am lol)

    http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Purple/dp/B005M1P85O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409256905&sr=8-3&keywords=ft4+polar+watch
  • jennycita
    jennycita Posts: 40 Member
    It really depends what you need a HRM for otherwise you will get everyone's suggestion for what suits them and possibly not what suits you!
    Running? Swimming, Cycling? Actually planning on using it as a training aid or as a calorie esitmator?

    I am starting a program at a local gym in the next few weeks. It is HITT workouts mainly and I want to use it for running and/or yoga.

    Does this help?

    Should I invest in a chest strap for sure?

    thanks!
  • carolinaem
    carolinaem Posts: 58 Member
    I have the basic Polar ft4 HRM and I like it (It does have a chest strap). I use it in classes and running for the most part. You can often find it on sale on Amazon for under $60.
  • Vic8893
    Vic8893 Posts: 57 Member
    I have been looking into the same thing! From everything that I have read and what people have said, it looks like the polar ones are the best.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    It really depends what you need a HRM for otherwise you will get everyone's suggestion for what suits them and possibly not what suits you!
    Running? Swimming, Cycling? Actually planning on using it as a training aid or as a calorie esitmator?

    I am starting a program at a local gym in the next few weeks. It is HITT workouts mainly and I want to use it for running and/or yoga.

    Does this help?

    Should I invest in a chest strap for sure?

    thanks!

    If you want accuracy of HR reading, yes to chest strap. Because that's what it actually measures, heart beats.

    Don't really need it for HIIT, because HIIT is all out push, hard as you can, not up to certain HR. Time is the limiting factor for HIIT.
    Now, seeing the HR will indeed tell you if overtraining or not enough recovery. Because if you can't push the HR as high, your muscles are tired and you basically just wasted a workout.
    If non-HIIT regular intervals, then it would be useful to confirm you push to certain point for certain amount of time, and then recovery was easy enough for certain time. That type of intervals perhaps?

    Not sure how it would be useful for yoga, unless they want you to confirm you are being calm with a low HR.

    Running would be useful for training in the right HR zone for endurance type events, is that the eventual purpose?

    Did someone say you needed a HRM for these types of activities, because you didn't say it was for calorie count - and those are just unusual activities to need one for beyond personal curiosity.

    Oh, any cheap with with a strap is EKG accurate. The quality and longevity will be the difference.
  • MzJonzz
    MzJonzz Posts: 7 Member
    I just got a Polar FT4 and I like it quite a bit. I use it for spinning, Zumba, BARR - pretty much anything. I got mine from Amazon for just under $60.
  • luluinca
    luluinca Posts: 2,899 Member
    I have the Polar FT7 and I even swim with it on. Love it. I use it to track my HR and calories and also to see how much of my workout is in the optimal zone. I think the calories are pretty accurate for all of my workouts including Circuit Training and Weight Lifting/Strength Training. It's a watch and a chest strap. I was worried the chest strap would annoy me but I don't even notice it. Bought it on Amazon.
  • jennycita
    jennycita Posts: 40 Member
    I need mainly for calorie count. The trainer suggested we get one for the program I am starting. It is like a boot camp that comes with meal plan and counseling. He said it was the best way to count calories and measure my HR.

    I never really worked out like that and I have never used one, so I didn't even know where to start looking.

    But to answer your question, it is mainly to count calories burned and to measure my HR during Yoga and meditation.

    Thank you!!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I've been looking into one too. I think the strap ones are superior to the watch style (I've had the watch style and it takes too long to show you your HR, plus its awkward to view and hold a button while running or doing an activity). I'm looking at the Polar H7.

    ^This

    Wrist only models have problems. Arm movements can throw numbers off, you may have to stop to take a pulse, etc.

    A chest strap model will measure your heart rate constantly. I have a Polar FT4 .....I don't workout at a gym, so I don't worry about interference from other monitors.

    Heart rate monitors are designed for steady state cardio. Accuracy goes down for other types of workouts.
  • gracelw3d
    gracelw3d Posts: 2 Member
    I also have the Polar F7. The previous post mentioned swimming in it. I washed the strap in the washing machine and accidentally left the sensor attached and it still works. I love this monitor. The watch looks like a regular watch and the display is easy to read. It's also easy to set up and the chest strap is very comfortable. I use it during cross training, weight training, spin classes, walking and even mowing the lawn LOL! The calorie expenditure seems to be fairly accurate and is in part based on your gender, weight, and age in addition to intensity. I really like how it shows my heart rate because it makes it very easy for me to see how intense my workout is. I perspire easily so that is not a good indicator of how hard I am really working. It was a very reasonable cost too on Amazon. I don't know if it has GPS so if you need that functionality, you'd have to look into that. I use it approx 5 days a week but I've only had it for 2 months so I can't speak to its longevity.
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
    I use the garmin forerunner 220 for my training. What i like about this particular model,it has a built- in accelermeter so you don't
    need a footpod for indoor training.It is also pretty accurate. If you are using it for training purposes,this is the 1 to get.(IMO)
  • Mexicanbigfoot
    Mexicanbigfoot Posts: 520 Member
    I have a Polar FT4. It's a pretty basic model, but I love it. It came with a chest strap. I think I paid about $60 on Amazon.com

    Good luck! :drinker:
  • Drevious
    Drevious Posts: 69 Member
    What's your price range? Garmin and Polar are the best brands. There are some really amazing new ones on the market but they are $$$. For your first one, I recommend a women's polar with chest strap.
  • amcook4
    amcook4 Posts: 561 Member
    At first I didn't want a chest strap model either, because I thought it would be silly to wear. Thankfully my husband researched and said it was by far the most accurate. I started out with a polar that syncs to my phone, I put on the strap & monitor, and it bluetooths to my phone app that keeps track of everything. Then I started getting into swimming, and of course I'm not going to take my phone in the pool with me (they need to be within a few feet of each other to work), so I bought a polar FT7, this one does not sync with my phone, but it comes with a watch that it syncs with, both of which are waterproof. So, if I'm out running, I use the one with just the strap and bluetooth it to the phone, if I'm swimming I use the watch/strap combo and manually transfer the numbers off after I'm done.

    Also, my weirdness about not wanting to wear a chest strap because I found it weird, was just silly. Since it fits right under my bra, there is no way to see that it is even there. Of course I had the time I didn't have it tight enough and it almost came off while swimming, but that is a whole different story. So definitely get something with a strap, what you get should depend on what you want out of it. When I sync with my phone I get a lot more data than just with a watch.
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
    See Azdak blog 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. Very good write up.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I need mainly for calorie count. The trainer suggested we get one for the program I am starting. It is like a boot camp that comes with meal plan and counseling. He said it was the best way to count calories and measure my HR.

    I never really worked out like that and I have never used one, so I didn't even know where to start looking.

    But to answer your question, it is mainly to count calories burned and to measure my HR during Yoga and meditation.

    Thank you!!

    In that case, the cheapest Polars are going to be badly lacking. Even the more expensive Polars with even lab measured stats used can be lacking.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study

    But at the least, the cheapest Polar I've seen with the required stats, and self-test to get them, is the RS300X.

    That's your best bet for stated goal.

    Or get any cheap one and create your own personal calorie burn formula based on treadmill testing.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/getting-your-personalized-calorie-burn-formula-663625

    Which really would be best for that non-steady state workouts you mention of boot camp, HR up and down, up and down.

    And yoga is below exercise aerobic level so that can't be trusted at all for calorie burn.

    Ditto's to understanding how HRM works and estimates calorie burn with blog above.

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