HRM error?

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danibee41989
danibee41989 Posts: 222 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm on couch to 5k week 2. My hrm said I burned 500 calories. That doesn't seem right. I did intervals of walking and running for 25 minutes. Thoughts?

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  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    What sort of HRM and does it have a chest strap?
  • danibee41989
    danibee41989 Posts: 222 Member
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    No chest strap. It's a watch and has me put my finger on the sensor. No brand name either. Got it off ebay.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    No chest strap. It's a watch and has me put my finger on the sensor. No brand name either. Got it off ebay.

    That's why. They are pretty useless.
  • amber_hanners
    amber_hanners Posts: 388 Member
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    well being as there is no brand its probably not very accurate do u think u burned more or less??
  • heidiscool
    heidiscool Posts: 36
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    Not sure what your weight is, but I have an HRM that is very accurate and I run/walk for an hour and burn about 600...
  • MeganH81
    MeganH81 Posts: 38
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    Use the "Instant Heart Rate Monitor" Android App! I've checked it with the hospital several times and it's dead on.

    Won't tell you anything other than your heart rate but if that's all you're looking for, it's GREAT!
  • cath1024
    cath1024 Posts: 79 Member
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    do you find the number is too high or too low?

    I do 35 mins on my treadmill walking and running intervals and my HRM shows i burn 405
    I can walk on an incline 3.0 mph same amount of time and it shows 420
    My boot camp is 1 hour of pretty heavy duty intervals and it shows i burn almost 700
  • ldon37
    ldon37 Posts: 145 Member
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    As much as we would LOVE to be able to burn 500 calories in 25 minutes, it doesn't sound quite right to me. If you can afford a polar hrm with a chest strap, they seem to be pretty accurate. Just for a point of reference, I burn between 400 and 465 calories doing a 45-min Insanity workout which is super intense intervals. I am 5'5" and 145 lb.
  • danibee41989
    danibee41989 Posts: 222 Member
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    Probably less.
  • danibee41989
    danibee41989 Posts: 222 Member
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    120 so it's got to be wrong.
  • danibee41989
    danibee41989 Posts: 222 Member
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    I have an app on my itouch for hrm. But Im not sure how accurate that is & Im not sure if you need to have internet for it to work
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    Just a thought: Is it set for the proper weight?

    If you got it off e-bay, maybe someone who weighed a lot more than you had it first. I change my weight in my HRM every time I gain/lose.
  • anzura
    anzura Posts: 171
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    100 calories per mile give or take a few. So unless you ran 5 miles in an hour I doubt you burned that much.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    As stated, without a chest strap the calorie counting function is pretty much a complete waste of time. When a person works out their heart rate is constantly changing going up and down. I am not exactly sure how the on demand HRM calculate calories, but if it is at all based on your heart rate all it has to work with are the numbers you get when you put your finger on the sensor. That means if it was at one of those points where your heart rate was spiking high, all the calories calculated from that point on to the next time you check your heart rate will be for that high heart rate, thus over estimating them. If your heart rate was at one of those low points, it will use that and under estimate calories. That basically means that the number for calories burned that it gives is completely useless. A HRM like you have if only of value for calculating your heart rate, nothing more. That has its place when you are using your heart rate to guide you in say Interval training, but for calorie counting you MUST have a chest strap continuous read HRM.

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