which is more accurate? the monitor or machine you are pound

Almost always the HR monitor will be more accurate. Which heart rate model did you get?

I just purchased one from CVS. It seems to be monitoring everything else just fine but the calories on it read "64" after I ran 2 miles in under 30 min!? Are they measuring just fat cals?

BUMP

I just purchased one from CVS. It seems to be monitoring everything else just fine but the calories on it read "64" after I ran 2 miles in under 30 min!? Are they measuring just fat cals?

go with what the heart rate monitor is telling you. calories expended is a function of oxygen consumption (as well as some other things like blood circulation and hormone production and the like) and your heart rate and oxygen intake increase when you are exercising. the heart rate monitor measures your changing heart rate and estimates how many calories are required to keep up with biochemical processes in your body. the machine you are using (treadmill, eliptical, or whatever) cannot keep track of these processes unless you are connected to it via a heart rate monitor.

thus, the machine you are using is much less accurate in its determination of how many calories you are using during exercise, while the heart rate monitor is much more accurate.

i found this article. you may or may not find it helpful but it gives great advice on the HIIT and what happens to burn fat

http://www.notyouraveragefitnesstips.com/best-workout-routines/best-cardio-for-weight-loss-hiit-workout-routine

thanks so much that clers up my 1st question....you seem like you know quite a bit want to tackle another one...how do I access more fat burn in the workout is it just lowering my heart rate and staying at 60-70% target heart rate or is it time served on the maching of choice someone said after 22 min I soulf access fat burn but I dis 1 hr 12 min today and only got 9 min fat burn..so that blows that theory

you are burning fat during all parts of your workout. i'm not quite sure what your monitor is telling you.

read this
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/busting-the-great-myths-of-fat-burning.html

it makes a better argument than i can. basically you are burning fat all the time. when you exercise, you burn carbs for fast energy but over the course of your workout your metabolism shifts to burn mostly fat. so if you are running for 20 minutes your body at 20 minutes is burning a higher ratio of fat to carbs than it was at 5 minutes.

either way, your body is burning calories, and the goal to weight loss is to burn more calories in a 24 hour period than you are consuming, so no matter what you are burning, if the number of calories burned is higher than the number consumed, you will lose weight (and look slimmer, which is what i'm guessing you want to look).

Here's a blurb I pulled off the Polar forums. BTW, Polar does not publish the formula they use for calculating calories (or at least that seemed to be what I read in the forums). The OwnCal on the FT7 uses body weight, height, age, gender, individual maximum heart rate (HRmax) & heart rate during exercise.

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Calorie expenditure during exercise is dependent on exercise intensity and duration as well as body weight of the exerciser and the amount of muscles involved in the exercise. In Polar heart rate monitors the calorie calculation is based on exercise heart rate, body weight and gender or individual VO2max and HRmax (measured or predicted) along with exercise heart rate and body weight (depending on the model). OwnCal

In exercise machines the calorie calculation is based on mechanical work and possible demographic variables of the exerciser (usually weight).

The above two methods estimates calorie expenditure. The only ways to measure calorie expenditure for sure is laboratory respiratory gas analysis or respiratory chamber measurement.

Anyway, here is a link to a document concerning the development of Polar OwnCal feature. I hope you will find it useful: Scientific development and evaluation of the Polar OwnCal/OwnCalS feature

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I went running with my HRM while using my iPhone with the RunKeeper app. After my 3 mile jog, i found that the HRM and the iPhone app was only about 30 cals off. The HRM would be the most accurate because it has real time monitor of my heart rate so its calculations should be better. But I was pleasantly surprised that free app on my phone was pretty close.