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Need A Heart Rate Monitor

DaniJeanine
DaniJeanine Posts: 473 Member
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I really need a more accurate way to track my calories...I'm a Zumba lover and according to MFP, the calories for "high-impact aerobics" (which is what I consider it) seems very low at only 375 calories per hour. The MFP calories burned for "dancing" is even lower. I've heard women in my Zumba class say they've burned 1,000 calories in one class before according to their HRMs...I know everyone is difference but there's NO WAY that they burned 1,000 and I only burned 375! lol. Which leads me to the conclusion that I need a HRM.

I need some opinions on which one to get and where to get it... I want a good one but I really don't want to spend a ton of money on it. Some one them are over $200! Help me out please :-)

Replies

  • Kolohe71
    Kolohe71 Posts: 613 Member
    You are going to get a ton of opinions on this, but the most popular seem to be the Polar FT4 & FT7.
  • JustMichelleB
    JustMichelleB Posts: 290
    I have a Polar FT4 and really love it. The chest strap is comfy and machine washable.
    As far as someone buring 1000cals/hour, thta sounds rather high. It's more typical for a woman to burn 100cals for every 10min of aerobic exercise.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    I love my Polar F4. I got it at Olympia Sports and with a coupon I only spend $71.00USD. It has a chest strap and is water proof.

    I love it.
  • AndreaWyland
    AndreaWyland Posts: 142 Member
    I bought my hrm 2 yrs ago. LOVE IT! great investment, rated #1 (but must be within a certain price range cuz I know there are better ones...) by consumer report mag. Timex with the chest band. It was about 80-90$
  • lnosgood
    lnosgood Posts: 92
    Polar HRM's are very good but a bit pricey. I currently have a Pro-Form TX-300 that i purchased at Walmart for about $45. It comes with a chest strap for continuous monitoring, is fully programable for your weight/height/age for more accurate reading, and calculates calories burned. It doubles as a stopwatch, alarm clock, calendar, and is also waterproof up to 50 meters so you can use this while swimming as well. If you're on a tight budget like I am it's a really good one to start off with. Once i have more $ then i'll probably upgrade to a better one, but for now at this point in my weight loss journey, it's perfect. =) Hope that helps!
  • INSANITY43
    INSANITY43 Posts: 142
    Love LOVE LOVE my polar FT7....ordered it on Heartratemonitorsusa.com. Monitor with a chest strap is a MUST! I learned the hard, expensive way :-(
  • DaniJeanine
    DaniJeanine Posts: 473 Member
    I have a Polar FT4 and really love it. The chest strap is comfy and machine washable.
    As far as someone buring 1000cals/hour, thta sounds rather high. It's more typical for a woman to burn 100cals for every 10min of aerobic exercise.

    1000 sounded high to me too! Either way, I know I'm burning more than 375, but I'm afraid to guess so I just count it as MFP does...
  • blisterpeanuts
    blisterpeanuts Posts: 67 Member
    My rule of thumb is about 10-12 cals/minute for high energy workouts (running, elliptical cross-trainer) and 3-4 cals for a brisk walk. I'm using the low end of the calorie estimates, though, and I don't have a heart monitor either (would also love to know a good one).

    I haven't tried zumba but it's hard to imagine it's much more intense than my elliptical :)

    Oh, and I'm a male, 5'8", 182 lbs (actually down to 176 now!!!)

    Best of luck,
    Blister
  • DaniJeanine
    DaniJeanine Posts: 473 Member
    See, 10-12 cals per minute sounds reasonable, and that would come out to (on average) 600-750 calories burned in 60 minutes of high-impact aerobics. I have no idea where MFP gets these super low numbers from...lol. Either way, I think I may head to Walmart to get that HRM
  • blisterpeanuts
    blisterpeanuts Posts: 67 Member
    February 2011 Consumer Reports magazine rates the Timex Personal Trainer (T5G971) for $50 as a best buy. It has a chest strap.

    The Polar FT7 is quite a ways down on the list but is still "recommended".

    They recommend using a chest strap.

    Pretty much, all the monitors they tested were acceptable, except for the LifeSpan MyBeat.
  • DaniJeanine
    DaniJeanine Posts: 473 Member
    Thanks so much! I'm gonna pick one up this weekend...
  • DaniJeanine
    DaniJeanine Posts: 473 Member
    Thanks so much! I'm gonna pick one up this weekend...
  • Minnie_Moo
    Minnie_Moo Posts: 239 Member
    Don't know if this will help you any but...........Here is a link that was posted in another thread with a lot of information on HRM's. Also, I would suggest getting one with a chest strap as they are better to calculate an accurate HR.


    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


    I know a lot of people on here have the FT7 and say that they like it alot. It runs around $109.95 and if you find online coupon codes you may be able to save more off the price of the HRM.

    I just purchased a Polar FT40 last week with free shipping and it arrived overnight from heartratemonitors dot com (I have used them in the past for my older FS3 HRM and a pedometer) and also found an $10.00 off total online code as well to help with the price of the HRM.......
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