Can you use a heart rate monitor for walking?

kcm105
kcm105 Posts: 50 Member
edited November 10 in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, so I know you should only use a HRM for sustained aerobic exercise, right? Does walking count? I mean fairly brisk walking, on real terrain, etc. Or will that overestimate my calorie burn?

Replies

  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    i do use it for my walking on the treadmill... I walk ( very brisk) and jog a bit.
    So yes i do.
  • BeTheChange352
    BeTheChange352 Posts: 253 Member
    if it's getting your heart rate up in the process and keeping it there I would definitely use it.
  • crashj
    crashj Posts: 21 Member
    I started using one for my power walks about a year ago and definitely saw positive results - it's great because you can tell the days you feel good and really don't feel well at all and it will help with your route planning as well. I recommend a Polar H7.
  • AgentOrangeJuice
    AgentOrangeJuice Posts: 1,069 Member
    just make sure when you log, you subtract the amount of calories you would have normally burned for the amount of time you spent walking.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    I have the Polar H7 and love it.
    And with what i eat now the walking on the treadmill 6 days a week i lost 56 pounds since October so it is working really well.

    I walk myself into sweat. Which is getting more difficult as weeks go by lol. I am getting fitter.
    In the beginning i couldn't walk a half mile Now i do around 4 miles easel y.
    I jog some in it too. My heart rate goes up less and less of course because i get fitter. But still i can get it up till a total burn of 450 calories.

    My goal is not to have more calories to eat but to get fit again. And that is what it looks like at this point :)


  • charlottemilton
    charlottemilton Posts: 144 Member
    I use one when I am walking. At the moment I am only on the treadmill because I don't trust not falling or not being able to get back home if I am alone. I have bad knees that don't always cooperate with what I want to do. I have found that if I aim for my target heart rate, over time I am getting faster to get and keep it there. I think it is keeping me from trying to go too fast (a problem in the past,) getting hurt, and quitting. This is just my experience and you may be in a totally different place than I am. I still have over 100 lbs to lose but have lost 35 so far.
  • thefatveganchef
    thefatveganchef Posts: 89 Member
    I have a Fitbit Surge and use it when I go on my walks. It is good because I can go on the dashboard and see if I am in the fatburn, cardio, or peak zones and then push myself the next day to try to be in the higher zones longer. I can't really do much more than walk at a brisk pace because of my knees so it is pretty much the extent of my exercise. Fitbit also automattically connects with MFP and shows those calories burned.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    kcm105 wrote: »
    Or will that overestimate my calorie burn?

    Yes

    Your HR won't rise into the range where it's actually driving the algorithms appropriately.

    Notwithstanding that it'll provide moderately useful HR indicators of improving fitness.
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