HRM recommendations? (UK)

misstmarie______xo
misstmarie______xo Posts: 14 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss

So, after having discovered a massive difference between what my exercise bike tells me I've burned vs what MFP tells me I've burned, I've been advised to invest in a HRM for more accuracy.
Anybody got any recommendations for me?

Replies

  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 543 Member
    edited March 2015
    I'm very pleased with my Polar Fit FT4 (I think they have a newer model out now)... it is just a chest strap with a sensor over the heart, and a watch that displays heartrate, calories burned, time, etc. I'm not very tech-savvy, and find it easy to use.

    It wasn't too expensive, either. I think I paid around sixty dollars on Amazon.com.

    I also like that it accurately shows my level of effort for each workout. Sometimes I do the same workout, but if the intensity differs from another session of the same workout, the heartrate will be lower or higher (and the calories burned). Keeps me on my toes intensity-wise!

    And, yeah, I like that it comes in pretty colours, if that matters to you :smile: .

    Edited for more specifics.
  • misstmarie______xo
    misstmarie______xo Posts: 14 Member
    Oooh, sounds good! I'll check it out. Thanks!
    And hell yeah pretty colours matter. ;)
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    Polar is a good brand, but if you want to spend less I would suggest to look at the Geonaute products (Decathlon), they have a good value for money.
  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
    misstmarie______xo wrote: »
    So, after having discovered a massive difference between what my exercise bike tells me I've burned vs what MFP tells me I've burned, I've been advised to invest in a HRM for more accuracy.
    Anybody got any recommendations for me?

    Remember HRMs are still only an estimate. Yes they are an estimate based on a mathematical algorithm using your heart rate but still an estimate and they can have accuracy issues. Just think of when your heart rate increases when you're not exercising for a start. So they will never be perfect and they are only designed for use for steady state cardio. That Caveat I have a Polar FT7 which is OK but I've had quite a few issues with it sticking to my heart rate and the chest strap. As I don't use a HRM for the calorie feature I dug out an very old polar and don't seem to have that problem. Personally with these issues I'm not sure I could recommend the FT7. I wouldn't totally out rule Polar though

    In reality you could probably work out your exercise calories via trial and error. Take the MFP figure eat half those calories back if you're still losing weight increase by a % until you maintain then you'll know pretty much what % of exercise calories you can eat back. Cheaper than a HRM to.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Polar ft4

    But only for steady state cardio ...so if you're doing HIIT on your bike you can't really trust the numbers
  • loubidy
    loubidy Posts: 440 Member
    I have the polar ft7 got from Amazon for about £60, I love it! Has a few more features than the ft4.

    But if I was to get another one, I will be spending more for probably garmin with gps.
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    Another thing, if you don't exercise alone, but near to other people using an HRM, it is essential to buy one with a coded signal.
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
    lidl currently have them on special offer at £15.
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