Polar HRM question

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MrsH78
MrsH78 Posts: 46 Member
edited May 2015 in Fitness and Exercise
my polar hrm has died so I borrowed my husband's this morning when I popped out for a bike ride.
I was extremely surprised to see it saying I had burnt 310 calories in 25 minutes!! I usually do focus t25 which is 25 mins of hard work and I burn about 310 cals more or less. I was surprised because the bike ride was easy compared to my workout.
So I got to thinking - could it be a lie because my husband's settings are different? He's taller, lighter, a bit older and male, obviously.
Would that make such a big difference? I'd have thought with him being lighter it'd be on the low side.
Hope someone can help!!
Thanks

Replies

  • sk1982
    sk1982 Posts: 45 Member
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    Men seem to burn more calories in general. I train with a male friend - he'll often burn almost double the amount i would (per his HRM) even though we are both of similar sizes and pushing equally hard.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
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    Yes, it will make a big difference. Gender alone can be a big difference in burn rate. Weight as well.
  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
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    MrsH78 wrote: »
    my polar hrm has died so I borrowed my husband's this morning when I popped out for a bike ride.
    I was extremely surprised to see it saying I had burnt 310 calories in 25 minutes!! I usually do focus t25 which is 25 mins of hard work and I burn about 310 cals more or less. I was surprised because the bike ride was easy compared to my workout.
    So I got to thinking - could it be a lie because my husband's settings are different? He's taller, lighter, a bit older and male, obviously.
    Would that make such a big difference? I'd have thought with him being lighter it'd be on the low side.
    Hope someone can help!!
    Thanks

    Just to say a Polar HRM will not be accurate t25. They are only designed to record steady state cardio so that figure is likely to be more innacurate

  • MrsH78
    MrsH78 Posts: 46 Member
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    isulo_kura wrote: »

    Just to say a Polar HRM will not be accurate t25. They are only designed to record steady state cardio so that figure is likely to be more innacurate

    Does this mean I'm probably burning more during t25? What hrt would be better? Cheers :)
  • GuyIncognito123
    GuyIncognito123 Posts: 263 Member
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    Yes, you need to configure it in the set up for your sex/age/height/weight.
    I have a polar and find it's a little quirky. You need to subtract your TDEE from the numbers (mine is around 100 per hour) and it also appears to inflate the number to make you feel good about doing something (I put this at 100). When I do mixed cardio for an hour mine states I burn about 500 calories... minus the 200 puts me around 300 calories actually burned. I could be out to lunch but I feel the 300 is more accurate than 500.
  • GuyIncognito123
    GuyIncognito123 Posts: 263 Member
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    And yes.. you need to reconfigure them each time you lose weight.
  • MrsH78
    MrsH78 Posts: 46 Member
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    sk1982 wrote: »
    Men seem to burn more calories in general. I train with a male friend - he'll often burn almost double the amount i would (per his HRM) even though we are both of similar sizes and pushing equally hard.

    That's very interesting (and unfair!!). I'd best adjust my burn on my diary then :(

    Thanks everyone
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
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    I have a polar hrm. I record a different percentage of what it says, depending on what exercise I'm doing. With steady state I record 100%. With circuit type training with short rest intervals between exercises I record 75% of what my hrm says. If I'm weight training I record 50%.
  • MrsH78
    MrsH78 Posts: 46 Member
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    That's quite disheartening! I always thought I was doing a good job burning over 10 cals a minute when I did my t25 :| so I need to put in fewer cals than it states? That sucks. :(

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