Heart Rate Monitors
fishndad
Posts: 102 Member
Are they worth the investment? Are they accurate? Do they all have calorie burn & is that accurate? The calorie burn on MFP is different than my stationary bike, so I stick with the bike. Is it just estimates or guesses that are used? I've been thinking about getting one, but would rather not spend the money if they aren't really worth it. And which one would a person buy? Seems like they're are so many out there. Thanks
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Replies
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None of them are 100% accurate. I have a polar ft4 that I used to use a lot but no longer use. For me personally, I felt like it didn't help me much. I did get more valuable information from my fitbit flex, it helped me realize how much I actually burn in a day.
I decided to go the TDEE route, where you eat x amount of calories and don't count/calculate the workout burns in mfp.
Tho for some people, the HRM is a great tool for them. Polar gets a lot of good rec's on here.0 -
An HRM with a chest strap would be more accurate than your bike, unless your bike requires you to input personal information (gender, weight, etc.), although Strong Curves is right, none of them are 100% accurate.
I used to love my Polar F4 (long time ago), but since starting blood pressure meds, an HRM is no longer accurate for me to use.0 -
Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
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Were you looking for an activity tracker that you wear 24/7 or a HRM that you would wear for your cardio activities?
I did the same thing that @strong_curves did and went the TDEE route by figuring out my TDEE through my fitbit flex and then I take a % off to make sure I'm in a deficit.
If you go the HRM route, they won't be 100% accurate but they can be close. I had a Polar FT4 for a long time and found it to be fairly accurate. If you plan on eating back your exercise calories I suggest eating back 60-70% of what your HRM tells you.0 -
Most are accurate for what they are intended to do ... count heart beats. The chest strap bands and some optical devices like the Mio series are great at monitoring heart rate. When it comes to calories ... they plug HR into a formula based on activity. The issue is that the range of activities with the established relationship between HR, effort, and estimated caloric burn is quite small, pretty much steady state running, cycling, rowing ... HRMs are useless for estimating caloric burn from anaerobic activities like lifting or yoga ... they are inaccurate for intervals ... etc.
I use my HRM to track heart rate over time and on certain parts of my run and ride routes. I watch how well my HR drops when effort subsides or the workout is over. I do not use it as a calorie counting tool.
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
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1159044/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training#latest0 -
professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
HRM do NOT accurately track lifting weights, even if you do it fast.0 -
professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
Sorry that's incorrect. The HRM is meant to be used for constant cardio activity.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1159044/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training#latest0 -
professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
This post illustrates most of the fallacies with HRMs. Zones do exist, but are widely misunderstood and unnecessary for use by average people. HRMs are useless for lifting ... period.0 -
If you want to use it outside make sure to buy something you can read when doing the activity; on bicycle there are different ones, you put a sensor on the chest and it connects to the device fixed to the handle bar. I have a garmin edge but I think they are all quite similar. I have also the fitbit charge which is quite handy as you don't need to put the band on the chest, but difficult to read on a bike or when running. If you want to use it on a stationary bike however should be fine.
On the calories burnt is just an estimation. In principle they are useful since you can target zone, in practice I think for many people doesn't really make big difference. I love numbers so I like to use but if I have to be completely honest I don't think at the level I am makes big difference, for me it' more a toy...0 -
The problems with wrist worn HRMs.
http://www.cnet.com/news/how-accurate-are-wristband-heart-rate-monitors/
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I use a Polar V800 activity monitor with a chest strap to monitor my heart rate when I'm exercising, it has a profile setting for every exercise and gives you feed back. They make a less expensive version, the A300 (no gps) and the M400 (GPS) there is also the Polar loop, you can use a chest strap with and H7 sensor with all of them. My calorie burn from my hrm is always higher than the cardio machines, but it know's my resting heart rate also.0
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Are they worth the investment?
Depends what you want from it. As a training tool to help optimise performance; running and cycling, then they're useful.
For most casual exercisers I'd suggest probably not.Do they all have calorie burn & is that accurate?
They're no less inaccurate than other methods of approximating calorie expenditure.
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BTW if you just want to use it for the HRM function, one option is a Polar H7 sensor, and Polar Beat app for android or apple. http://www.polar.com/beat/us-en/0
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strong_curves wrote: »professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
HRM do NOT accurately track lifting weights, even if you do it fast.
It tracks your beating heart
Not really a subjective thing.
I train to reach target zones and it shows my heart rate.
It works exactly as desired.
Not sure what you want a heart rate monitor to monitor if not your heart rate?
What expertise do you have to make such a statement?
150 BPM is 150 BPM.
Are you claiming that when you get your heart rate to 150 doing squats that is somehow different than getting your heart rate to 150 sprinting?
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professionalHobbyist wrote: »Are you claiming that when you get your heart rate to 150 doing squats that is somehow different than getting your heart rate to 150 sprinting?
fwiw I'd expect HR to get significantly higher than 150 whilst sprinting.
Also not entirely sure whether 2 hours of squats would be all that interesting. Two hours of reasonably enthusiastic trail running would be.0 -
professionalHobbyist wrote: »strong_curves wrote: »professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
HRM do NOT accurately track lifting weights, even if you do it fast.
It tracks your beating heart
Not really a subjective thing.
I train to reach target zones and it shows my heart rate.
It works exactly as desired.
Not sure what you want a heart rate monitor to monitor if not your heart rate?
What expertise do you have to make such a statement?
150 BPM is 150 BPM.
Are you claiming that when you get your heart rate to 150 doing squats that is somehow different than getting your heart rate to 150 sprinting?
http://livehealthy.chron.com/can-heart-rate-monitors-measure-calories-weight-lifting-4910.html
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698
http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=you_asked_how_accurate_is_my_heart_rate_monitor_for_strength_training
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professionalHobbyist wrote: »strong_curves wrote: »professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
HRM do NOT accurately track lifting weights, even if you do it fast.
It tracks your beating heart
Not really a subjective thing.
I train to reach target zones and it shows my heart rate.
It works exactly as desired.
Not sure what you want a heart rate monitor to monitor if not your heart rate?
What expertise do you have to make such a statement?
150 BPM is 150 BPM.
Are you claiming that when you get your heart rate to 150 doing squats that is somehow different than getting your heart rate to 150 sprinting?
You clearly don't understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic activities. What your heart rate is during lifting is meaningless. Trying to impart the same meaning on it as during an aerobic activity is wrong. Your use of sprinting, another anaerobic activity, further illustrates my point.0 -
I love my polar A300 used with the H7...i've used others but always go back tp polar and I feel it's a good investment.0
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Personally I wouldn't couldn't count it. I don't think I could do the exercise long enough for it to be cardio. I would count that at strength training.0 -
Personally I wouldn't couldn't count it. I don't think I could do the exercise long enough for it to be cardio. I would count that at strength training.
Yeah that makes sense, cheers!
(Not that I log calories with my HRM anyway other than treadmill work)0 -
Are they worth the investment?
If you intend using it as a cardio training aid, yes (for some people).
Are they accurate?
Should accurately record HR
Do they all have calorie burn & is that accurate?
Depends what you mean by accurate! Yes/no/maybe - hard to verify.
The calorie burn on MFP is different than my stationary bike, so I stick with the bike. Is it just estimates or guesses that are used?
Everything is an estimate.
I've been thinking about getting one, but would rather not spend the money if they aren't really worth it.
Are you serious about aerobic training?
Is your normal exercise easy to estimate burns for without one (walking or running for example)?
Is your exercise not suitable for a HRM to produce a reasonable estimate for (strength training, interval training)
Would seeing the number motivate you?
And which one would a person buy? Seems like they're are so many out there. Thanks
I quite liked my Polar FT7 as a basic HRM - calorie burns were reasonable enough estimate to use for my particular cardio training with a bit of commonsense.
Current one is a Polar FT60 which allows me to customise settings for tested max HR and VO2 max. Most people don't have that info. Under the right conditions its calorie estimates are almost identical to a power meter.
But you still need to use a bit of thought - get hot and your HR is elevated, blood donation ditto, cycling outdoors your HR falls out of a suitable range (traffic stops etc...). It's as much an art as a science!
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brianpperkins wrote: »professionalHobbyist wrote: »strong_curves wrote: »professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
HRM do NOT accurately track lifting weights, even if you do it fast.
It tracks your beating heart
Not really a subjective thing.
I train to reach target zones and it shows my heart rate.
It works exactly as desired.
Not sure what you want a heart rate monitor to monitor if not your heart rate?
What expertise do you have to make such a statement?
150 BPM is 150 BPM.
Are you claiming that when you get your heart rate to 150 doing squats that is somehow different than getting your heart rate to 150 sprinting?
You clearly don't understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic activities. What your heart rate is during lifting is meaningless. Trying to impart the same meaning on it as during an aerobic activity is wrong. Your use of sprinting, another anaerobic activity, further illustrates my point.
I understand aerobic vs anaerobic.
Your heart rate over time matters
Beats are beats. I am counting time in a zone. It is exactly that. Watch cross fit, or people doing bench presses and jumping rope between sets.
Sprints interspersed with walking is not anaerobic. The degree you take the sprints to makes that determination.
Internet self proclaimed experts are now trying to tell me certified trainer and cardiologist are wrong. They have gotten me great results over long term and have degrees and certifications backing them.
The appropriate response here would be
Whatever....
Do what works for you.
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professionalHobbyist wrote: »brianpperkins wrote: »professionalHobbyist wrote: »strong_curves wrote: »professionalHobbyist wrote: »Absolutely!
Your heart rate is what will let you know if you are in cardio, fat burn, or anaerobic zones.
With a HRM you can lift weights in rapid cycles and make it your cardio. It lets you change things up and keep from being bored.
My heart rate monitor was a great investment in my own health.
If you really want to get crazy, and have insurance, get a basic blood test at Lab Corps for all the basics.
6 months of eating halfway right and getting in your cardio zone multiple days a week will be amazing.
Without knowing your actual heart rate, it is all a good approximation.
HRM do NOT accurately track lifting weights, even if you do it fast.
It tracks your beating heart
Not really a subjective thing.
I train to reach target zones and it shows my heart rate.
It works exactly as desired.
Not sure what you want a heart rate monitor to monitor if not your heart rate?
What expertise do you have to make such a statement?
150 BPM is 150 BPM.
Are you claiming that when you get your heart rate to 150 doing squats that is somehow different than getting your heart rate to 150 sprinting?
You clearly don't understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic activities. What your heart rate is during lifting is meaningless. Trying to impart the same meaning on it as during an aerobic activity is wrong. Your use of sprinting, another anaerobic activity, further illustrates my point.
I understand aerobic vs anaerobic.
Your heart rate over time matters
Beats are beats. I am counting time in a zone. It is exactly that. Watch cross fit, or people doing bench presses and jumping rope between sets.
Sprints interspersed with walking is not anaerobic. The degree you take the sprints to makes that determination.
Internet self proclaimed experts are now trying to tell me certified trainer and cardiologist are wrong. They have gotten me great results over long term and have degrees and certifications backing them.
The appropriate response here would be
Whatever....
Do what works for you.
If you were either of the things you claim in this post you would understand that heart rate in a vacuum is a meaningless data point. If heart rate alone determined a thing then a scary movie would have the same physiological impact as running. It doesn't. HRMs use heart rate as a proxy for effort during steady state cardio activity based on years of laboratory testing. That relationship only exists for steady state cardio ... nothing else.
Sprints are an anaerobic activity. So is weight lifting. That is at the most basic level. Your attempts to redefine terms do not alter the science behind them.
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