Do I REALLY need a HRM (Heart Rate Monitor)?????

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amandavictoria80
amandavictoria80 Posts: 734 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am really confused about whether I need a HRM or not.

I know for sure that when I am working out, I am definitely in my Fat Burning Zone with my heart rate because I tested with the heart rate monitor on my elliptical. Therefore, do I REALLY need one? How important is it to weight loose?

I always just assumed as long as I am sweating a lot during the workout and it is not too easy but is also not too hard, I should be in the perfect zone. Is this right?

The thing is, I need to know that a HRM is a very important factor in order to bring myself to spend $100 on one.

PLEASE HELP!!! THANKS! :):):)

***** BY THE WAY..............
I tried a SportLine HRM watch and it did not work out well. I had to stop during my workout to press a button for twenty seconds and nothing happened except it switched mode on me. I don't have any time to stop during my workout to get a heart rate.
Do other HRM's automatically get your heart rate? Or do you still need to press a button every once and while? I was looking at the 'Polar F6'.
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Replies

  • bflicker11
    bflicker11 Posts: 296
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    I want to hear the answer to this. I want one to figure out how much I burn at zumba.
  • JulieBoBoo
    JulieBoBoo Posts: 642
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    At this point in time I will not get one and I'll tell you why. I don't want my exercise to be about burning calories. I want to focus on making my heart stronger, replacing lost muscle, increasing my stamina and moving in such a way as to feel great about myself.

    I know myself, if I get a HRM it will become all about burning the calories and I will become obsessive about it (this coming from a woman who sadly weighs herself 5-10 times a day).

    So I personally don't feel that I need one at this time. I reserve the right to change my mind... but for now, I honestly feel that getting one would cause more harm than good for ME.
  • aflane
    aflane Posts: 625 Member
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    I can be sweating for 10 minutes, and have a heart rate of only 95-99 -- definitely NOT in the zone. Due to my HRM, I know I need to push it a little harder to get up to 110-115. The HRM definitely helps me optimize my workouts.

    I have the Polar FT60 (cost about $180) and I just have to have the HRM in the heart rate display mode, instead of time display.
  • littleschwartz
    littleschwartz Posts: 1
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    I dunno... Some people swear by them, but I get by just fine without any sort of monitors. Just have count out your pulse while you're working out once or twice to see where it's at, and then remember how much that feels... Any calculations involving your heart rate depends on so many other factors as well that the exact BPM of your heart isn't really necessary.
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,052 Member
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    It realy depends. some people have great success with them. But I have been doing well just using the estimate that MFP provides. I think as you get closer to your goal it can help you really focus in on your calorie range, especially when the weight loss slows down.
  • wonnder1
    wonnder1 Posts: 460
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    I don't know about the rest, but I seem to be getting by just fine without one. I can't justify spending 100 bucks on an ugly watch. They look complicated. Right now, I can go by what MFP tells me, and I haven't plateaued yet, so I'm cool with it.

    I think when you start NEEDING to eat your exercise calories back, it would be an investment worth having.
  • cszammit
    cszammit Posts: 26 Member
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    ME too!!
  • epj78
    epj78 Posts: 643 Member
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    Do you need one? Absolutely not. Like you said, you can get your perceived rate of exertion just by your breathes, your pulse, etc (I can't go by sweat because I sweat like a pig regardless of how hard I'm working out and its a false indicator).

    Are they a "nice to have" if you are looking for a new gadget or a reward? Absolutely. I love my HRM because I know with a bit more certainty the calories I'm burning. I can't lie to myself about how hard I'm really working. I can bump up my HR doing intervals, etc. But then again, I'm a data nerd so I just really like it. Do I NEED it? Nope. In fact, I went for 4 months without when the battery died in my old one (after 5 years).

    If you want to buy one, I say it's definitely worth it. If you are on a tight budget and don't feel you need one, I'd say forgo it for now.

    FYI - do not go cheap with just the watch. You need to get one with a chest strap or it is worse than useless IMHO --- I like Polar brand - the F6 of F7F.
  • learnbygoing
    learnbygoing Posts: 103 Member
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    I love love LOVE mine. Not because I obsess over calories burned, but because I feel like it helps me be more efficient about my workouts. I love knowing that I'm working as hard as is safe for me.

    I have a Polar FT4 and I think it's fantastic. It cost me $71 on Amazon.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    Speaking as a complete gadget, technology, and numbers freak, I can tell you - NO, you definitely don't NEED one to succeed.
  • roxiedo
    roxiedo Posts: 154
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    I have New Balance N4 which I got at Target for around $60 - very user friendly and accurate - very happy with it. I had a Polar and returned it - it was defective right out of the box. Also with Polar, when the battery needs to be changed you need to ship it back to them to change it or you void your warranty
  • KimbersNewLife
    KimbersNewLife Posts: 645 Member
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    It realy depends. some people have great success with them. But I have been doing well just using the estimate that MFP provides. I think as you get closer to your goal it can help you really focus in on your calorie range, especially when the weight loss slows down.
    I have found this to be true also! MFP is shockingly accurate!
  • Spayrroe
    Spayrroe Posts: 210 Member
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    Need is a sketchy concept. I finally bit the bullet and purchased one (Polar FT7 from Amazon.com at about $90 and waited it out for the free shipping). If you're using gym equipment that has monitoring and calorie burn tracking, then that's better than nothing. Gym machines are good for a close approximation for calorie burn and all that, but a heart monitor his better. The Polar FT7 (don't know about the 6) will constantly display your heart rate, calories burned, or elapsed work out time during a work out (and you can switch between the three during your work out). I usually let mine on heart rate for the work out itself, but then look at the cals burned at the end to put in here (the calorie burns this site gives you tend to be WAY more than your actual burn in my experience, like the eliptical trainer database option told me I was burning like 900 cals for 45 mins, where the hrm said it was only like 600, that's a HUGE difference). Depending on how close you have to be on eating back exercise cals (like I only have about 100 cals wiggle room between where I'm eating too little and I've eaten back all of the cals), depends on how accurate a read you need. I know I did okay using the gym equipment readouts (they're usually within about 50 cals of what my hrm tells me I burned), but I've started doing a lot of strength training, so the hrm helps my tracking a lot for that.
  • ejhayes
    ejhayes Posts: 44 Member
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    I have one and honestly I don't like to workout without it. It tells you how hard you're working and if you need to push it. Tells you exactly what percentage of your calories you burned are from fat. It's a great tool that lets you know how you are doing. I highly recommend it. I suppose is a personal choice, but you won't regret it. Oh, by the way, you burn the more calories from fat when you do a combination of weight training and cardio!!
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    No, I don't think its necessary. But.. it can be a great asset.
  • cm40
    cm40 Posts: 30
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    At this point in time I will not get one and I'll tell you why. I don't my exercise to be about burning calories. I want to focus on making my heart stronger, replacing lost muscle, increasing my stamina and moving in such a way as to feel great about myself.

    I know myself, if I get a HRM it will become all about burning the calories and I will become obsessive about it (this coming from a woman who sadly weighs herself 5-10 times a day).

    So I personally don't feel that I need one at this time. I reserve the right to change my mind... but for now, I honestly feel that getting one would cause more harm than good for ME.

    While I agree that working out should be about overall fitness, not just calories and weight I think you should reconsider using a HRM if you want to see how your heart is doing.

    I use one to see my recovery times and I love to see how stronger it's gotten over the past few months.
    The HRM does a great job of telling me if I'm working my heart at max capacity, when to slow down, when to speed up, and how long it goes back to normal after an intense workout. I don't really care about calories either, but my workouts allow me to burn between 800-1400 per 45 minutes, so I can't complain. But I went from having a resting heart rate of 110 (working hard just to lay in bed) to 53 (athletic level).
    I say it's an amazing investment if you are looking into overall fitness. I love science and technology. So far I've found the right exercise program (Crossfit) for me, and with the right tools (Google Calendar, HRM with chest strap, OMRON Fat Loss Monitor) it's easier for me to log what I'm doing and better predict my results. It takes the guessing out it when you monitor your work better.
    And it's nice to see the accurate calorie count at the end as well.
  • patssarah
    patssarah Posts: 146 Member
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    Personally, I LOVE mine. I have a sportline one actually, but its one with a chest strap, it is much more accurate and no pushing buttons or anything.

    The only reason I could really see as to why you *should* have one is if you are looking to burn X amount of calories a day. It is the most accurate way to tell how many you have burned. Now if you really dont care how many calories you are burning, then you definitely do not need one.

    It has helped me better log my calories burned, before my HRM, 30 mins on my elliptical machine, the display would tell me I burned around 500 calories. So I was logging that as my calories burned and eating back some of those calories. Once I tested it out with my HRM, doing the same intensity for 30mins on the elliptical I actually only burned about 270.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Polar. It gives me a much more accurate reading on my calorie burn which is so helpful when putting in my MFP stats. It motivates me when I start getting tired during a workout too. I'm an instructor and I wear it every day. Love it.
  • reepobob
    reepobob Posts: 1,172 Member
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    You don't need one, but they sure do come in handy, especially if hard earned calories for eating back are desired. I don't need push up stands to do push ups, but I got some. I didn't need a power tower to do pullups, but I got one. I don't need a weighted vest, but I sure as hell WANT one. I think you can succeed without an HRM, but I think you can have better results with an HRM, especially if you are overestimating calorie burns via MFP or a machine.

    My two cents...
  • Suzy4t
    Suzy4t Posts: 4
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    Something else to keep in mind I read on Web MD... "Some medications (such as beta-blockers) can affect your heart rate during exercise. An exerciser taking beta-blockers may be working at a high intensity but might never reach her target heart rate. Therefore, people on medications that affect heart rate should not measure workout intensity by counting their heart rate."
    It was a real eye opener for me, since I am on Beta Blockers, and always wondered why my heart rate would not get up there.

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