Heart rate activity tracker

stargazgal
stargazgal Posts: 93 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hey. I'm sure this has been asked 10000x but I'm looking for a pn activity tracker that will show overall calorie burn/daily activity and heart rate. I did have the original fit bit clip years ago and liked how it tracked my steps and stairs. I also bought the jawbone up and like the online app, but hate that I have to plug in to sync and it doesn't track HR. I have read reviews on the vivosmart 2 HR and Fitbit chsrge HR. My friend has the polar watch(?) and uses chest strap for workouts...but I'm so confused. Lol. Any ideas?

Replies

  • Spook_Nuke_Em
    Spook_Nuke_Em Posts: 408 Member
    I had Polar w/ chest strap and it seemed really accurate and I liked it other than the strap being a pain in the *kitten* sometimes. I currently have the FitBit Charge HR. The HR monitor seems decent and it's great for everyday, all day type of wear. I'd recommend that for a day in day out device.
  • e5412
    e5412 Posts: 17 Member
    I think I would stay away from the chest straps if it was going to monitor HR for more than just an activity. I saw that Fitbit is being sued for inaccurate HR monitoring. I don't know much of the details there, but I would investigate more if I was interested in owning one. Garmin has a Vivosmart HR and a Forerunner 235 that both do the activity tracking and have wrist monitored HR. They also sync via Bluetooth. I don't know enough to have an opinion on any other devices.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    edited January 2016
    I am waiting for my Mio Fuse to arrive. All I want it for is to track my heart rate during cardio, without a chest strap, and that's what it excels at. You wear it on the wrist. Reviews said that for HR it is more accurate than the FitBit Charge HR or the Vivosmart. However, the Fuse does not do a good job tracking steps or other activity.
  • tcatcarson
    tcatcarson Posts: 227 Member
    e5412 wrote: »
    I think I would stay away from the chest straps if it was going to monitor HR for more than just an activity. I saw that Fitbit is being sued for inaccurate HR monitoring.

    It's the wrist HR monitors that are the problem there - generally chest straps are more accurate, not less.
  • whyhelloheart
    whyhelloheart Posts: 82 Member
    Alright, alright!

    So, if you're thinking about just checking out your heart rate during an exercise or activity, I definitely recommend something with a chest strap. That will give you the best accuracy, by far. I use the Polar FT7. Awesome price range (cheaper than the Fitbit Charge HR) and will give you accurate readings.

    However, if you're looking for something that will give you all day heart rate tracking, I recommend the Charge HR. I've found that the Charge HR is decently accurate when it comes to walking or running. It is devastatingly off when it comes to other forms of exercise.

    I wear both my Fitbit and my Polar when I'm working out and then I just wear my Fitbit the rest of the day.

    Hope this helps a little bit! :)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Daily TDEE - I think you're best with a basic zip or similar that just monitors movement as the HR wearables are a marketer's dream IMO eg form over function

    Well they are if you expect the calorie burn estimate to be any more accurate than you would get from a basic pedometer

    HR monitoring if you have a heart condition I understand, but the algorithm underpinning HR to calorie conversion is specific to specific exercise under specific conditions .. the general is steady-state cardio, I don't know / have never seen how or whether this has been updated for 24 hour wearables

    also .. they ugly

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    whyhelloheart wrote: »
    Alright, alright!

    So, if you're thinking about just checking out your heart rate during an exercise or activity, I definitely recommend something with a chest strap. That will give you the best accuracy, by far. I use the Polar FT7. Awesome price range (cheaper than the Fitbit Charge HR) and will give you accurate readings.

    However, if you're looking for something that will give you all day heart rate tracking, I recommend the Charge HR. I've found that the Charge HR is decently accurate when it comes to walking or running. It is devastatingly off when it comes to other forms of exercise.

    I wear both my Fitbit and my Polar when I'm working out and then I just wear my Fitbit the rest of the day.

    Hope this helps a little bit! :)

    And that's my point .. so are the basic pedometer styles of fitbit - the One or the Zip that just go on movement for step-based activity

    I have a fitbit zip - love it
    I also have a Polar FT4 HRM (chest strap) and wear it for specific workouts
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Firstly, tracking your heart rate all day is pointless. Get something with a chest strap that you can use when exercising. That way, at the very least, you will have accurate HR measurements for training. Beyond that, I dunno. I have the VivoActive and love it. I prefer Garmin as well as they have a foot pod that can be connected to the watches to give you better accuracy on your distances.
  • Will210
    Will210 Posts: 201 Member
    I have used the polar chest straps, a Mio global watch, and Scosche Rhythm+. My favorite is easily the Scoche. It's kind of a hybrid between the chest and watch. It fits on your forearm and sends signals via Bluetooth to your phone or iPad. I did not love the polar due to the trouble to put on the chest strap and would sometimes lose connection. The watch I had to wear too tightly to work and was flakey with a lot of arm movement. The Scoche is hardly noticeable when working out and I never have connection issues with my iPhone or iPad. I use Digifit which is great for tracking steady state cardio as well as HIIT. In the end, it's definitely a personal preference.

    http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-RHYTHM-Heart-Monitor-Armband/dp/B00JQHTJS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1452615074&sr=1-1&keywords=heart+rate+rythm
  • scubagal71
    scubagal71 Posts: 14 Member
    Will210 wrote: »
    I have used the polar chest straps, a Mio global watch, and Scosche Rhythm+. My favorite is easily the Scoche. It's kind of a hybrid between the chest and watch. It fits on your forearm and sends signals via Bluetooth to your phone or iPad. I did not love the polar due to the trouble to put on the chest strap and would sometimes lose connection. The watch I had to wear too tightly to work and was flakey with a lot of arm movement. The Scoche is hardly noticeable when working out and I never have connection issues with my iPhone or iPad. I use Digifit which is great for tracking steady state cardio as well as HIIT. In the end, it's definitely a personal preference.

    http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-RHYTHM-Heart-Monitor-Armband/dp/B00JQHTJS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1452615074&sr=1-1&keywords=heart+rate+rythm

    Do you sync this with MFP? I can't figure that part out, I am use to my old device (Bodymedia) to just sync my workout data with MFP, but for the life of me, I can't get this to sync, when I select Connect my Scosche to MFP it just takes me to the scosche home page, do I need a seperate app? I have read about sports tracker, but that don'ts sync with MFP either right? Am I missing something!??! thanks!
  • mattw273
    mattw273 Posts: 6 Member
    I have a Garmin Vivismart HR, early days yet but it seems very dodgy in terms of results, a 50 minute squatting session only 70 calories and then doing 8000 steps while mainly driving? Other times it seems very accurate and the sleep tracker is good. Plus it has some smart watch features like alerting you to texts emails and calls.
  • stacey_rayner
    stacey_rayner Posts: 46 Member
    scubagal71 wrote: »
    Will210 wrote: »
    I have used the polar chest straps, a Mio global watch, and Scosche Rhythm+. My favorite is easily the Scoche. It's kind of a hybrid between the chest and watch. It fits on your forearm and sends signals via Bluetooth to your phone or iPad. I did not love the polar due to the trouble to put on the chest strap and would sometimes lose connection. The watch I had to wear too tightly to work and was flakey with a lot of arm movement. The Scoche is hardly noticeable when working out and I never have connection issues with my iPhone or iPad. I use Digifit which is great for tracking steady state cardio as well as HIIT. In the end, it's definitely a personal preference.

    http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-RHYTHM-Heart-Monitor-Armband/dp/B00JQHTJS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1452615074&sr=1-1&keywords=heart+rate+rythm

    Do you sync this with MFP? I can't figure that part out, I am use to my old device (Bodymedia) to just sync my workout data with MFP, but for the life of me, I can't get this to sync, when I select Connect my Scosche to MFP it just takes me to the scosche home page, do I need a seperate app? I have read about sports tracker, but that don'ts sync with MFP either right? Am I missing something!??! thanks!

    I have this device and I track my workouts with runkeeper, so records time, heart rate and then calculates calorie burn which then syncs to mfp via the authorisation I've allowed.
  • nwppwn
    nwppwn Posts: 36 Member
    I'm using the FitBit Charge HR, it works OK but not great for monitoring HR during work outs. You have to move it around on your wrist to find the right spot. It often under reports vs HR monitors on treadmill/elliptical if not in exactly the right spot.
  • Will210
    Will210 Posts: 201 Member
    scubagal71 wrote: »
    Will210 wrote: »
    I have used the polar chest straps, a Mio global watch, and Scosche Rhythm+. My favorite is easily the Scoche. It's kind of a hybrid between the chest and watch. It fits on your forearm and sends signals via Bluetooth to your phone or iPad. I did not love the polar due to the trouble to put on the chest strap and would sometimes lose connection. The watch I had to wear too tightly to work and was flakey with a lot of arm movement. The Scoche is hardly noticeable when working out and I never have connection issues with my iPhone or iPad. I use Digifit which is great for tracking steady state cardio as well as HIIT. In the end, it's definitely a personal preference.

    http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-RHYTHM-Heart-Monitor-Armband/dp/B00JQHTJS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1452615074&sr=1-1&keywords=heart+rate+rythm

    Do you sync this with MFP? I can't figure that part out, I am use to my old device (Bodymedia) to just sync my workout data with MFP, but for the life of me, I can't get this to sync, when I select Connect my Scosche to MFP it just takes me to the scosche home page, do I need a seperate app? I have read about sports tracker, but that don'ts sync with MFP either right? Am I missing something!??! thanks!

    Yes I do. It's probably your app. I use Digifit which does synch with no issues. I do wonder at times if they overestimate the cal's I burn.

    Anyways - you have to pay a fee to allow Digifit to use Bluetooth devices. But you only have to pay once and it tracks you through email in case you change phones. The cost is....I think 3.99 or 7.99. You can download it for free and see the cost.
  • scubagal71
    scubagal71 Posts: 14 Member
    Will210 wrote: »
    scubagal71 wrote: »
    Will210 wrote: »
    I have used the polar chest straps, a Mio global watch, and Scosche Rhythm+. My favorite is easily the Scoche. It's kind of a hybrid between the chest and watch. It fits on your forearm and sends signals via Bluetooth to your phone or iPad. I did not love the polar due to the trouble to put on the chest strap and would sometimes lose connection. The watch I had to wear too tightly to work and was flakey with a lot of arm movement. The Scoche is hardly noticeable when working out and I never have connection issues with my iPhone or iPad. I use Digifit which is great for tracking steady state cardio as well as HIIT. In the end, it's definitely a personal preference.

    http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-RHYTHM-Heart-Monitor-Armband/dp/B00JQHTJS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1452615074&sr=1-1&keywords=heart+rate+rythm

    Do you sync this with MFP? I can't figure that part out, I am use to my old device (Bodymedia) to just sync my workout data with MFP, but for the life of me, I can't get this to sync, when I select Connect my Scosche to MFP it just takes me to the scosche home page, do I need a seperate app? I have read about sports tracker, but that don'ts sync with MFP either right? Am I missing something!??! thanks!

    Yes I do. It's probably your app. I use Digifit which does synch with no issues. I do wonder at times if they overestimate the cal's I burn.

    Anyways - you have to pay a fee to allow Digifit to use Bluetooth devices. But you only have to pay once and it tracks you through email in case you change phones. The cost is....I think 3.99 or 7.99. You can download it for free and see the cost.

    thanks. I don't mind paying for an app, I am just frustrated that it shows the Rhythme in the apps/devices, but it doesn't sync like fitbit, body media, jawbone etc. grrr.. off to go check out Digit!
  • corrinrosales5
    corrinrosales5 Posts: 58 Member
    I have the Fitbit hr and it's perfect for me. Follow the instructions with the type of workout you do to determine correct placement on the wrist. You won't have any problems.
  • ChipperJules
    ChipperJules Posts: 1 Member
    Are there any that work in water? I do most of my exercise in the water and would like something I could wear all the time.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    ChipperJules wrote: »
    Are there any that work in water? I do most of my exercise in the water and would like something I could wear all the time.

    Look for a watch with triathalon support. Garmin has some that can be used for swimming and as an activity tracker.

  • jlo0530
    jlo0530 Posts: 4 Member
    I used to use the polar loop and lived it. I bought an Apple Watch because I thought the heart rate monitor function would be great. I HATEDit. Battery life was least than 8 hours and the fitness tracking was terrible. I returned it and upgraded to the loop 2. I love the polar flow app I can see if my sleep was restful the night before etc. when I work out I use the polar chest strap to monitor my heat rate. I can see on my band what my heart rate is while working out. Love getting that feedback immediately. The polar app syncs with MFP and heart rate from the h7 strap is compatable with map my run and fitness equipment at the gym by Bluetooth. I also get notifications from my band when I have a text message or are getting a call on my iPhone.

    Strap is ok to wear no issues just convince and I wish the polar loop had gps tracking. For now with map my run I can get heart rate info but have to carry my phone if I want to tracks distance.
  • SciranBG
    SciranBG Posts: 97 Member
    Got the fitbit charge HR and am a little disappointed with it. The advertised battery life is with most of the constant monitoring features turned off/set to manual like the HR tracking and bluetooth sync, but it does what I need it to do.

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