polar HRM possibly wrong?!

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sheils8
sheils8 Posts: 57
in Fitness and Exercise
has anyone ever had their polar be wrong before, like too high?
i walked today for an hour and 13 minutes (in the higher end of my fat burning zone for most of it) and was really surprised to see it say i burned 578 calories. i cant believe walking would burn that much!

i have a polar ft4.

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  • Gilbrod
    Gilbrod Posts: 1,216 Member
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    nothing out there is percise calculations. I always take 10% off when I take my measurements. But based on what I see burned, and how I've been eatinf based on that< it has worked out real good for me. And the Polar has been more accurate than my other 2 hrms.
  • kepete
    kepete Posts: 268 Member
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    You could easily hit that many calories in 73 minutes if you were working hard. I can burn 350+ in 30 minutes on the treadmill by increasing my incline.
  • vkpmusic
    vkpmusic Posts: 343 Member
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    Two dumb questions, but they need to be asked:
    1) Do you have your weight set correctly on your FT4
    2) Was it reading a "normal" heart rate before you got started?

    I can burn 600 calories in Zumba, which is only an hour with a warm up and cool down...so about 30 min. It's absolutely possible as long as the two questions above were yes. Now, if you were just strolling at a leisurely pace, then I'd say something was wrong!
  • gargoyle999
    gargoyle999 Posts: 117 Member
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    I have had a couple times where my Polar HRM has been high but the heart rate was reading higher then I knew it really was so it showed higher calories. I think I didn't have the chest strap wet enough or maybe the positioning was off and that caused some false readings.
  • sheils8
    sheils8 Posts: 57
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    thanks for the replies!

    my weight is set correctly and my heart rate did start normal.

    i was walking fast, and i was talking and getting winded while doing so....i think it must be normal, i just couldnt believe how many burned!!!
  • glfprncs2
    glfprncs2 Posts: 625 Member
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    Take this with a grain of salt, but when I walk my dogs (and we walk briskly in a hilly area), I generally burn about 100 calories every 15 minutes according to both my Bodybugg and my hrm.
  • cammons
    cammons Posts: 126 Member
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    There are a few conditions in which I have noticed that my Polar HRM reads on the high side, most often I notice this when I have used my albuterol inhaler or have had caffeine within the two or so hours before a workout. Sometimes I will also notice this with decongestants.

    Short version: be wary of stimulants, they could artificially raise your resting HR and will absolutely raise your "working HR".

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