Do you trust your HRM?

EmilyDezo
EmilyDezo Posts: 51 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I just got the Sportline SX and I love it. I have the one with the chest belt and was wearing it today. I was out at a state park with my boys who are 3 and 9 months. I ended up being on a trail with a lot of stairs. I had my 9 month old in an umbrella stroller and actually ended up carrying him and the stroller for part of the way. I then went to the mall for a few hours. When I got home it said that I had burned over 1600 calories. My husband who was not with me to know where we were said he was a wondering if that was accurate. So my question to you is do you trust what your HRM says? I have input my weight, height, age, etc and that number is what I got after about 4 hours out. Do you think I should trust it or not?
Emily

Replies

  • webbed1
    webbed1 Posts: 86
    No I do not trust mine and I do not trust your # either. Do this exercise. Wear it while sleeping. Check that #. Also, check the # after a regular work day.

    Do you really think you are burning 4-5k cals a day? That would be adjusted for backing out the extra stuff you did today.

    I have the MIO MOTIVA. There is NO WAY it is right.
  • Shizzman
    Shizzman Posts: 527 Member
    So 4 hours of 400 cals an hour....not unreasonable.

    Only time I don't trust my HRM is when it isn't reading my heart rate....
  • eekface
    eekface Posts: 44 Member
    If you are kind of big, It wouldnt surprise me. I am big and I just burned 640 calories doing 40 min of bike/eliptical and i can imagine if i was out hiking and walking with a baby/stroller my HR would prob be around 130 and I would burn that much in 4 hours. The more you weigh, the more you burn doing something a thin person would burn like 1/3 the amount of calories doing you know?
  • CommandaPanda
    CommandaPanda Posts: 451 Member
    I know that it reads my heart rate accurately.

    Given that, I'm going to assume my calories are right on par!
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
    i have a sportline dont remember the model . its just a wrist one. and nope dont trust it. when it is deciding to take the hr. it will often take false ones as well. so when my heart rate is up around 140 or so it will thow in its own readings of 100, 81 and such, which totaly screws up the average.
    oh and the cals burned has always been off. on time doing 45 minutes on the ellipitcal at an average hr of 150 it had me burning 71 cals. really should of just stayed home and watched tv for that LOL

    defiantly want to get a 'real working' one someday.

    oh and when i start to sweat it wont take readings all
  • WillWorkout4Food
    WillWorkout4Food Posts: 94 Member
    I trust my HRM. I recently paticipated in a fitness test and they were checking my pulse through all of the steps. Their numbers were only a beat or two off per minute. I never expected this watch to be perfect (I have a chest strap) but I'd say a beat or two off a minute isn't bad. I have a Polar FT7 which came highly recommended on this site from people who are making progress. It was a pretty penny but it has been helpful thus far. I always remember the best way to see how much you are burning and that is by the percieved exertion scale...my back up plan to anything.

    Here's the link: http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/l/blperceivedexer.htm

    Best of luck, I am sure you burned a whole heck of a lot of calories. Great job moving! That's what counts!
  • durlingkristi
    durlingkristi Posts: 22
    I would trust it, you were active for a long period of time and carring your child for some of it. I do trust mine, its a great fitness tool.
  • OSUalum
    OSUalum Posts: 449 Member
    I did an official medical resting and active metabolic test. My HRM is exactly calibrated for me. Besides doing that, you can only assume its close but not necessarily exact. The more you get in shape, the more efficient your body works, and the less you'll burn for the same activity. (doesn't seem fair, I know)
    If you currently belong to a gym, as a trainer or employee if they offer that service. FYI... LifeTime does.

    Good luck!
  • EmilyDezo
    EmilyDezo Posts: 51 Member
    If you are kind of big, It wouldnt surprise me. I am big and I just burned 640 calories doing 40 min of bike/eliptical and i can imagine if i was out hiking and walking with a baby/stroller my HR would prob be around 130 and I would burn that much in 4 hours. The more you weigh, the more you burn doing something a thin person would burn like 1/3 the amount of calories doing you know?

    I weigh 209 right now. The trail was a half mile with nothing but stairs. I don't even know how many stairs I did today but it was a crazy number and my 9 month old is at least 23 lbs plus the weight of the stroller. It probably took me a good 45 min to do this trail because of carrying him up and down the stairs.
  • Bellyroll
    Bellyroll Posts: 316
    Ya it depends on how big you are for a person that is 200 to 100 lbs there is going to be a big differance in the amount of cals burn. I trust it because I went to toher websites nad looked at the numbers and they where pretty close to my heart rate.
  • Just1forMe
    Just1forMe Posts: 624 Member
    So 4 hours of 400 cals an hour....not unreasonable.

    Was it 4 hours of exercise or are you counting the drive to the mall as well? If you aren't counting the drive, that does sound reasonable for heavy exercise at your weight. If you are not sure, take 10% off as a margin of error and count it as 1440.
  • LoriLou67
    LoriLou67 Posts: 173 Member
    I do trust mine - Polar F4. And, I woud trust yours too. I just burned about 500 calories carrying wood uphill (and then walking back down for more). I did this for a little over an hour, and was in my "zone" for over 50% of the time. Most loads were probably between 20-30 pounds (though they felt like 75 after an hour!). I weigh 220 and it is 70 degrees out. I would NOT wear it while sleeping or not exercising, that is not its intended use. HRMs are not perfect but they are an excellent tool.
  • webbed1
    webbed1 Posts: 86
    carrying wood vs sitting on your *kitten* or sleeping all night are "slightly" different loads. Agree? It might be model related. I have a MIO MOTIVA. It is FO SHO on CRACK.
  • GaveUp
    GaveUp Posts: 308
    That's is part reason I don't eat all my calories back. I trust mine the best that you can trust any HRM I guess.
  • angelicdisgrace
    angelicdisgrace Posts: 2,071 Member
    i have a sportline dont remember the model . its just a wrist one. and nope dont trust it. when it is deciding to take the hr. it will often take false ones as well. so when my heart rate is up around 140 or so it will thow in its own readings of 100, 81 and such, which totaly screws up the average.
    oh and the cals burned has always been off. on time doing 45 minutes on the ellipitcal at an average hr of 150 it had me burning 71 cals. really should of just stayed home and watched tv for that LOL

    defiantly want to get a 'real working' one someday.

    oh and when i start to sweat it wont take readings all



    75 cal I so agree stay on the couch. Lol.
  • nyctraveler
    nyctraveler Posts: 305 Member
    It sounds reasonable at your weight

    But you need to subtract your resting calories that you would've burned without exercise
    For me that's about 60 cals per hr

    So shave about 240 cals off 1400
  • angelicdisgrace
    angelicdisgrace Posts: 2,071 Member
    Yes and no. Yes because I have worn it and it seems to take the same heart rate readings that the gym gives me. No because the calories burned don't seem accurate. I still use it.
  • dustyhockeymom
    dustyhockeymom Posts: 537 Member
    I trust mine for exercising, so I would wear it for things like the hike. However, for just walking around the mall I don't think it is particularly accurate. They aren't designed for use during regular daily activities.
  • Codefox
    Codefox Posts: 309 Member
    Yes, I trust my Polar RS300x when I'm running or working out but there are important things to keep in mind with a HRM. Like any computer, they're only as good as the information provided.

    1) Have you provided your maxHR? I don't mean the one from the table that all HRMs tell you to derive based on your age. I mean, your actual maxHR. That one isn't as easy to find...you either need to do it while exercising (not recommended unless you're very fit) or with a doctor's supervision.

    2) HRMs do one thing really well - measure heart rate. Most other numbers are simply calculations its doing. The HRM that you're using probably does not let you put in your VO2 max. Without that, it can't accurately calculate your caloric output. Even with it, its still a calculation and one that higher end HRMs are better at but its still just an estimate.

    3) From what I've read, HRMs are not accurate measures of caloric output if you're not at an elevated heart rate. Unless you had kept your heart rate up for 4 hours, its not likely that that number means anything.
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