yet another hrm discussion - yes, i know, i'm sorry

jessiferrrb
jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
edited December 2 in Fitness and Exercise
i'm looking for a hrm that is accurate (! most important !), affordable and that i can integrate into my day to day.

i know that chest strap monitors are supposed to be the most accurate, but does anyone wear them all day?

i want to track cardio workouts but also TDEE and steps from my commute. my phone currently syncs my steps with mfp - which i like, but if i'm using a chest monitor and my phone at the same time (for running apps, music, etc.) then it will double count.

a wrist monitor could be worn all day and track everything so i can unsync my phone, but i keep seeing warnings about inaccuracy.

this is going to be my present to myself when i reach my first mini goal, but since i don't have a lot of cash i want to make sure i get it right.

thanks mfps!

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    HRMs are not meant to calculate calories during normal daily activities. Get a fitbit type activity monitor for that sort of thing
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    Thanks DavPul, there's nothing that does both?
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    I have a fitbit charge that i like. It measures my hrm and calories and steps , etc and wasn't too expensive. nothing on the market is super accurate, but they are good enough.
  • Suspended_User
    Suspended_User Posts: 16 Member
    edited June 2016
    I have a Garmin wrist based device that tracks HR/calories all day. When I work out, I add a chest strap to it (which the garmin wrist device is synched to) and it just uses the HRM for the time period. No double count, no fuss. I think such a setup may be "best of both worlds" that you are looking for.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    Suspended_User wrote: »
    I have a Garmin wrist based device that tracks HR/calories all day. When I work out, I add a chest strap to it (which the garmin wrist device is synched to) and it just uses the HRM for the time period. No double count, no fuss. I think such a setup may be "best of both worlds" that you are looking for.

    that sounds perfect, which devices?
  • Suspended_User
    Suspended_User Posts: 16 Member
    edited June 2016
    I have the Fenix 3 HR, which was spendy and came in a bundle with the "run" chest strap. However, I am pretty sure they have less expensive models which will work in a similar manner. The Vivoactive HR is a good example.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    oh man, that looks super nice!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    i know that chest strap monitors are supposed to be the most accurate, but does anyone wear them all day?

    i want to track cardio workouts but also TDEE and steps from my commute. my phone currently syncs my steps with mfp - which i like, but if i'm using a chest monitor and my phone at the same time (for running apps, music, etc.) then it will double count.

    Knowing your heart rate won't get you any closer to knowing how many calories you burn sitting at your desk at work or driving your car home. It might show how stressful your commute is if your HR spikes when somebody almost crashes into you, but that's about it.

    I have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR, it has a wrist HR sensor, I wear one of my chest straps for any exercise where I actually want to know my heart rate. It attempts to track it periodically throughout the day but does a lousy job; it's probably a software thing and most Garmin products improve drastically in the months after they're released, so I'm hoping mine does too. Anyway the 24/7 HR tracking is mostly a gimmick. There's some value in knowing your resting heart rate, but, again, no computer will give you an accurate calorie burn based on HR for when you're sedentary. (Or when you're lifting weights.)
  • Suspended_User
    Suspended_User Posts: 16 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR, it has a wrist HR sensor, I wear one of my chest straps for any exercise where I actually want to know my heart rate. It attempts to track it periodically throughout the day but does a lousy job; it's probably a software thing and most Garmin products improve drastically in the months after they're released, so I'm hoping mine does too. Anyway the 24/7 HR tracking is mostly a gimmick. There's some value in knowing your resting heart rate, but, again, no computer will give you an accurate calorie burn based on HR for when you're sedentary. (Or when you're lifting weights.)

    I am not sure I agree with that entirely. I have the same setup and I feel it does a pretty good job (especially with the calorie adjustment it sends over to MFP) differentiating between days when I have done little (sat at my desk all day) and days I have been overly active (logged exercise with a chest strap + ran around the park after kids with just the wrist HR on) and can afford to eat a few more calories. If you are getting "lousy" results from your wrist based HR, I'd want to suggest you check the fit and function, etc. Mine seems to do just fine.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Before I bought a Fenix 3 HR, I had a Fenix 3 for more than a year. It also does a good job of differentiating between days when you do little and days when you do a lot. It's not the wrist HR, it's all the software in the watch. :wink:

    I know it's not the fit because I can sit without moving at my desk and watch the F3 track my HR for a while and then completely lose it for a while and then find it again. I have lots of walk activities on Connect with whacky, completely screwy HR charts for this reason. I've tried a few F3HR units with similar results. I think it works better for some people than others, and I'm hoping Garmin can improve it with future software updates.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    jessiferrrb wrote: »
    i know that chest strap monitors are supposed to be the most accurate, but does anyone wear them all day?



    Knowing your heart rate won't get you any closer to knowing how many calories you burn sitting at your desk at work or driving your car home. It might show how stressful your commute is if your HR spikes when somebody almost crashes into you, but that's about it.

    I have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR, it has a wrist HR sensor, I wear one of my chest straps for any exercise where I actually want to know my heart rate. It attempts to track it periodically throughout the day but does a lousy job; it's probably a software thing and most Garmin products improve drastically in the months after they're released, so I'm hoping mine does too. Anyway the 24/7 HR tracking is mostly a gimmick. There's some value in knowing your resting heart rate, but, again, no computer will give you an accurate calorie burn based on HR for when you're sedentary. (Or when you're lifting weights.)
    NorthCascades wrote: »

    I walk a lot for my commute so that is why I like to track the steps but I get what you are saying.

    Thanks to this thread I have a better understanding of what I am looking for, which seems to be an activity tracker for daily activities paired with a heart rate monitor for work outs. Whether it is a sync with a chest strap or all in one.

    On that note, anyone have any opinion on the polar a360?

    Also saw that there are some trackers that clip into a bra, but haven't been able to really delve into that yet.


  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    Reposting cause I *kitten* up that code good and proper

    I walk a lot for my commute so that is why I like to track the steps but I get what you are saying.

    Thanks to this thread I have a better understanding of what I am looking for, which seems to be an activity tracker for daily activities paired with a heart rate monitor for work outs. Whether it is a sync with a chest strap or all in one.

    On that note, anyone have any opinion on the polar a360?

    Also saw that there are some trackers that clip into a bra, but haven't been able to really delve into that yet.
  • Suspended_User
    Suspended_User Posts: 16 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Before I bought a Fenix 3 HR, I had a Fenix 3 for more than a year. It also does a good job of differentiating between days when you do little and days when you do a lot. It's not the wrist HR, it's all the software in the watch. :wink:

    I know it's not the fit because I can sit without moving at my desk and watch the F3 track my HR for a while and then completely lose it for a while and then find it again. I have lots of walk activities on Connect with whacky, completely screwy HR charts for this reason. I've tried a few F3HR units with similar results. I think it works better for some people than others, and I'm hoping Garmin can improve it with future software updates.

    Interesting. I don't have any experience with the non-HR version to compare to. If the daily stuff is mostly being software tracked and not as based on the HR, I guess I spent the extra money for being able to track my resting HR ;)
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
    I love my Charge HR. I even tested my HR against a pulse oximeter (measures heart rate and blood oxygen level) at work. I was pretty happy to find that it was only off by 1. This was the same piece of equipment we use when monitoring animals under anesthesia. :)
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Suspended_User wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Before I bought a Fenix 3 HR, I had a Fenix 3 for more than a year. It also does a good job of differentiating between days when you do little and days when you do a lot. It's not the wrist HR, it's all the software in the watch. :wink:

    I know it's not the fit because I can sit without moving at my desk and watch the F3 track my HR for a while and then completely lose it for a while and then find it again. I have lots of walk activities on Connect with whacky, completely screwy HR charts for this reason. I've tried a few F3HR units with similar results. I think it works better for some people than others, and I'm hoping Garmin can improve it with future software updates.

    Interesting. I don't have any experience with the non-HR version to compare to. If the daily stuff is mostly being software tracked and not as based on the HR, I guess I spent the extra money for being able to track my resting HR ;)

    Resting HR is a really good reason to have it. If you do your zones by %HRR, or if you can tell when you're getting sick. Also if the WHR works for you then you can't ever go out and forget your HRM.

    Also that extra money got you a sapphire lens instead of a mineral glass one. Fantastic for durability. Sapphire can scratch steel, the only thing stronger is diamond. Completely worry free; wear it in the garden, on a tough mountain bike ride, whatever, you won't scratch the glass, and the rest of the watch is bomb-proof too. :smile:
This discussion has been closed.

Categories