Advice on Heart Rate Monitors

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live2dream
live2dream Posts: 614 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any advice on HRM's? Never used one before and not even sure how they work. But sounds like I can't trust MFP's default exercise calories and I haven't lost weight in a year, so it's time to try this.

I believe there is a deal at my gym (Lifetime) to get a free session or something with one, but I don't have time to sit and talk over different HRM's with them- I have 1 hr when I'm at the gym and have to get back to work, so I'd rather just go there, know what I want, grab one, get a decent workout in, and get back to work. I don't have 100's of $$ to spend on one either. So I'm looking at this one: http://shop.lifetimefitness.com/Heart-Rate-Monitors/Garmin-Garmin-Women's-FR60-Lilac-w-ANT-Stick.asp

But these are the other ones they have: http://shop.lifetimefitness.com/Heart-Rate-Monitors/1/Heart-Rate-Monitors.aspx. I'm thinking maybe the Polar ones are the only ones with the discount. Erggg- but $250 is WAY too much for me.

What should I do? Is there anywhere online to get one cheaper?

Thx!!

Replies

  • samntim
    samntim Posts: 47 Member
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    I think mine is a Polar FT4...

    It is fantastic! I also got it off Ebay so saved lots of $$$ that way too.

    It has a chest strap that you wear and a watch that receives the information.

    At the end of each workout it will tell you -
    - how long your workout was
    - how many calories burned
    - how long you were working in your zone
    - your average heartrate
    - your maximum heartrate

    You can also pause it midway and resume if you have to stop for a period of time...

    Before you start using it you need to enter your sex, height, weight and what you want you workout zone to be. This is different depending what you want to achieve eg. fat loss, aerobic fitness etc. What you enter here has no bearing on how many calories it will say you burned, so don't get too hung up about what to put here unless you are training for a specific purpose, like a professional sport...

    It is so accurate that I can easily see if I have had a hard session or an easy one...

    The calorie count is also way off what MFP tells you, because MFP is a generic, one size fits all kind of thing, but for some it is better than nothing....

    Good luck!! And let me know if I can help you any further, I'm by no means an expert but can only relate on my own experiences
  • live2dream
    live2dream Posts: 614 Member
    Options
    I think mine is a Polar FT4...

    It is fantastic! I also got it off Ebay so saved lots of $$$ that way too.

    It has a chest strap that you wear and a watch that receives the information.

    At the end of each workout it will tell you -
    - how long your workout was
    - how many calories burned
    - how long you were working in your zone
    - your average heartrate
    - your maximum heartrate

    You can also pause it midway and resume if you have to stop for a period of time...

    Before you start using it you need to enter your sex, height, weight and what you want you workout zone to be. This is different depending what you want to achieve eg. fat loss, aerobic fitness etc. What you enter here has no bearing on how many calories it will say you burned, so don't get too hung up about what to put here unless you are training for a specific purpose, like a professional sport...

    It is so accurate that I can easily see if I have had a hard session or an easy one...

    The calorie count is also way off what MFP tells you, because MFP is a generic, one size fits all kind of thing, but for some it is better than nothing....

    Good luck!! And let me know if I can help you any further, I'm by no means an expert but can only relate on my own experiences

    Thanks! I see Lifetime has the FT7 for $109, but see the FT4 on Ebay. It says wrist watch, but I don't see a chest strap- but must be in the package? Do all wrist watch HRM's need a chest strap to work?
  • mbolton55
    mbolton55 Posts: 12 Member
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    I have the Polar FT7 and I am so happy I got it!! I have been able to see how inaccurate the machines are at the gym and even on here. I feel like I can truly trust now what I burn so if I eat some of my calories burned I am not unsure if it was correct or not. I also bought mine on ebay for like 85 dllrs.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

    Read that link.. It will help!

    Also, I didn't look at the gamin you posted, but from what I've read on here they are well liked. A lot of people like that you can track you're distance with them.

    I personally have a Polar FT7 that I bought off of drugstore.com for 79.99. It's really easy to use and program... and the chest strap is really comfortable.

    There are some watch HRM's that don't have a strap, but they are not accurate. Only the ones with a chest strap are accurate.

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