Polar Watches....accurate?

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Locfitgrl35
Locfitgrl35 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I usually do a cardio 30 minute session on exercise TV. I also wear a polar watch that is suppose to tell me how many calories I have burned. I don't feel as though the watch is accurate I feel I burn way more calories. I was thinking about getting a bodybugg is it worth the money?

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  • futbolkt21
    futbolkt21 Posts: 57
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    I have a Polar HRM and to me it seems accurate. What model do you have? It has a chest strap, correct?
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    Honestly, your HRM is accurate... Most people over estimate their calorie burn and when they see what it is really is, it is kind of a shock at first.

    Bodybuggs are nice if you have the money to spend on the device and then the monthly subscription.A lot of people on here actually like them better then an HRM for the simple fact that they can wear it all day.

    I personally really like my FT7. I think it's very accurate and haven't any issues yet.
  • nerdieprofessor
    nerdieprofessor Posts: 512 Member
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    I had a Polar but the HRT monitor didn't register my HRT most of the time (i think it was me, not the monitor). However, I now have a Garmin which records my heart rate very accurately. However, it's idea of how many calories I've burned (despite the fact that it knows my weight, height, age, the weight of my bike and such) seems way low. The same exercise calculated by MFP is often three times the calories. If I look up calories using something else, such as http://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm then that is a lot closer to what MFP says the calories are.

    I think you have to experiment and see how it works for you.
  • Locfitgrl35
    Locfitgrl35 Posts: 9 Member
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    I have an FT4
  • momchelle3
    momchelle3 Posts: 7
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    I hope so! I just ordered the Polar FT4 today from Amazon! It got pretty good reviews so I'm counting on that! :smile:
  • mandy_lynn
    mandy_lynn Posts: 165 Member
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    I have a Polar F6 and it seems to work great!
  • bonjour24
    bonjour24 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    i have a polar, which i got before i started using MFP. so when i saw how many cals MFP says you burn i was shocked. i KNOW how hard i work (which is usually between 80-95% of my HR), and i think that MFP says you burn way higher.
    so, i trust my HRM way more.
  • missmojorisin
    missmojorisin Posts: 1 Member
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    That's funny I came here because I thought that my polar HRM may be OVERcalculating my calories burned. Has anyone run into this problem?
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Have a Polar FT60 and trust it over any other estimating devices... :drinker:
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    I have a Polar FT7 and it seems to be as accurate as I could hope for a HRM
  • tsikkz
    tsikkz Posts: 404 Member
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    Have you lost a large amount of weight? 30lbs lighter and you will find you burn way less calories than you used to because you have less mass for your muscles to move around (more mass = more energy required, calories are a unit of energy)

    The read is pretty accurate as long as you are wetting the strap and your height age and weight settings in the watch are correct.
  • christyallgood
    christyallgood Posts: 79 Member
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    I have FT7 and it is very close to what an old monitor (of a different brand) read. I like to think it is pretty accurate. At least it's always consistent with each workout if it's not 100% accurate.

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