Best Heart Rate Monitor?

aredcross
aredcross Posts: 3 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello fitness friends! I'm new to the app and am looking to know how many calories I am burning, and to sync my workouts to MyFitnessPal. What devices have worked for you?
Thanks!

Replies

  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    Are you a runner, swimmer, or cyclist? Depending on your answer the recommendations will vary.

    HRM's for pretty much everything else are useless.
  • PositiveChange2013
    PositiveChange2013 Posts: 25 Member
    The more accurate ones will have a chest strap. Right now, I use the Polar HR7 monitor. At rest, it seems pretty accurate. I pretty much use that as my monitor for calorie burn. It doesn't link directly to MFP. However, when I'm done my workout, I'll record the calorie burn from my monitor.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    dewd2 wrote: »
    Are you a runner, swimmer, or cyclist? Depending on your answer the recommendations will vary.

    HRM's for pretty much everything else are useless.

    Pretty much this
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    HRMs aren't calorie counters. If you get one that allows you to calibrate it with your personal settings (tested max HR, VO2 max for example) then for some suitable cardio they can give somewhat reasonable estimates for calorie expenditure.

    Get one that suits your training regime. They are a fitness training aid after all....
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,049 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    HRMs aren't calorie counters. If you get one that allows you to calibrate it with your personal settings (tested max HR, VO2 max for example) then for some suitable cardio they can give somewhat reasonable estimates for calorie expenditure.

    Get one that suits your training regime. They are a fitness training aid after all....

    This. But you can only get a somewhat reliable max HR if you're fit enough for it. You need to go all out in your chose cardio, and when you think you cannot go on anymore you go even faster until you puke.
  • aredcross
    aredcross Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you all. Feeling smarter already having read through your replies! So, I am just getting motivated and trying to learn my middle-age body. I did a Sprint Tri last year this time, but nothing since. Prior to that I'd done a few half marathons and some 10 miler runs but these have all been in the last 4 years. I re-entered school and just finished up courses--so I am anxious to get in gear and get in shape, and beyond:)!
    My thinking was that I could learn how many calories I am burning with the use of a chest strap-HRM synced to my phone/apps??? But it sounds like I am off?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    aredcross wrote: »
    My thinking was that I could learn how many calories I am burning with the use of a chest strap-HRM synced to my phone/apps??? But it sounds like I am off?

    Remember that there isn't a direct correlation between HR and calories - it's used as a proxy for oxygen uptake but it's somewhat inconvenient to run/bike/swim while hooked up to a gas analyser... :smile:
    A HRM will give you a number of calories and for steady state cardio that number may be "reasonable" if you happen to be somewhat average in terms of exercise HR. The upside is that its number will be personal to you and to a degree consistent. Everything is an estimate after all.

    Sounds like a Garmin watch with GPS might be suitable for you but I'm a cyclist and use a cycling unit rather than a watch so no direct experience of those.

    I enjoyed my Polar FT60 watch for general cardio but it was too short-lived for me to recommend.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,049 Member
    You know, one of the problems with a HR monitor for calories has been mentioned, kind of: it's only for steadystate cardio, and only if you know your specific numbers (my calories on a 60 minute run are still about 300cal too high despite calibrating it). Why this is not useful for anything else is for the following reason:

    Image you sit down. Your heartrate is low. Then you get up to fetch a cup of tea. Your heartrate goes up. You stand in the kitchen wait for the water to boil. Your heartrate slowly goes down again. You don't do anything, yet this is recorded as extra calories.

    Or imagine you lift weights. You do a fantastic set of bench presses. Your heartrate goes up bigtime. Then you just lay around and relax. Your heartrate is still high while you're not really burning any energy. See the problem?
  • GrayRider61
    GrayRider61 Posts: 337 Member
    I use a polar with the strap and use the map my fitness app which will sync workouts to mfp. Then just enter avg. Heart rate manually.
  • aredcross
    aredcross Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you! This discussion has been truly helpful!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    dewd2 wrote: »
    Are you a runner, swimmer, or cyclist? Depending on your answer the recommendations will vary.

    HRM's for pretty much everything else are useless.

    Pretty much this

    I concur as well.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    I have a Garmin Fenix 3. It is a fun watch if you like the outdoors. It has lots of different sport profiles and navigation features. Mine is pretty old, got a good deal on it used after the 5's came out, so it only gives me HR when I use a chest strap. The newer ones have wrist HR, the 5x has maps too. I had a Vivoactive before which is good for fitness activities like running, cycling, or swimming laps. I really enjoy my Fenix for all the data like speed, elevation, and seeing my activity on a map. It's helped me find my car and not get lost a couple times too. I really only use the HR strap for training zones when I run in the winter. The HR strap does not work great when it is dry and windy and unfortunately I live on the western edge of the Sierra so it's always dry and windy. I don't notice a big change in calorie burns when I use the chest strap or not, so I usually forgo the discomfort and annoyance and leave it home unless I'm really curious about my heart rate.
  • EsmeMary101
    EsmeMary101 Posts: 154 Member
    The new Polar a370 has a heart rate monitor and it connects to MFP
  • aconlan2010
    aconlan2010 Posts: 3 Member
    I just use my Apple Watch. It has a HR monitor and syncs through the Health app to MFP.
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