Heart Rate Monitors

shakybabe
shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm seeing alot about heart rate monitors and chest straps to work out calories consumed during day. If its measuring your heartbeat it will still work if your sat down? (after all your heart doesn't stop when you sit down!)

I'm wheelchair user and wondering if they would work for me to count cals when I'm on passive trainer bike (like exercise bike with motor that pedals legs for me) boxercise from sitting and pilates floor exercises?

If so can you recommend a model that can be bought in UK? I saw one mentioned it counted whilst sleeping, is that one more likely to work for me than others?

Thanks

Replies

  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    They work as long as your heart is beating :wink:
  • hazelnut861
    hazelnut861 Posts: 390 Member
    There's the Body Bugg that you wear all day and it constantly tracks calories burned. You pay for a subscription with it. A cheaper alternative is the Body Media. A highly recommended hrm for working out is Polar. I have the polar ft 40. The polar ft 740 is what a lot of people use and is highly recommended on here. I love it. It's more accurate than mfp or machine estimates. If you get one you'll notice how off other estimates are. I suggest also doing some online research to find the best one to fit your needs.
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
    I recommend Polar Ft7. I also recommend contacting Polar directly for an accurate answer. I've heard that if your heart rate is below 120 then it's not as accurate in counting calories. I don't know if that is true. Please call the manufacturers and ask them directly for the best answer :) Nice job on staying active!!
  • lambdafu
    lambdafu Posts: 14 Member
    Heart rate monitors estimate calories burned by heart rate. They are reasonably accurate, but only from a certain minimum heart rate on upwards. The heart rate monitor devices (at least from the market leader POLAR) know this and will stop measuring once your heart rate drops below the minimum heart rate required for accuracy. This is by the way one of the differences between the beginner devices and the devices for athletes: Athletes have an overall lower heart rate, so the POLAR devices for athletes will measure calories burned also for somewhat lower heart rates.

    So, as long as you exercise and keep your heart rate up, it doesn't matter if you are sitting or standing or lying down, the device will measure your calories burned. It does not accurately measure calories burned at rest or low effort (== non fitness) activities.

    By the way, studies found that the accuracy is reasonable for men and a bit rough but still useful for women (33% overestimation on average). More expensive HRMs allow you to input your VO2max (which you can determine in a medical fitness evaluation) and the HRmax values (12% error for women on average). Unfortunately, this does not mean you can just subtract 30% from the result, as the accuracy varies from person to person.

    The above info is from studies such as http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfje/5700/PolarWatch-study-MSSE.pdf
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    Thanks... some of that sounds complicated and I've no idea what my resting heartbeat is!

    I'll have to do some research!
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