Is your HRM accurate?

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BADGIRLstl
BADGIRLstl Posts: 473 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm really loving mine....but I'm not sure if its accurate. It seems pretty generous. Either I've been working out for pennies (going by calories burned at the gym and guesstimating strength training in the low numbers) or I have recently stepped my workout up I have an SX Sportline HRM. Please let me know your experience. How off was your calories burned when you didn't have an HRM vs. when you did?

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  • tmogs
    tmogs Posts: 287 Member
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    I think mine is accurate but it makes me work hard for the burn lol i'm okay with it!
  • tbear16
    tbear16 Posts: 31 Member
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    I have a polar rs300 and I think it is very accurate I love my hrm and it does make you work harder
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
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    Mine is a polar 7 and I belive it's pretty accurate. Except maybe not as much for weights or every day non heart pumping things like cleaning house, more cardio. It motivates me to do things that may not be in the database. And then It motivates me to do a little more than i'd like to do. A little farther, a little more intense, and a little more often. I feel a lot better about eating my exercise calories because I feel like I have a more accurate diary vs exercise. It feels like a reward when I press the button and see how much I burned. And it is great to know how hard i'm working when I feel like i'm working hard and look at the heart rate.
  • ygrad2001
    ygrad2001 Posts: 230
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    Do you have a chest strap? I noticed a difference once I got the one with the chest strap vs not having the chest strap.
  • vs1023
    vs1023 Posts: 417 Member
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    I have the polar f7 with strap and I think it is very accurate.
  • MsTanya77
    MsTanya77 Posts: 357 Member
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    I have a Polar FT4 and I don't believe its accurate on calories at all. I use it for heartrate. Cals are always way lower than on workout machines. From what I understand that seems to be a common problem.
  • Crystals422
    Crystals422 Posts: 382 Member
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    I have a Polar FT4 and I feel that it is accurate. 500 for a hour in Zumba seems normal, 600 for a hour of spin seems normal as well. I know that hrm are not really made for strenght training, more for cardio.
  • tageekly
    tageekly Posts: 3,755 Member
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    If your HRM has a chest strap, is programmd correctly for your measurements (height, current weight, age, etc.) then it's about 85-90% correct. I have a Polar FT7 and think it's pretty darn close because I've been using it rather than the machines or MFP for calories burned and losing more consistently now than before I used it.

    Do not trust the machines at the gym - they are not constantly monitoring your heart rate or truly programmed to you (even if you put in your age and weight) - and are often too high for most people. I find they are about 30% too high for me. Also, MFP is often too high in its estimates as well.

    Again, if you have a good HRM and it's programmed correctly - trust it.
  • SAC0O3
    SAC0O3 Posts: 95
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    My HRM is accurate... You can tell by just checking your heart rate manually during a work out (I know, that can be annoying) or just when you are rested and see if they both match up. That is the only way really.
    I will admit, my HRM takes a while to update my heart rate, but as long as I see that it is above a certain number than I don't care what my heart rate is that exact time. I have been working out long enough too to sort of tell what sort of heart rate range I am in.

    Also after you have been working out for a long length of time and build muscle you will find that you work out even harder (whether you know you are or not) I remember back when I first started working out I could only get my average heart rate to 152 for 40 minutes but now I get it between 160-165

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