Heart rate monitors

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Clarecbear82
Clarecbear82 Posts: 369 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you really need them? or are they just another expensive thing that we think we need but could really do without?
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  • crepes_
    crepes_ Posts: 583 Member
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    I really like mine because it helps take the guesswork out of calorie burning. I wear it every time I exercise to be more sure of what I've done. Sometimes, MFP over-estimates caloric burn, and the cardio machines are entirely unreliable.

    They may be expensive, but weight loss is important to me and I feel like it's a sound investment for my situation.
  • mrsdizzyd84
    mrsdizzyd84 Posts: 422 Member
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    Of course you don't need them just like you don't need MFP.

    Human beings have been gaining and losing weight without the benefit of technology since time immemorial!

    I like using a heart rate monitor. It gives me a more accurate reading vs. guessing or relying on the equipment. To each his or her own.
  • blink1021
    blink1021 Posts: 1,118 Member
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    I love mine I have the polar ft7 best $80 I ever spent. MFP database usually calculates the calories way to high. This is bad if you eat back your exercise calories. I use mine no matter what exercise I do and it helps me keep my heart rate in check so I do not harm myself. Its the most accurate way I have found to track my calories.
  • tananichelle
    tananichelle Posts: 103 Member
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    LOVE mine! Polar FT4. Takes a ton of the guessing out of figuring out how many calories you've burned. But I wouldn't say I NEED it. Although I do think it's the best money I've spent on weight-loss thus far... Got it slightly used on Amazon for $40 (retails around $80).
  • trimom10
    trimom10 Posts: 388 Member
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    I would say you need them. It's helpful in that you can analyze your workout and get the actual amount of calories you personally burn by working out. There are different heart rate zones (1 to 5) and depending on if you want to burn fat or get into shape aerobically (burn sugar instead of fat) you need to make sure you are in the right zone (zone 2 is fat burn, zone 4 is aerobic, zone 5 is breathless). Right now I use mine to record the calories I burn because the standard calorie settings in MFP's exercises are just a gauge/estimate (and usually higher than what I do). I always record the minutes and then erase the auto entry and enter my calories from the heart rate monitor. Hope that helps.
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
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    It depends on what you're trying to achieve....

    If you work out hard regularly, its a good tool too to prevent you overtraining... or if you're aspiring to a particular event, prevent you undertraining...

    Many uses, could do without but takes out some of the guess work!
  • ToBeSmaller
    ToBeSmaller Posts: 46
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    would LOVE to know what heart rate monitors you all are using. I am looking for one that's simple not too expensive but is reliable. I'm not gonna swim in it or need it to be bulletproof, its not going skydiving lol - just need to it to tell me the calories i've burned while exercising. Be it running on a treadmill or zumba in my living room. I searched on google a few times and come out of it more confused than ever!

    Know what i mean?
  • vguynes
    vguynes Posts: 794 Member
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    I don't have a heart rate monitor, but I sure WANT one! I plan to get one as a reward for losing 10 pounds!
  • luvbwfc
    luvbwfc Posts: 107 Member
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    dont need to be expensive. got mine for 20 quid
  • Tropical_Turtle
    Tropical_Turtle Posts: 2,236 Member
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    I am currently looking for one to take the guess work out of my work outs. I dont want to be over estimating, and to be honest I dont trust what others put in the database. I have found way too many errors in things. I want to remove all doubt of what is going in and what is going out!
  • runbyme
    runbyme Posts: 522 Member
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    I just got mine yesterday and I really like it! I could have gone 1 step down from the one I bought though and it would have done everything I needed it to. Oh well! The next step down was $39.99 and free shipping. I have spent that in much more foolish ways!
  • SithZombie
    SithZombie Posts: 165 Member
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    I just bought a Polar FT7 yesterday! I bought it so that I could count calories while working out at home & weightlifting at the gym! It's an awesome gadget to have!
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
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    I love my Polar FT4 and never exercise without it. Not only does it give me a more accurate representation of how many calories I've burned, I always know that I'm working hard enough.

    I know people who are only concerned about the duration of their workouts, not the intensity....e.g. they will spend an hour on the treadmill but they aren't working hard enough.....they could have worked harder & burned the same amount of calories in 45 minutes had they known what their heart rate was.

    I think I paid abour $125 for my HRM, money well spent!
  • mmuzzatti
    mmuzzatti Posts: 706 Member
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    I track all my calorie burning with a HRM.
  • lgerweck
    lgerweck Posts: 18
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    I also have a Polar FT4... love it. Paid $62 for it. I kind of think it makes working out more fun to see how many calories you're burning. It also makes me work harder toward my goal of burning at least 12 calories a minute.
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    Its a Tool to use to get a better estimation on calories burned, and the more information you have the better decisions you can make.
  • vguynes
    vguynes Posts: 794 Member
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    I just got mine yesterday and I really like it! I could have gone 1 step down from the one I bought though and it would have done everything I needed it to. Oh well! The next step down was $39.99 and free shipping. I have spent that in much more foolish ways!

    What's the name of your monitor and where did you purchase it? I'm currently looking for one, and the price you stated sounds great!
  • hedgiie
    hedgiie Posts: 1,245 Member
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    Go for Polar brands, though there are lots of HRM brands but many are getting to fancy or bulky. Polar fits nicely which is suitable during exercise, it also offers lots of variety from simple ones up to a more fancy ones, and they are in for many years now.
    Avoid the ones with GPS and other fancy features, go for the simple ones, usually they are more reliable.
  • dfborders
    dfborders Posts: 474 Member
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    Love mine - I just use it for more accurate readings. I got mine for around $30 on Amazon (Pyle). Could have spent more and probably gotten a better one - but since I am not training for anything - just exercising for me and to be healthy - figured why? I also found the machines highly underestimate the calories you burn and MFP highly inflates the calories. Also, with my HRM I can enter my weight training under cardio.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    Do you really need them? or are they just another expensive thing that we think we need but could really do without?

    I never really thought about getting one until I got some money for my birthday a short while back, their I bought one on Amazon.

    What I didn't realize, was that apart from counting calories burned during exercise, I can also use it to gauge my heartbeat during interval sessions on my treadmill. It has become invaluable and I would have bought one a long, long time ago if I had realized just how useful it would be.

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