HRM accuracy

Do you have a chest strap? I have different readings on mine all the time. It is because I exert differently and my heart rate is different each time. Also, the more you do something, the easier it is so you don't exert so much. I can find myself riding my bike and burning a huge amount of calories one day and then the next not so many (wind wasn't blowing, didn't work as hard, took a break).

Do you have a chest strap? I have different readings on mine all the time. It is because I exert differently and my heart rate is different each time. Also, the more you do something, the easier it is so you don't exert so much. I can find myself riding my bike and burning a huge amount of calories one day and then the next not so many (wind wasn't blowing, didn't work as hard, took a break).

yes I do have a chest strap. Ok, that's what I thought, but I'm a newbie to HRM's so I just wanted to check. Thanks!

:laugh: I literally freaked out the first time I used mine on my treadmill. My treadmill said I burned over 100 calories more than my HRM. (I was tempted to record the treadmill but didn't :bigsmile: )

Thanks so very much.

I'm expecting my HRM to get here 2day and I can't wait. I don't want to freak out when I see the difference between workouts.

Any equipment has generic information in it. The HRM is very specific, weight, age, height, etc. and will give you a more accurate reading. You are gonna love it.

I have had mine for a couple of weeks and i can't get it to consistantly stay going. it will be running fine, then jump up to 200 and then down to 0 then up to 150 then to 220 then to 0. How tight do you have to wear this thing for it to be accurate? it is fine while walking, but as soon i start to run, it goes haywire.? any suggestions? Its a rebok percision trainer xt.

one thing may be that it isn't tight enough...I wear mine pretty tight to ensure it doesn't move. the other thing is that it may be too dry. I wet mine with a little water before I put it on but I have seen that they sell conductive gel you can also use.

I wear this thing so tight that sometimes it pops off in the middle of my run. I am left with marks all; around my body that stay for hours afterwards, and it really uncomfortable. I do not have much of a "chest" to speak of, maybe an A-B cup, so how high should I wear it so it won't move? I do wet it, I might have to try to find the gel.
thanks.
I mean really girls, do you wear it so tight that it hurts? and How do you girls use it when you have a bigger chest than a B cup?

I put mine on fairly tight and under the band of my sports bra. I also wet it a bit, just dampen my fingertips and run them along the inside of the strap. I found it doesn't work as well dry. Also, be sure to clean it after every use or it won't work as well. I take a damp cloth and wipe it off after each use then dry with a dry towel. I am a 36DD and it doesn't pop off.

I do the same, under the sprots bra, and damp?

I have had mine for a couple of weeks and i can't get it to consistantly stay going. it will be running fine, then jump up to 200 and then down to 0 then up to 150 then to 220 then to 0. How tight do you have to wear this thing for it to be accurate? it is fine while walking, but as soon i start to run, it goes haywire.? any suggestions? Its a rebok percision trainer xt.

Okay, this is funny because I also have a Reebok Precision XT and I had the same problem for the first time just this morning. I was running outside and all of a sudden it would jump to like 220 and then to 0. I would walk for a sec and check it and it would go back to normal. Weird. Hopefully it didn't make too big a difference, but I doubt it should have ever even have gone up to 220 right? I just want to be sure it's not OVER estimating my calories.

I have the Reebok HRM too and found that sometimes it stops, but that was when I was doing yoga. When I was on the elliptical and the treadmill it was fine. When I was laying down for some of the yoga poses, it stopped and I think it might be because the girls shift when laying down, so therefore it might lose contact! :laugh: But when I stood up, it was fine. Maybe I need to tighten it. I just don't want it to chafe under my arms when I'm running or something.

In the instructions, it says to wear it just above your heart. What I did was walk up and down 2 flights of stairs, felt around for my heartbeat, then put the strap on.

I wish it was just a wrist piece, can't they make it just measure your pulse instead of wearing the strap around your chest?

You would think with the technology of today they would have much more accurate way of monitoring your heartrate. this thing feels so rinky dink!

I received my HRM on yesterday and I LOVE it!! I used it 3x yesterday and the same 2day. Didn't know that I've been cheating myself on the calories burned by 100-150 cals each time. I kind of just estimated (guessed) by using the site but I'm not mad I still lost weight so what the heck. :laugh: I'm just glad I have it and I will be using it very often since I'm starting to walk tomorrow.

Much success to all of us!!

I have the same problem with my Reebok HRM. I wear the strap as tight as it gets too.

It worked fine at first but it gets more finicky every day. I'm starting to see why they closed them out!

I hope to get the new Garmin 310XT for my birthday and not have to worry about it any more.

I was just about to post a topic on this, but saw this one!

I have a Polar F6 which I love, but for some reason I'm thinking it's not calculating my calories burned correctly. For example, I have the EA Active for the Wii and it says I should have burned around 200 calories in my work out today, but my Polar said I burned over 500! That's a HUGE leap. And when I input things into MFP or any other exercise journal the number of calories it says I should have burned are way lower than what my hrm is reading.

I was messing around with the settings and I saw something called a V02Max. After some research I found out that is what determines how many calories you've burned. The manual isn't very helpful and just says to leave it as is unless you get your V02 actually tested.

Does anybody have this problem at all? Do you just take the number the HRM gives you?

you really should put in accurate VO2max numbers to get the right numbers, I asked polar about this, they say it's about 90% accurate without VO2max numbers, but about 98% accurate with.

you can go here to do an at home VO2max test:

http://www.calculatorslive.com/VO2-Max-Calculator.aspx

it's not really all that accurate, but it's accurate enough to get you close. Otherwise the HRM is going to use the average numbers for someone your age weight and height, which can be waaaaaay off.

If you REALLY want to know, ask your local gym or personal trainer where you can go to get one. They do real ones at labs and colleges sometimes.

Oh also, depending on which model HRM you have, some companies don't take out resting HR from the calories burned. For example Polar doesn't. So when I do my 45 minute run, I have to subtract about 80 calories from the total. Be aware of that. You want the total EXTRA calories you burn in for MFP, not the TOTAL calories burned. MFP already factors the resting calories in.

Oh also, depending on which model HRM you have, some companies don't take out resting HR from the calories burned. For example Polar doesn't. So when I do my 45 minute run, I have to subtract about 80 calories from the total. Be aware of that. You want the total EXTRA calories you burn in for MFP, not the TOTAL calories burned. MFP already factors the resting calories in.

So you finally did get a response back from them? I remember you were having a hell of a time getting through their tech support.

well, for that one, they responded rather quick, it was for other stuff that they wouldn't talk. Specifically their formula for calculating calories.

Hi, Banks!

I have Polar, and unlike other's experiences, mine shows very few calories.
I think I am working like a mule, and I barely burning 200 cals according to that unfeeling device! :laugh:
If I have to take 80 out on the top of that - I might as well not eat at all (just kidding):blushing: :bigsmile:

So, my question: can you enter your VO2 into Polar?
I don't remember seeing that option.
There are "OwnZone" thingy there, pretty obscure, but that I remember...

you sure can, it's different for each model where though, for my F6 I think it's in advanced settings or something, I'm a visual guy, I'd have to pull it out and walk through it to know for sure. Ownzone is for setting your heartrate max and min when working, it beeps when you fall out of the zone.

200 calories huh? what's your average heart rate for that stuff, and how long are we talking about there. cuz, 200 could be spot on.

For instance, for me, I could walk for 2 hours and probably not burn 200 cals, cuz I run a lot, and walking doesn't really up my heart rate any more (only by a few percentage points, I rarely get out of the high 40% range when I walk (even fast), but when I run hard, I get up into the 80's, and that's when I can burn a good 550 calories for a 45 minute run. Course nothing beats my HIIT training (1 hour is about 1000 cals or so, see my blog if you'd like to know more. :devil: I'm a shameless self promoter)

I have the same one and mine does the same exact thing. Apparently all of them do it (according to everyone's posts..geesh). It's such a pain when I'm in the middle of a workout and it jumps to 200 something and then BOOM right to zero...

I always wet it and wear it really really tight too. I wash it off afterwards...and it still does it. I mean it's not all the time, just every once in awhile...but when I'm exercising, I'm constantly looking at it just to make sure it's reading the right HR.

:ohwell: