heart rate monitor

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howie4four
howie4four Posts: 54 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just bought a NEW Balance Heart rate monitor and the directions are crap. I got the time and date set....now what? Do I just put the strap on and the "watch" on my wrist and start exercising? I wanted it to show calories that I'm burning and and my heart rate....which the packages says it will do....but I wore it last night after I got the time/date set and nothing happened. Do I need to
program in my weight (I didn't see a place to set that)? It did say you need to have some sweat on you (I'm paraphrasing) so the conductors work...and I didn't have any sweat on me when I was wearing it last night..... Any suggestions/advice?
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Replies

  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
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    Check for a user manual online. You can simply wet the sensors with water. If there isn't a place to put your weight, height, age, then it's not going to be very accurate.
  • unhinge
    unhinge Posts: 318 Member
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    Try to dampen the chest strap with a little water before you put it on. Should have some way to program your weight but I'm not sure about the NB type. Should also have a setting to display your heart rate and /or calories burned?????

    Mine is a Polar.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    I just bought a NEW Balance Heart rate monitor and the directions are crap. I got the time and date set....now what? Do I just put the strap on and the "watch" on my wrist and start exercising? I wanted it to show calories that I'm burning and and my heart rate....which the packages says it will do....but I wore it last night after I got the time/date set and nothing happened. Do I need to
    program in my weight (I didn't see a place to set that)? It did say you need to have some sweat on you (I'm paraphrasing) so the conductors work...and I didn't have any sweat on me when I was wearing it last night..... Any suggestions/advice?
    Not familiar with the New Balance to be able to give you advice but when I've lost manuals to products I own I Google and find the manual online. Maybe it would be easier to understand when looking online... hope so!

    When you Google, just type in the name of the product, the style/model and then type in manual and it should come up. :wink:

    Congrats on picking yourself up an HRM:drinker:
  • annakristi86
    annakristi86 Posts: 9
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    hi... i got one too a while ago.... and yes you need to enter your weight, height, age..etc..... also you need to moist the chet strap as well... on mine i start it when i begin working out and end it when im done.... it shows my heart rate all the time but in order to be able to see calories burned i have to press certain buttons to get it to show me calories burned...
  • Rahul_ahuja
    Rahul_ahuja Posts: 28
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    Give me the model number and I will have a look online
  • whiplashpcw
    whiplashpcw Posts: 126 Member
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    Anyone have any good suggestions for a heart rate monitor? I keep looking on Amazon and for all of them with glaring reviews they are also filled with reviews of people that hated the same product. It drives me nuts and makes it so hard to pick a good one. HELP!!!
  • tnjackso1
    tnjackso1 Posts: 312 Member
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    I have a pedometer by NB and I'm not enjoying it either!!
  • trysha1231
    trysha1231 Posts: 163 Member
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    Anyone have any good suggestions for a heart rate monitor? I keep looking on Amazon and for all of them with glaring reviews they are also filled with reviews of people that hated the same product. It drives me nuts and makes it so hard to pick a good one. HELP!!!

    Agreed! I am so confused on what to get without spending a ton of money. Suggestions please?
  • SexyLexy83
    SexyLexy83 Posts: 340
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    Hi hate pedometer's they are basically for runners or walkers thats what I bout before my HRM and had to return it, I have an HRM from walmart and it is Pro Form. And it works GREAT!:wink:
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    Anyone have any good suggestions for a heart rate monitor? I keep looking on Amazon and for all of them with glaring reviews they are also filled with reviews of people that hated the same product. It drives me nuts and makes it so hard to pick a good one. HELP!!!

    Agreed! I am so confused on what to get without spending a ton of money. Suggestions please?
    http://www.bodytronics.com/c/polar_heart_rate_monitors <~~great site, great prices, free shipping!

    Polar FT7 or FT4 are both quite good prices on that site. I certainly can't get that price locally and with so many color choices.
    Just to reassure you, it's a good company that many on here have dealt with.

    FT7 holds more data than the fT4 and FT7 has an additional piece you can purchase if you'd like to input all your info on line.

    FT4 holds approx. 10 workouts, FT7 holds closer to 100,,. not to much else is different from what I've learned...

    If anyone knows of other differences hopefully they speak up an let you know

    Good Luck & Enjoy!

    I SO understand your confusion it can be quite overwhelming since everyone has different choice. Got with your gut and you can't go wrong!:wink::flowerforyou:

    ETA: :laugh: This ad came up on the right hand bar when I finished up this email (what perfect timing!!)

    Here's c code you can use for BodyTronics site "Coupon Code: POPO Save 5% on Polar In Stock"
  • howie4four
    howie4four Posts: 54 Member
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    Yeah for my husband...I think he got it figured out for me......Now.....tomorrow before I go workout....I'll put this on ...will I be set to go or do I need to start it somehow?
    And, after tomorrow do I need to reset it everyday or does it somehow reset itself after no activity for a while....sorry I'm soooo dense about this.....
    I really just wanted to slap it on and go and have it count my calories and heart rate........I guess I was expecting too much!!
  • Alonnea
    Alonnea Posts: 70 Member
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    I got a new balance n4 a couple of weeks ago and I love it. My manual had good instructions so if it's anywhere close to mine I might be able to help. After your workout if you hold the view button when your done it should save the workout information for you and then it'll be ready for the next one. I think it will save up to 9 workouts.
  • MommyTKD
    MommyTKD Posts: 61 Member
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    I got the N4 and I love it. I had to have my 13 year old set up the basics for me (I really need to get my eyes checked one of these days) but now I just use it to record calories burned and it's great.
  • Bookers23
    Bookers23 Posts: 187 Member
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    I cannot say enough good things about the Suunto HRM! they actually look good as well, not a chunk of plastic. I am a bit of a watch nut, have far to many, but can honestly say they are really good. I recommend them to all my friends and clients looking for an accurate monitor. the strap I find to be much more comfortable than polar as well. Style is of course a personal opinion, but the suunto have comfortable flexible straps and lay pretty low to the wrist. I wear mine swimming and have never had a problem. they are also super easy to set up and manage menus mid workout. i have used the FT7 in the past, its a solid unit and certainly not a bad choice. Just not a fan of the menus and setup process. It feels bulky on the wrist as well. Good luck!
  • katie133
    katie133 Posts: 210 Member
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    Anyone have any good suggestions for a heart rate monitor? I keep looking on Amazon and for all of them with glaring reviews they are also filled with reviews of people that hated the same product. It drives me nuts and makes it so hard to pick a good one. HELP!!!

    i LOVE my polar FT4... its SO easy to use.. as soon as you start up the watch.. it asks u to put in the date/time.. then asks for your sex/age/height/weight... all so easy.. its great
  • TBellmore
    TBellmore Posts: 8
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    Speaking of HRM's, my friend and I both have 1, hers a Polar and mine a NB. We are both pretty comparable in size, I am just a bit taller. We do circuit training together and I feel sometimes that I put more effort into our workout as she has also admitted this and hers always says almost 100 calories more burned, if not more. We dont get it... We are not sure if 1 of us has ours set up incorrectly, we both have them on the auto set... There is probably a simple answer to it, can anyone help us out?
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I have a New Balance N4 and I love it! Sounds like you got it all set up with your info - did you figure out how to use it to track your calorie burn? Just in case - before you start your workout, hit the Mode button and make sure you're on HRM.

    Make sure it's showing a heart rate so it's tracking, and that the little numbers at the top are at zero all the way across. When you begin your workout, just hit the Start/Stop button and off you go! When you're finished, hit that same button to stop the time.

    To view your results, press and hold the View button until it beeps - it should say Run 1 (or a higher number if you've already saved a workout).

    Then hit the Mode button to go to the Data screen and it will show you your saved workout - use the Stop/Start button to scroll up to the most recent if you have more than one saved. It will scroll through your workout results automatically, or you can hit View to scroll through faster.

    It's way less complicated than it sounds, and once you've used it a few times, it gets so much easier. Hope that helps!
  • howie4four
    howie4four Posts: 54 Member
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    I almost can't wait to run tonight....(almost) to see how this works!:laugh:
  • howie4four
    howie4four Posts: 54 Member
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    Baby steps......I got the thing to show my heart rate......still am trying to find out how many calories it says I burned.....
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    To see your calorie burn:
    To view your results, press and hold the View button until it beeps - it should say Run 1 (or a higher number if you've already saved a workout).

    Then hit the Mode button to go to the Data screen and it will show you your saved workout - use the Stop/Start button to scroll up to the most recent if you have more than one saved. It will scroll through your workout results automatically, or you can hit View to scroll through faster.
    Do those instructions make sense with your HRM? Do you have the N4 or a different model?

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