HRM users . . . when to hit stop?

2

Replies

  • 2getgeorge
    2getgeorge Posts: 81 Member
    you can stop it after your done with exercise, whrn you hit the locker room (what I do) or wait until your HR gets to your starting HR.
    I don't wait because I get all sweaty and don't want to wait to take it off.
  • jbrinda1
    jbrinda1 Posts: 153 Member
    Stop when you're done if you want to know what you burned doing that specific activity for that amount of time. Otherwise its just a few additional calories burned walking around the gym after your workout.
  • EgyptianMushroom
    EgyptianMushroom Posts: 341 Member
    I'll keep this in mind when I get my HRM in the mail. Just ordered one. :glasses:
  • Jonathanfales
    Jonathanfales Posts: 38 Member
    I hit stop as soon as I'm done exercising. I'd rather underestimate the burn!

    I usually do this too.

    Add me to those who would rather underestimate the burn. If you "workout" for 20 min but dont stop the HRM for 30 then you dont know precisely what you burned. In other words why not start the HRM 3 hrs before, let it go for 3 hrs after and then log your excercise as 1000+ calories burned. If your gonna cheat yourself you might as well go big.
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    Hmmmm, some interesting answers here!

    I start mine as soon as I get on the treadmill (35 mins), keep it on during strength training (25 to 35 mins) and stop it when I hit the change room.

    Same.
  • krissypea79
    krissypea79 Posts: 362 Member
    I hit stop as soon as I'm done exercising. I'd rather underestimate the burn!

    This is what I do...rather be a little under than over! :smile:
  • ThaRealNicki
    ThaRealNicki Posts: 322 Member
    I leave it on till I shower before bed.....is this a bad thing?
  • glittersoul
    glittersoul Posts: 666 Member
    I stop it when I'm done exercising
  • Rachiepie6
    Rachiepie6 Posts: 423 Member
    I have a Polar FT4, I hit stop once I'm no longer "in the zone".

    Me too, I also use a fitbit, so it subtracts my bmr from my burn so it doesn't matter how long I leave it on for.
    If you subtract your bmr yourself you won't have to worry about how long you have it on for. :smile:
  • jackiejax1981
    jackiejax1981 Posts: 80 Member
    I hit stop when I'm done......but if I know I didn't put as much effort into my workout, I cheat and wait a few minutes till I feel cooled down completely. LOL. Just being honest. The problem with that is that I forget to hit stop. HA! In any case.....both ways are accurate in my opinion.
  • jackiejax1981
    jackiejax1981 Posts: 80 Member
    ...and I absolutely loooooove my Polar FT40!!!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I hit start when I start my actual workout and I hit stop when I finish. Warm-ups and cool downs don't get counted since my heart rate typically isn't elevated enough during those times to make it worthwhile to count.
  • kammy92
    kammy92 Posts: 408 Member
    I hit stop when I'm done exercising .........
  • kag1526
    kag1526 Posts: 210 Member
    I stop it once I finish the exercise or when I remember to hit the button whichever happens first. Sometimes this means when I get out of the zone and it beeps at me.
  • Nikstergirl
    Nikstergirl Posts: 1,549 Member
    I wait until my heart stops racing. If it's after a run, I stretch and walk a bit to cool down. If it's a class, it's right after we stretch and cool down. Just the way I do it! Can't wait to get it back, I've been without mine for a while as I accidentally left the watch at my friend's house... she's bringing it to me for my birthday! (we live on opposite sides of the country, not like a quick road trip).
  • HartJames
    HartJames Posts: 789 Member
    I think it also depends on if you are eating back every single little calorie. If you are, you may want to under-estimate your burn and stop when your workout stops? Personally, I consider my post exercise burn as part of my caloric burn from my workout as my heart rate remains above my normal activity level for several minutes as I cool down- that's why I stop it at 100. Hardly "cheating" (WTF?) as I don't base my caloric intake strictly off what I burn. As long as you are still burning above a normal level, why not?
  • Heidi_M78
    Heidi_M78 Posts: 143 Member
    I hit stop as soon as I'm done exercising. I'd rather underestimate the burn!

    ^ this
  • paigedwatson
    paigedwatson Posts: 18
    I check my resting heart rate before I run and I stop it when I reach back to my resting heart rate.
  • olong
    olong Posts: 255 Member
    I usually hit stop when I've completed my cool down walk, about five minutes. Sometimes my heart rate comes down faster (low intensity run) and sometimes it comes down slower (higher intensity run). Cool down, in my mind, is just as important as warm-up, but like another poster replied, the HRM is used to measure the exercise time (for me that's warm-up and cool-down), though not stretching., etc.
  • turbophoenix
    turbophoenix Posts: 152
    Usually I hit stop once I finish my cool down/stretch.
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,179 Member
    I hit stop as soon as I'm done exercising. I'd rather underestimate the burn!

    This is what I do, too. I work out in my room, so as soon as I pause and head for my computer chair again, "STOP".
  • sunshine83777
    sunshine83777 Posts: 80
    I do the same! I hit stop when it gets below 100 ... I remember a while back before I got my HRM there was a thread on here and pretty much everyone suggested to stop when it gets under 100



    I was wondering the same thing. ^^ Good to Know. I'm hitting stop right after I'm done with my workout.
    I love my Polar FT7
  • Irishmoonwitch
    Irishmoonwitch Posts: 97
    I always stop mine after the cool down of my workout.
  • Lost_Mermaid
    Lost_Mermaid Posts: 136
    I stop mine when the dizziness and nausea go away, cause I figure my heart rate has gone down enough, usually between 130-140 and a minute or two after the cool down stretches
  • witrixie2011
    witrixie2011 Posts: 224
    I hit start when I start my actual workout and I hit stop when I finish. Warm-ups and cool downs don't get counted since my heart rate typically isn't elevated enough during those times to make it worthwhile to count.

    This.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    I stop it when I go under 100, your still burning more than you count and I don't eat them back. I think its a good method. X
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
    Don't overcomplicate it. Really ? Just stop it when you are finished with your workout .... simple as that !
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    When I'm running I start it as I leave my driveway (after my warm up) and stop when I hit the bottom of the driveway at the end of my run (I don't count my cool-down / stretching). On the treadmill, start the HRM when I start the treadmill & stop as soon as I hit the 5 min cool down finishes (don't count stretching afterward)
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    Mine is a Garmin FR60 with the footpod so I use it to track my mileage and pace and everything when I'm running as well as my heart rate and calories. I start it when I stop walking and start running and I stop it when I stop running. If I don't then my calories are going to be different but so is my pace and mileage (plus it breaks down my pace mile by mile too and I like looking at that). When I use it for workouts other than running I start it when I start and I stop it when I stop. If it's Insanity or P90X it starts and stops with the tape - so cool down and warm up are tracked also. With my own workouts I start after I warm up and stop before I stretch at the end.

    I'm not trying to get credit for every single calorie I burn. I walk a half mile to the trail before I start running and then walk a half mile or more back to my office when I'm done. I don't track the calories burned for that activity at all.
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
    I hit stop when I'm done cooling down and stretching -- usually when I'm walking back to the locker room. I'd rather underestimate than overestimate, I guess.
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