Explain importance of a HRM?

Reeny1_8
Reeny1_8 Posts: 277
in Fitness and Exercise
Still pretty new at this and I have noticed people mentioning having a heart rate monitor. Can someone please explain the importance of it? Maybe even recommend a good one to get? Thanks!
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Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    A good heart rate monitor tracks your heart rate through your workout and can give you a more accurate estimate of calories burned. It should have the option for you to enter your age, gender, weight, activity level, etc for even more accuracy. The best ones generally have a chest strap that reads the heart rate and send the info to a watch where you track all the info.

    I have a New Balance N4 and am very happy with it. You'll find most members here like the Polar models (there are several).
  • NateDad
    NateDad Posts: 55
    It's the most accurate way to know how many calories you burn while exercising. Polar FT4 is popular, and the one I have.
  • beautyreaps
    beautyreaps Posts: 151
    People use heart rate monitors to get a better estimate as to how many calories they're burning while working out. Either by equations using their measured heart rate OR (as most do) use the calorie burn given on the monitor/watch. I use a Polar M52. It works really well for me and gives me a caloric burn based on my age, weight, height, V02max and gender. Hope that helps (:
  • AmberFaith90
    AmberFaith90 Posts: 904 Member
    I like knowing how many calories I'm burning (as accurately as possible), so I know how much more I can have to eat. Most machines tend to either over-shoot calories or under-shoot. I currently use a Polar model, and I love it. I bought it from Amazon, and it has tons of great reviews.
  • genuinelyfrans
    genuinelyfrans Posts: 584
    Which are the best HRM watches to but for a low price (I only have about $30 to spend)?
  • spinqueen72
    spinqueen72 Posts: 406 Member
    I have a Polar FT4.
    I love it!!!
    I got tired of guessing about how many calories I was burning. Now I know EXACTLY what I'm burning!!
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
    Like my HRM, but love my Fitbit more!
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
    I'm not sure you could get a good HRM for $30, most Polar's are around $90+
  • spinqueen72
    spinqueen72 Posts: 406 Member
    Which are the best HRM watches to but for a low price (I only have about $30 to spend)?

    Unfortunately, you're not going to find one that is any good for that price!
    The best ones are going to be anywhere from $80-150.
    You need one with a chest strap.
    I didn't want to spend that kind of money on one...but it has paid for itself!
  • amackenzie0214
    amackenzie0214 Posts: 7
    I love my polar been using them for 12 years now. Besides telling me how many calories I burn during a workout (enabling me to know if i can eat that extra snack or not for that day) mine has three zones (low intensity, medium intensity, hard intensity) so during a workout I know when I'm pushing it and when I'm not. Also polar works with most gym equipment so you can see you heart rate on the equipment without focusing on your watch which allows you to keep your HR where you want it.
  • BobbieLee1959
    BobbieLee1959 Posts: 605 Member
    Like my HRM, but love my Fitbit more!

    Please explain advantages of each?
  • EgyptianMushroom
    EgyptianMushroom Posts: 341 Member
    I use my primarily for the calories burned. I haven't figured out all of the other features with it yet. :laugh: I just got it a couple of days ago. I believe it's a Polar model...with a chest strap. :happy:
  • chachadiva150
    chachadiva150 Posts: 453 Member
    Oregon Scientific makes low cost HRMs with chest straps. They get good reviews on Amazon. Also check Ebay for deals.
  • OccupyFitness
    OccupyFitness Posts: 145 Member
    I don't have one but I want one because I feel like I often engage in non-traditional exercise, mostly yard work, and I have no idea what sort of calories I am burning. It would be so great to know more accurately what I am burning when I am going to rake for an hour, etc...
  • Justacoffeenut
    Justacoffeenut Posts: 3,749 Member
    bump
  • EmRobo
    EmRobo Posts: 146 Member
    Same as everyone else, I like to know exactly what I am burning and also like to keep an eye on my heart rate. MFP can under or over estimate calories burnt, so at least with my HRM I know what is correct for me

    I have a Polar FT7
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
    I don't have one but I want one because I feel like I often engage in non-traditional exercise, mostly yard work, and I have no idea what sort of calories I am burning. It would be so great to know more accurately what I am burning when I am going to rake for an hour, etc...

    I intend to use my HRM for this a lot over the next few weeks because i'll be doing a lot of manual labour on our renovation... It will be really interesting to see what I burn :smile:
  • htmlgirl
    htmlgirl Posts: 314 Member
    I LOVE mine because it turns out I was burning 100-200 more calories than I estimated, so now I have a more accurate measurement. Although from what I've read, a lot of people here had the opposite effect, it showed that they burned less than they thought, but still it's important to get measurements of calories in/out as accurate as you can. I would not spend $30 and get a cheap one, I would save up if I needed to to get a good one. Make sure it has a chest strap. I got a polar on Amazon. You might be able to find a used one on ebay but I would buy a new chest strap.
  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
    Personally, I'm not sure that I would trust one because I think they only work accurately when your heartrate is consistently high. So it would be fine for running or spinning etc but people use them for things like Zumba, yoga or walking where the heartrate is going to vary hugely and, if you're not very careful (which I know I wouldn't be!) you could overestimate the burn and could easily overeat.
  • jonski1968
    jonski1968 Posts: 4,490 Member
    POLAR FT7

    It gives you fitness minutes and fat burn minutes..Logs your daily and weekly workouts...Paid £64.00 inc postage from amazon.co.uk

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=sports&field-keywords=Polar+FT7+Heart+Rate+Monitor
  • EmRobo
    EmRobo Posts: 146 Member
    POLAR FT7

    It gives you fitness minutes and fat burn minutes..Logs your daily and weekly workouts...Paid £64.00 inc postage from amazon.co.uk

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=sports&field-keywords=Polar+FT7+Heart+Rate+Monitor

    ha ha does it, must read up more about my ft7
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Personally, I'm not sure that I would trust one because I think they only work accurately when your heartrate is consistently high. So it would be fine for running or spinning etc but people use them for things like Zumba, yoga or walking where the heartrate is going to vary hugely and, if you're not very careful (which I know I wouldn't be!) you could overestimate the burn and could easily overeat.
    Thats not true... As long as you are doing steady state cardio(which walking is), the HRM will be fine at counting calories. I use mine for both Yoga and Walking, and the calorie burns seem pretty spot on.

    The only time an HRM reading gets screwy is when you use them for strength training or wear them during rest.. which they are not meant for.

    To OP:
    HRM's are a great way to tell you an estimated calorie burn during exercise. I personally like the Polar Models.. Had a Timex first and wasn't a fan of it(the calorie estimation was crazy).
  • jonski1968
    jonski1968 Posts: 4,490 Member
    POLAR FT7

    It gives you fitness minutes and fat burn minutes..Logs your daily and weekly workouts...Paid £64.00 inc postage from amazon.co.uk

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=sports&field-keywords=Polar+FT7+Heart+Rate+Monitor

    ha ha does it, must read up more about my ft7

    yepp...press the bottom left button and go into data..pick which workout...click middle right button...then top and bottom right buttons flick you through your data..

    See...Easy..:laugh:
  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
    Personally, I'm not sure that I would trust one because I think they only work accurately when your heartrate is consistently high. So it would be fine for running or spinning etc but people use them for things like Zumba, yoga or walking where the heartrate is going to vary hugely and, if you're not very careful (which I know I wouldn't be!) you could overestimate the burn and could easily overeat.
    Thats not true... As long as you are doing steady state cardio(which walking is), the HRM will be fine at counting calories. I use mine for both Yoga and Walking, and the calorie burns seem pretty spot on.

    The only time an HRM reading gets screwy is when you use them for strength training or wear them during rest.. which they are not meant for.

    To OP:
    HRM's are a great way to tell you an estimated calorie burn during exercise. I personally like the Polar Models.. Had a Timex first and wasn't a fan of it(the calorie estimation was crazy).

    That's interesting. Why do they work for yoga but not weights? I'm sure my heart goes up way more doing a body pump class than it would for body balance, for example. Is it because of the variation in intensity?
  • ladylu11
    ladylu11 Posts: 631 Member
    You really need one if you are eating back your exercise calories. MFP and the exercise machines will give you a much higher number of calories burned than what you are actually doing and this could impede your progress. I have the Polar FT4, I bought it at Sports Authority last summer and it's still going strong.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Personally, I'm not sure that I would trust one because I think they only work accurately when your heartrate is consistently high. So it would be fine for running or spinning etc but people use them for things like Zumba, yoga or walking where the heartrate is going to vary hugely and, if you're not very careful (which I know I wouldn't be!) you could overestimate the burn and could easily overeat.
    Thats not true... As long as you are doing steady state cardio(which walking is), the HRM will be fine at counting calories. I use mine for both Yoga and Walking, and the calorie burns seem pretty spot on.

    The only time an HRM reading gets screwy is when you use them for strength training or wear them during rest.. which they are not meant for.

    To OP:
    HRM's are a great way to tell you an estimated calorie burn during exercise. I personally like the Polar Models.. Had a Timex first and wasn't a fan of it(the calorie estimation was crazy).

    That's interesting. Why do they work for yoga but not weights? I'm sure my heart goes up way more doing a body pump class than it would for body balance, for example. Is it because of the variation in intensity?

    Exactly... Strength training provides too much variation which the HRM cannot predict. It also can give a false reading of oxygen uptake(thats one component HRM's use to provide a calorie estimation).. If you are doing arm work and your heart rate shoots up from the pressure, it's going to think you are working harder then you are.. and thus give you a higher calorie burn then it should.

    With Yoga, the only conflicting factor is if you do hot yoga.. The heat can mess with you and make your heart rate higher then it's supposed to be, thus giving you a higher calorie burn.
  • EmRobo
    EmRobo Posts: 146 Member
    POLAR FT7

    It gives you fitness minutes and fat burn minutes..Logs your daily and weekly workouts...Paid £64.00 inc postage from amazon.co.uk

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=sports&field-keywords=Polar+FT7+Heart+Rate+Monitor

    ha ha does it, must read up more about my ft7

    yepp...press the bottom left button and go into data..pick which workout...click middle right button...then top and bottom right buttons flick you through your data..

    See...Easy..:laugh:

    Thank you
  • amackenzie0214
    amackenzie0214 Posts: 7
    They work for working out with weight is fine but it only counts the calories that you burn while you are working out not the calories you burn after the workout. Unlike cardio or aerobic workouts where you stop burning calories quicker when you stop, resistance traing continues to burn calories after you are done. EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption - Also know as the afterburner) is the amount of additional energy to bring your body back to resting rate. Research consistently shows that your EPOC is height after completing a resistance workout as opposed to an aerobic session. During certain exercises you just need to be carefull because you can lose connection if the sensors detach from your body.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    It shows me how hard I'm working. As a small woman, my heart rate is faster than the rates on the charts which I believe were developed from data of much bigger men. When I tried to stay within the designated healthy heart rate zone for me I couldn't break a sweat. The doctor told me it was OK for me to work harder and with the heart rate monitor I learned what was normal for me.

    "Perceived exertion" isn't a reliable method for me. There are times when feedback from the HRM has caused me to slow down because I was working far harder than I thought I was.

    I could never take my pulse manually and it always seemed ridiculous to stop in the middle of my activity to try to track it.

    I recommend a low-level Polar. There used to be more than one chest strap: get the comfortable one, which is a bit closer to cloth in feel. They also come in different sizes.

    I don't use the HRM to calculate calories. There are too many factors that could make the reading unreliable and most of weight loss comes from calorie reduction. When I'm trying to lose weight, I stick to my calorie threshold, exercise as much as I can without regard to what the monitor says and usually I lose weight.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    It's the most accurate way to know how many calories you burn while exercising. Polar FT4 is popular, and the one I have.

    Same here, I got mine from Amazon, it arrived within a couple of days.

    OP it is so damn easy to set up and use, I find it invaluable, especially if I am doing interval training on my treadmill.

    Excellent piece of equipment, seriously!

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