Explain importance of a HRM?

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  • EmRobo
    EmRobo Posts: 146 Member
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    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
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    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: 4,498 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
    Options
    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
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    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
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    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: 2,250 Member
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    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!
  • jenniferlynn12
    jenniferlynn12 Posts: 87
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    http://www.amazon.com/Sportline-1010-Unisex-Heart-Monitor/dp/B002GGGO4W

    i have this one... $49.99. Works great! Love knowing exactly what I burned! :)
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    A heart rate monitor tracks your heart rate. It's a good way to keep your workouts focused--keep your easy days easy, hard days hard. A heart rate monitor can let you know when you have recovered from a work interval and it's time to hit it again. As you get to know your body, a heart rate monitor can give you the confidence to push to a new level of effort (i.e. trying a new intensity level and knowing you can sustain it); if you are doing a more unstructured workout (e.g. a class), a heart rate monitor can tell you that it's time to take your effort up a notch.

    For marketing purposes, most HRMs now come with a "calorie counting" feature. HRMs do not actually measure calories burned. They estimate based on the setup information you program and your heart rate. Accuracy of this feature is mixed, to say the least. If you have a quality HRM, have it set up accurately with your true max heart rate and maximal oxygen uptake, an HRM can be somewhat accurate under specific conditions--i.e. during steady-state aerobic activity. Otherwise, they can be no more accurate than a machine, a data table, or just making up a number.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    Which are the best HRM watches to but for a low price (I only have about $30 to spend)?

    The cheapest one I was able to find was the Timex Fitness HRM. It's a chest strap one and calculates based on your weight and MHR. I have found it to be pretty accurate and it's one of the few where you can change the battery yourself. I got it for around $40 on ebay.
  • Taramotto
    Taramotto Posts: 17
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    So, are the HRM more accurate than the fitbit? I'm confused as to which product to buy. I bought an odometer/calories burned meter for my bike a few weeks ago and already have noticed the discrepancy when I try to enter my workout on this site. Also, my crosscountry skiier has a built in calories burned display that also doesnt jive with this site. FRUSTRATED!
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    So, are the HRM more accurate than the fitbit? I'm confused as to which product to buy. I bought an odometer/calories burned meter for my bike a few weeks ago and already have noticed the discrepancy when I try to enter my workout on this site. Also, my crosscountry skiier has a built in calories burned display that also doesnt jive with this site. FRUSTRATED!

    It depends on what you want it for.

    Fitbit is good for exercises that involves a clear stepping motion, since it is basically a glorified pedometer. To use it for an exercise class, weight lifting etc, it may be a bit off. Another nice feature is that you can wear it all day, as with an HRM you can't.

    HRM's are good for all sorts of activities(walking, running, classes, etc) and there are a wide variety available.

    I know a lot of people own both because of the Fitbits short coming of not being able to be used for all sorts of exercise.
  • KC4800
    KC4800 Posts: 140 Member
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    I got an FT4 as well from ****'s Sporting Goods. I use it for all my cardio and road cycling.

    I assume you all know I meant Richard's Sporting Goods ;-P
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
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    Like my HRM, but love my Fitbit more!

    Please explain advantages of each?

    HRM is great to keep track of calories burned for a specific activity (Zumba class, running, hiking, whatever), whereas FitBit will do the same, but in addition will track how many flights of stairs you've climbed as well as monitoring your sleep quality. Fitbit will "talk" to MFP, so you don't have to plug the numbers in yourself like you do a HRM.
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
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    So, are the HRM more accurate than the fitbit? I'm confused as to which product to buy. I bought an odometer/calories burned meter for my bike a few weeks ago and already have noticed the discrepancy when I try to enter my workout on this site. Also, my crosscountry skiier has a built in calories burned display that also doesnt jive with this site. FRUSTRATED!

    It depends on what you want it for.

    Fitbit is good for exercises that involves a clear stepping motion, since it is basically a glorified pedometer. To use it for an exercise class, weight lifting etc, it may be a bit off. Another nice feature is that you can wear it all day, as with an HRM you can't.

    HRM's are good for all sorts of activities(walking, running, classes, etc) and there are a wide variety available.

    I know a lot of people own both because of the Fitbits short coming of not being able to be used for all sorts of exercise.

    Last week just for comparison, I wore both the Fitbit and the HRM and hit GO and STOP at the exact same time for my Zumba class. They were within 5 calories of one another. I was pretty impressed :)
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
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    I got an FT4 as well from ****'s Sporting Goods. I use it for all my cardio and road cycling.

    I assume you all know I meant Richard's Sporting Goods ;-P

    That is totally hilarious that it sensored you on "Richard's" Sporting Goods store. Too funny.
  • idocha
    idocha Posts: 1
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    hey guys! :)
    I have a question.. I'm a little bit off topic here but I don't wont to open a new one :)
    do you have your HRM always on? I mean, also during the weight lifting and the pauses between the sets? :)
    thank you for your answers!
    have fun! :)

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