Anyone have a heart rate monitor?

honestlysweet
honestlysweet Posts: 221 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I exercise frequently at the gym and I have lost four inches from my waist, and three from my hips, and have had to buy new clothes because my old ones are falling of me. This all happened in the last three months. But I have only lost five pounds. I don't know how it's possible to see such a difference in measurements, but not on the scale, but I was thinking of getting a heart rate monitor. I am thinking it may be the key to losing the weight, seeing how I work out hard at the classes at my gym including weight lifting, cardio and body combat. But I have no idea how many calories I am burning, so a HRM may help.

Anyone have suggestions on a good one around $100 or less?

Replies

  • SherryRH
    SherryRH Posts: 810 Member
    I have a polar F4 that I bought a couple of years ago. I find it does the job. I bought it at D!cks Sporting Goods and I think it was $70-$80. I recently bought a replacement strap because I thought lost my original one. Turns out after you buy a new one you find the old one. :angry: I bought an entire set on ebay for $32.00 so you can always start there. Good luck.


    .
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    polar brand at amazon.com

    most popular it seems and decent price

    I have the F7 forgot exact price but it was less than $100

    edit to say FT7
  • reneegee23
    reneegee23 Posts: 232 Member
    This topic is confusing for me. A trainer who's opinion I trust advised me to not look to HRMs for accurate calories burned. Of course, if you're looking to workout at optimal HR, then a HRM is the way to go, she said. I exercise 5 days a week at fairly intense levels (for my fitness level at least :) and have always wondered about my heart rate.

    My question, if anyone cares to answer, are things like BodyBugg or Nike Fuel Band (equally confusing to me) better for counting calories than HRMs?? And does it even matter? I'm not even sure how concerned I am about learning my EXACT calories burned count for exercise, but I am still undereducated about this subject.
  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
    I LOVE my FT4. I got it on sale for about $65... best investment ever!
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    The scale doesn't always match up to inches lost. Because you are replacing fat with muscle!

    Anyway, I got a Timex Fitness HRM which has done me good for under $50 off Ebay. You can buy the batteries local and replace them yourselves, while with a lot of the others ones you have to send them in or drop them off somewhere to have it replaced, which costs more.
  • abnerner
    abnerner Posts: 452 Member
    I have a Polar FT4 and love it.

    I also had a Nike Duo Sport (bought on ebay) and it wasn't to bad either.
  • heddylyn
    heddylyn Posts: 173 Member
    I LOVE my FT4. I got it on sale for about $65... best investment ever!

    Completely agree!! I am addicted to mine.
  • cristileigh
    cristileigh Posts: 158 Member
    I have a Polar....I now wish I had gotten the Garmin.
  • sdleeper
    sdleeper Posts: 9 Member
    I just recently bought a Timex Ironman Road Trainer. I've used it about 5 times...and it is great. I have nothing to compare it to, but it is easy to setup and use. I got it for $67 on Amazon.
  • VincitQuiSeVincit
    VincitQuiSeVincit Posts: 285 Member
    I got a Polar FT4 and I LOVE it. It was about 65$ and gets the job done.
  • twilighttabby
    twilighttabby Posts: 50 Member
    I have a Polar FT4 and I love it. It helps me a lot with knowing how many calories I am burning because every website that I had used was way over estimating the calories burned. I got mine at ****s sporting goods for $89.99.
  • kaimi2011
    kaimi2011 Posts: 141 Member
    Polar and Garmin. I love them both!!
  • Doreen_Murray
    Doreen_Murray Posts: 396 Member
    I have the Polar FT40 and never workout without it! Best investment. I got the Polar FT40 because I like the fitness test option, but they're all good and haven't heard one complaint on any of the others.
  • LordBezoar
    LordBezoar Posts: 625 Member
    DW and I each have a Polar FT40.

    We debated between that and the FT7. You can find any of them on Amazon for a very reasonable price:

    FT7
    http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Womens-Heart-Monitor-Watch/dp/B005193QW4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1333389216&sr=8-6

    FT40
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035XOYH4/ref=oh_o00_s00_i02_details
  • ncahill77
    ncahill77 Posts: 501 Member
    This topic is confusing for me. A trainer who's opinion I trust advised me to not look to HRMs for accurate calories burned. Of course, if you're looking to workout at optimal HR, then a HRM is the way to go, she said. I exercise 5 days a week at fairly intense levels (for my fitness level at least :) and have always wondered about my heart rate.

    My question, if anyone cares to answer, are things like BodyBugg or Nike Fuel Band (equally confusing to me) better for counting calories than HRMs?? And does it even matter? I'm not even sure how concerned I am about learning my EXACT calories burned count for exercise, but I am still undereducated about this subject.

    it's the most accurate method you can get other than being in a professional lab hooked up to a dozen different machines. It's based on a formula that is widely accepted as being accurate give or take 10% (I'm going off memory here so I may be off a little). It's great for an idea of how much you burn, if you are trying to eat back exercise calories exactly based on your burn then you are going to be off.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I have a New Balance N4. Around $70 at Target, less on Amazon, I think, I got mine for $26 on eBay. Works great! Look up various models on Amazon & read the reviews there - lots of good info.
  • Vyshness8699
    Vyshness8699 Posts: 390 Member
    Bump!
  • reneegee23
    reneegee23 Posts: 232 Member


    it's the most accurate method you can get other than being in a professional lab hooked up to a dozen different machines. It's based on a formula that is widely accepted as being accurate give or take 10% (I'm going off memory here so I may be off a little). It's great for an idea of how much you burn, if you are trying to eat back exercise calories exactly based on your burn then you are going to be off.

    Thanks!
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
    i have an ancient polar M21 HRM, got it uh, about 12 years ago for $70 i think it was. i found it again after moving this spring, replaced the batteries in the watch ($1) and the strap (had to cut it open and order the $12 battery, then tape it all back together), but it works perfectly now, well maybe not in water...

    I like it as an indicator of how hard i am pushing myself during a run. yeah, there's the perceived exertion method, but i am never quite sure with that. numbers i can work with.
  • thekarens
    thekarens Posts: 254 Member
    Polar FT40, got it for about $100. Love it!
  • kpnive
    kpnive Posts: 64 Member
    Howdy - i'm new to the boards - i'm seriously looking into the body bugg or the bodymedia FIT armband. originally I was going to go with the polar FT40 - Do any of the ones previously posted measure heartrate by the watch and not the heart strap?

    has anyone come across any whacky numbers with regards to how many calories burned?

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