Heart Rate Monitor Questions

I got a Timex HRM off Amazon for about $50. Make sure you get one with a chest strap, since it's more accurate.

Run through the set-up first. It will have you input your height, weight, and age. Then it asks you which "zone" you want to be in. (The instruction book will have them listed.) You can choose anything from "maintenance" to "fat burning" to "training for superathlete status".

When you start exercising, you'll start your "split". When you stop, the HRM will track how long you exercised, how long you stayed in the optimal heart rate range, and how many calories you burned. If you go below your optimal range during a workout, it will beep at you (you can turn this off).

For example, I am 341 pounds. When I do 41 minutes of Turbo Jam, I burn about 1037 calories. My friend, who is 134 pounds, burns half that much. That's why it is so important to use a HRM instead of the calorie count on MFP or a machine at the gym. The HRM is going to give you a more accurate number and keep you honest. (If you slack off during a workout, MFP has no way of knowing that when you log your exercise, but the HRM does.)

Hi there. I'm considering getting a HRM and I have some questions...

1. How exactly do they work?
2. What is the approximate price? Is pricier better?
3. If you use one, which brand/kind do you use?
4. Has anyone heard of the BodyMedia FIT Advantage Armband Weight Management System? Anyone used it? Does it work well?

Thanks in advance.

I have an RS300X by Polar.
1. It has a chest strap, which is quite comfortable, with a clip-on wireless transmitter that communicated your heart rate with the watch piece. Some varieties will use an inputted Vo2 value to determine approximate calories burned.
2. Mine was $110, so I asked my family to contribute amazon gift cards for my birthday. 20 here, 40 there, and we only had to do the last bit out of our pocket."
3. I use a RS300X by Polar, and absolutely adore it. It brought back my love of running, and got me off of the treadmill onto track running.
4. Lots of people use BodyMedia, and I considering it, but in the end decided the polar was for me. It gives me real-time readouts, which appeals to my impatient side.

Hi!

I have the Polar FT4 and a Fitbit. Just to Clarify........THE FITBIT IS NOT AN HRM. I use them both and love them, FB does sync to MFP which really helps keep me on track.

Good Luck!

I use a Garemin Forerunner 110 and love it. I think I paid around $225 for it online.

Currently I am using a Wahoo monitor which works with the iPhone - it is very good an I am pleased with it.
Previously I used a Garmain Forerunner - very good product but more expensive. The Garmain is still the best as it has excellent GPS too. Depends on what you want it for. They work through two electrodes on a chest strap and they contain a chip which detects the electrical activity of the heart like an EKG. So long as the electrodes are moist it is pretty accurate.

It really all boils down to the features that u want to use it for. Being n the industry for a while, using many different kinds and brand, and selling all kinds, I would say that Polar products are the leading competitor. If u r someone that is going to use it for years and going to run races or triathlons, then go with a Garmin. However, my new favorite, the most cost effective and user friendly to come to the market is a Digifit component. Rt now it's best if u have a iPhone or iPad in order to utilize the component however that is changing soon. The only downfall to this component is u will run into little glitches here and there when they update their software but overall, it's my favorite!