Tell me about your HRM

Xiaolongbao · May 2012

So, I'm considering getting a HRM. I currently have a fitbit which I love. It has really encouraged me to get more active in my day to day life (I make myself do a minimum of 10,000 steps and 20 flights of stairs a day). However I am thinking it would also be handy to have a HRM for when I'm exercising.

But it's so confusing and there are so many models to choose from. Anyone want to tell me of a model that they love and why? I swim a lot so it would be a bonus if it worked in the pool but that isn't my main concern (since I suspect here, in Japan, they wouldn't let me wear one in the pool anyway - they're super fussy about pool rules).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
(And apologies for asking a question that has been asked before - I did do a search but didn't come up with any really clear cut answers over what people thought was best and why).

lowbpoint · May 2012

polar ft4 is good. it can go in a pool too. times your workout, how long you are in target heart rate range, your heart rate and calories burned, max heart rate and average heart rate for the work out. really cant ask for much more. approx 80 bucks on amazon

SteveTries · May 2012

I also like my polar ft4. Not as many features as some, but that's a positive for me. I just want to know my HR and cals burnt and total workout time - perfect.

Worth mentioning that there was a post here a few days back where an engineer who works on these devices posted that the internal mechanisms are all the same - cheap brand or expensive they are sourced from the same supplier. Then the brand manufacturer adds their own watch, chest strap etc.

robinskv · May 2012

Love my FT4! Comfortable, durable, and so helpful in a work out

Xiaolongbao · May 2012

Thanks all. I'll definitely look into the ft4.

PHS7 · May 2012

Got an FT7. Really like the features. Does a little more than the FT4. It, too, is comfortable and stores all of your workouts so you can log them when you get home. I got mine on Amazon for $78 from Heart Rate Monitors USA.

Drastiic · May 2012

I have a Polar FT4M (Men's). $66.32 from Amazon in April.

I like it, because it's basic. Watch + chest strap. Duration, time in-zone, calories burned, avg heart rate, max heart rate. It logs the data of past days within the watch. I track my information in a spreadsheet to compare how I'm doing over time.

gpstrucker · May 2012

I use a Polar FT7/FitBit combination.

neverstray · May 2012

Why do you want one?

PayneAS · May 2012

Polars will sync with most workout equipment (no more having to hold the silver metal to see your HR! Yay!) and are generally good quality. You'll see lots of folks go for the FT4, which isn't bad, but I chose the FT7 for the basic ability to change the batteries myself instead of needing to send the device in to have it done. I love that they are water resistant and that I can wear it to log my swimming workout. My emphatic suggestion though is that when the packaging suggests washing the strap at least once a week, do it! When I don't, I find myself having the 00/250+ HR issue that you'll see complaints about if you research them.

I use the FT7 & FitBit combo as well. My gym buddies call me gadget girl. LOL.

jennkain97 · May 2012

I was going to post a question about HRMs myself. You beat me to it!

Drastiic · May 2012

but I chose the FT7 for the basic ability to change the batteries myself instead of needing to send the device in to have it done.

I didn't even think about that, and you're the first person I've seen mention that. If I need to change the batteries, I might just upgrade. And if I need to upgrade, it means I got my money's worth by using it enough.

I use mine with my FitBit as well. It's a great little combination.

tryinghard71 · May 2012

Polar FT4 works great for me.

lowbpoint · May 2012

supposedly you can change the ft4s batteries yourself too, i havent had to yet though.

DeadEyedSuburbanite · May 2012

Thanks for starting this topic. I am getting to the point where I am thinking of buying one of these myself. I read some reviews on Amazon for the polar FT7 that concerned me. I hope you don't mind if I tack some questions on here Xiaolongbao.

Is it true that the date can only be displayed in US format?

Do you need to get extra equipment (ie. a polar flowlink) to transfer workout data to a PC?

Does anyone use these for stationary cycling and how good are they for that?

Also, if I could only afford one device, should I go for a HRM or something else like the fitbit?

Thanks to anyone who has some answers for me.

)

SRH7 · May 2012

The ones mentioned above all get good reviews for indoors/static exercise. My main form of exercise is hiking so I went for the Garmin 110, which includes a GPS tracker. It's been fab up to now as I simply hook it up to my laptop when I get home and it not only tells me my HRM and estimated calorie burn but is also tracks my movements and distance covered on a map. It gives me a really good log of where and when I have done different routes (and whether I have got any faster!). Best of all, it shows graphs of my heartrate compared to the gradients and altitude, so it's been a very real way of reminding myself that getting up big hills gives my heart a really good workout!

hsk71 · May 2012

Why do you want one?

A heart rate monitor is the only way to REALLY calculate what you are burning! Sometimes I add an exercise and the time spent doing it, and it automatically loads a calorie amount. 99% of the time it is waaaaaaay more that my hrm has calculated. For eg. 45 minutes on a stationery bike, it gives an automatic 600+ cal burned, when the actual figure is around 300+. It's not necessarily that MFP is wrong, it's just that these levels are based on someone else's burn, not yours.

I must be honest and say I've noticed quite a bit - gardening for an hour 300+ calories (sometimes more). Now if that's full on raking and chopping trees for an hour, absolutely. But if it's weeding and pruning flowers, there's no way it's realistic!! Your HRM will tell you exactly.

And what it boils down to is that if you are going to "eat back" those calories and they're NOT accurate, you'll never lose the weight you're expecting to!

savvy249 · May 2012

I went for the Polar FT80 for its ability to synch with polarpersonaltrainer.com via the flowlink which came included with it, and also the inbuilt Star Training Program on the watch itself.

Once you've input your vital statistics, and let it do a resting fitness test, you then tell it whether you want to improve fitness or maximise fitness. It will then tell you how it has divided your activity durations for the week into three heart rate zones. The beauty of this is that it doesn't care how you achieve these HR Zone times in terms of specific exercises/training, so you can choose yourself and mix it up.

It is then ideal for "static" gym equipment like X-Trainer, Stepper, Rower, Cycle, etc., which the FitBit isn't the best tool for. It will then tell you your calories burned at the end of each session, as well as a weekly total.

Be careful with estimating your Max HR, though :-

The reason is because I originally used the 220 minus Age formula for MAX HR, which I subsequently found out gave me a low figure. It is this that determines your HR Zone 1/2/3 ranges, setting it too low, and then blasting thru workouts with a fairly high HR compared to your "MAX", it thinks you are burning masses of calories in Zones 2/3, when you really may only be working in zones 1/2 for your real max HR.

There are lots of resources out there for calculating your MAX HR.

Have a look at this :-
http://www.howtobefit.com/determine-maximum-heart-rate.htm

I used a combination of the real-world tests and the best-fit method to come up with mine, and it is 11 points higher than the original Age-based calculation, for me.

HTH.

Les.

xXmimiXx · May 2012

I have a polar ft7 and it's great, bought it on amazon for £65

kendrafallon · May 2012

Polar FT4 and FitBit combo here

byrnet18 · May 2012

Why do you want one?

A heart rate monitor is the only way to REALLY calculate what you are burning! Sometimes I add an exercise and the time spent doing it, and it automatically loads a calorie amount. 99% of the time it is waaaaaaay more that my hrm has calculated. For eg. 45 minutes on a stationery bike, it gives an automatic 600+ cal burned, when the actual figure is around 300+. It's not necessarily that MFP is wrong, it's just that these levels are based on someone else's burn, not yours.

I must be honest and say I've noticed quite a bit - gardening for an hour 300+ calories (sometimes more). Now if that's full on raking and chopping trees for an hour, absolutely. But if it's weeding and pruning flowers, there's no way it's realistic!! Your HRM will tell you exactly.

And what it boils down to is that if you are going to "eat back" those calories and they're NOT accurate, you'll never lose the weight you're expecting to!

Perfect answer to that question

shellsrenee01 · May 2012

I'm glad you posted this topic! I've been using my FitBit for a few months now and I think I'm ready to become a FitBit/HRM combo type of girl! :bigsmile: This thread has helped give me a good idea of what to look for when shopping around.

Thanks!

DeadEyedSuburbanite · May 2012

Thanks for the info guys. I ordered both a fitbit and the FT4 from Amazon yesterday. If the HRM works out I might go for one of the more expensive models later on.

When I told my husband about it he looked crestfallen and wanted to know why I didn't order for him too! :laugh:

awisegirl84 · May 2012

bump

PayneAS · May 2012

Thanks for starting this topic. I am getting to the point where I am thinking of buying one of these myself. I read some reviews on Amazon for the polar FT7 that concerned me. I hope you don't mind if I tack some questions on here Xiaolongbao.

Is it true that the date can only be displayed in US format?

Do you need to get extra equipment (ie. a polar flowlink) to transfer workout data to a PC?

Does anyone use these for stationary cycling and how good are they for that?

Also, if I could only afford one device, should I go for a HRM or something else like the fitbit?

Thanks to anyone who has some answers for me. )

I see you went with the FT4 but I wanted to go ahead and answer you, sorry it took so long.

1. The watch for me is set Euro date standard (I grew up in Germany and prefer ddMMyyyy format. Since it has different language settings, there shouldn't be any reason for it to not have other date standards.

2. If you want the workouts to automatically donwload to the polar website, yes you have to purchase the polarlink. However, I just manually enter in the data myself on MFP. Not that big a deal, for me at least.

3. HRM's are one of the most accurate readings of heart rate (as long as you aren't at the RHR which no HRM is meant to). Stationary cycling would be no problem for it whereas the FitBit won't read cycling at all (since there is no forward or upward/downward movement).

4. Your last question was pretty well answered by my above answers for #2 & #3. For accurate calorie burn count you need a HRM. Not a pedometer.

Hope you enjoy your FT4!

Tell me about your HRM

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