HRM - Heart Rate Monitors

helenmc40
helenmc40 Posts: 117 Member
edited December 24 in Fitness and Exercise
I am thinking of investing in one. Was wondering what kind you use and how accurate it is? I know nothing about them, and want one so I can see how many cals I actually burn while running or doing my CrossFit classes.

Thanks
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Replies

  • iloso
    iloso Posts: 156
    I would also want to know this very same thing.
  • mikeyboy
    mikeyboy Posts: 1,057 Member
    Me too! Bump!
  • sovannac
    sovannac Posts: 445 Member
    bump!
  • irisheyez718
    irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
    I use a Polar FT4, and love it. It's simple to use, and does the job that I want. I also like that you can use it in the pool.
  • Dare2BThin
    Dare2BThin Posts: 211 Member
    I use a Polar FT4, and love it. It's simple to use, and does the job that I want. I also like that you can use it in the pool.


    ^^^^^^ this
  • PHS7
    PHS7 Posts: 213 Member
    I have a Polar FT7. LOVE IT! I really like that it stores your workouts so you can log them later.

    Advice: There's a lot of them out there. Make sure you get one that has a chest strap. Much more accurate than wrist only.

    I bought mine through Amazon and saved about $35 vs. retail & had free shipping.
  • xtrordinari
    xtrordinari Posts: 64
    I use a Polar FT40. I love it and find that it is very accurate. It comes with a chest strap that monitors your heartrate.
  • beckylawrence70
    beckylawrence70 Posts: 752 Member
    Polar with a chest strap
  • MandaKayMakesIt
    MandaKayMakesIt Posts: 81
    I also got the Polar FT4 and also got it cheaper through Amazon. Haven't had it long, but loving it so far. I have heard, though, that once you get the battery replaced in the watch, that it's no longer water resistant.
  • thetrishwarp
    thetrishwarp Posts: 838 Member
    Polar FT7 here.

    Make sure you get one with a chest strap. I got mine through Amazon, and I've had no issues whatsoever so far.
  • Keefypoos
    Keefypoos Posts: 231 Member
    polar mines a F6 over 10 year old and still going strong
  • mrandolph69
    mrandolph69 Posts: 197 Member
    I have had a Polar FT7M for about 9 months and really like it. I can't say how accurate it is since I have nothing to compare it to. There is no reason that I can think of that it would be too terribly far off since it is taking into account my heart rate rather than just duration like MFP does when they give their estimate. I would advise you to compare the various models from Polar before choosing one. I definitely would have gone with Polar but I might have chosen a different model. For example, I just started to want to track my recovery heart rate. I would like for an HRM to calculate that for me but this one does not. To be fair, I don't know of any HRM that does but it is something I am going to look into when I buy my next one.
  • lulu3561
    lulu3561 Posts: 85 Member
    I have the Polar FT60 - I love it - Comes with a chest strap also and it does have a add on to upload the data to your computer - but I just transfer mine to a spreadsheet. I paid $130.00 on Amazon good investment.
  • dernsaw
    dernsaw Posts: 3 Member
    I have the Polar FT7 and it's worked out perfect for me so far.
  • Bmily
    Bmily Posts: 1
    I have a Garmin heart strap & a Wahoo Fitness Key that plugs into my iPhone. I love being able to see my heart rate whilst I work out. Having a HRM will give you a much more precise figure for calorie burn. Especially if you work out in the gym using machines as machines will often over estimate average calorie burn by about 30%. Wahoo app on the iPhone tells you when your in anaerobic, aerobic, & fat burn & your total calorie burn. Wouldn't be with out it now.
  • PAZlady
    PAZlady Posts: 59 Member
    I just got a new FT7. I've had a polar HRM for years. I don't even remember the model of the other Polar I had but the only thing I didn't like was that I had to send it off and pay to replace the batteries. I tried replacing them myself but it never seemed to work right. With the FT7 it is user replaceable batteries.

    And, yes, they are very easy to set up and use and are compatible with the machines at my gym.
  • rubi_ana
    rubi_ana Posts: 1
    I use the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor and got it on Amazon for $35. Compared to other ones, the price is really low and the quality is sufficient for what I use it for. This one has a stopwatch and an alarm to keep me in my target zone but I had to do a little research on that. (basically fat zone is about 60% my max heart rate) The only thing is this one doesn't give you your average HR so you have to estimate that and then calculate calories burned (also not on there).

    I don't mind it because I found a formula online for calculating calories burned (has to do with your sex, age, weight and avg. HR). Mine is about 6cals/min in my fat burn zone. (http://www.livestrong.com/article/78365-estimate-calories-burned-heart-rate/ )

    I've been using it for about a month now and am happy with it.
  • jennkain97
    jennkain97 Posts: 290 Member
    I have a Polar FT7 which I absolutely love!! It's very easy to use, and water resistant so it even works in the pool. And definitely get it through Amazon -- they are the cheapest I found.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
    Polar FT7 here....love it!
  • chi18
    chi18 Posts: 95 Member
    For those of you who use the Polar models with a chest strap - how does that work exactly? I have been looking at them online and see that the FT4 has a wrist monitor that syncs with the chest strap but is there a timer that you start and stop on the wrist so that you can look at your heart rate and calories burned only within a certain time? Or will it just record everything from the moment you put on the chest strap? I would like one for Zumba and other cardio classes because I feel like MFP, Fitbit, and the Zumba calories site all have very different calorie burns and I'd like something more accurate. Any info on the nitty gritty of these things would be helpful!
  • mdidelot
    mdidelot Posts: 3
    Hi - I just bought the Polar ft4 and I LOVE IT!!!! Has watch and chest strap that is very comfortable and the watch is so easy to use. I was shocked at my calorie readings. Exercises I was doing and "thinking" I burned a lot of calories - not always so.... I have used it in kickboxing class, running, weight training and yoga. Its a great way to challenge yourself throughout the day to hit a certain calorie burn. Bought mine at Sports Authority w/ the 2 year replacement - after a coupon I had it was under $100 for the whole thing.

    I would highly recommend this model unless you are looking for GPS features. For basic HR and calorie burns this is perfect!
  • PAZlady
    PAZlady Posts: 59 Member
    Chi, There is a button you push to start the monitor. You can also pause it and restart if you take a break or go from one class to another. Normally it doesn't start counting calories burned until you reach you lower limits of activity for your heart rate.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
    Garmin Edge 500
  • helenmc40
    helenmc40 Posts: 117 Member
    thanks so much everyone!! Looks like a Polar one from Amazon!!
    Have a great day :flowerforyou:
  • brentdaniels
    brentdaniels Posts: 127
    I use a Polar FT4, and love it. It's simple to use, and does the job that I want. I also like that you can use it in the pool.

    I was thinking about getting the FT4 too, but I did not know you could use it in the pool. That is great info.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
    I have a Polar ft7 and adore it. <3
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
    I just ordered a Polar FT7 this weekend. $75 on http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/
  • megmay2591
    megmay2591 Posts: 621 Member
    I have a Polar FT4, it's on the cheaper end of HRMs and is really easy to use.
  • AmberElena
    AmberElena Posts: 16 Member
    I use the POLAR HRM & Watch - Bought it at Best Buy! I love it. You can see the big difference between what the cardio machines tell you & what the HRM tells you! Pretty eye opening.
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
    I use a Polar FT4, and love it. It's simple to use, and does the job that I want. I also like that you can use it in the pool.

    I was thinking about getting the FT4 too, but I did not know you could use it in the pool. That is great info.

    This is why I bought a polar. I found out you can use it in a pool and that's a majority of the exercise that I do.
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