Is it worth getting a heart rate/calorie watch do they work?

lindylubilou
lindylubilou Posts: 51 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I was considering getting a heart rate/ calorie counting watch so I can better monitor calories burned.

I wanted opinions on if they are accurate/work please.

Does anyone have any advice on a brand etc.

Thanks.

Replies

  • AmyBetty
    AmyBetty Posts: 18
    I have just bought a Polar HRM and I LOVE it! I only wear it when working out, and I've been suprised at my HR and the calories I have been burning. I find the average calories burned rates on here are not at all accurate for me. I have a Polar FT4 which is probably more of a basic monitor, but it does exactly what I want, and I didn't need to spend big$$$$. If you shop around online you can pick one up for under $100 (AU).
  • lindylubilou
    lindylubilou Posts: 51 Member
    Thank you for replying, I think I'll get one as I think it will help :)
  • crystalDRA
    crystalDRA Posts: 28 Member
    I bought a Polar FT4 in January 2011. It was midrange in price and had good reviews on Amazon. I ended up LOVING it! The calories burned taught me that the MFP estimations weren't as accurate as I'd been thinking they were. Anyway, the chest strap battery didn't need to be replaced for about 6 months and just this month I replaced the watch battery for the first time (and I used it at least 4-5 days a week)!! All in all, I'd say it was a good investment :)
  • doubglass
    doubglass Posts: 314 Member
    They probably are more accurate, but you really only need one if you are training for competitive endurance events.
    Sort of like not needing a speedometer when you are the only car on the road. You can tell be observation you are going fast enough even if you don't know how fast you are going.
  • Warren_Carrol
    Warren_Carrol Posts: 21 Member
    They probably are more accurate, but you really only need one if you are training for competitive endurance events.
    Sort of like not needing a speedometer when you are the only car on the road. You can tell be observation you are going fast enough even if you don't know how fast you are going.
    disagree.
    if you can measure it, you can manage it.
    it's part of the big picture.
    just my opinion
  • jayliospecky
    jayliospecky Posts: 25,022 Member
    I got one initially thinking I would just get a more accurate calorie count for workouts, but since using it I've found it motivating to track my heart rate improvements. Now when I do cardio I can actually see that my heart rate has improved, or that I can, say, run faster without my heart rate jumping up so high. For me, it's been great to see those improvements that are hard to measure otherwise. It's really helped to keep me motivated to exercise.
  • quixoteQ
    quixoteQ Posts: 484
    A HRM that comes with the chest strap is a good way to track your exercise zones--good ones are fairly accurate. However, there aren't any good calorie burn devices. Most HRMs come with some form of calorie burn monitor, but in my experience they are so inaccurate as to be dangerous for people who are trying to calculate the calories they need to eat back.
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
    I just bought a polar FT1 to replace a cheap brand (still accurate, just... awkward) i love it, especially the backlight that you can activate just by hovering the watch next to the chest strap (hearttouch tm)

    just went walking the dog, its nice to have a HRM next to a gps track of the route its also shown up a potential problem i need to chase up with my doctor, jogged a little bit, pushing to hit my max HR and it turns out that my recovery rate is extremely low combined with recent bouts of arrythmia i need to chase it up asap as it shows high risk of heart attack.

    also helps with calculating calories burned, because an olympic athlete can weigh the same as an overweight person (80lbs of fat could be 80lbs of muscle in a smaller volume) and therefore jogging would burn less calories for the fit person as they are more optimised (if that makes sense)

    mostly counts for cardio not strength training. also helps you stay below 90% HRMax above which you don't improve much compared to 60-90% so its wasted effort if endurance is your aim
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I don't have one. Just keep in mind, there is still a degree of error involved. Also, most people don't realize it, but HRMs are not accurate for weight training. You will get a reading, but it is not meant to use that way.
  • lookingforsomething
    lookingforsomething Posts: 86
    I have just bought one direct from the polar web site (they were on sale) and am very happy that I did.

    Calorie burn that it shows is completely different to what MFP shows - this would lead to a BIG problem if I was eating back my exercise calories. I mainly bought it to better my own time and preformance but I like to keep track of the calories also and at least this way I am not relying on different reading from different machines.

    I have three different machines at home bike, treadmill and step machine - and I have no idea if any of them are accurate. Judging the bike against the HRM, the bike is way out of whack!

    I have one device that does it all. It may not be 100% accurate (what is?!?!) but at least it is consistant.

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