Best calories burned calculator?

I think the best calculators are when you are wearing a heart rate monitor (Garmin, Polar) and you enter in your profile how much you weigh, gender, etc. Then your actual heart beat is providing the information on how many calories you are burning. Calculators that don't have this real-time information are guessing and averaging.

Thanks David ! I was thinking on buying a HRM soon... but can it calculates the calories burned while weight lifting too ? Is it comfortable to wear while doing so ? (I thought it was mostly for runners...) Do you have any favorite model to suggest ? Is it easy to use while listening to music with ear plugs or you have to ear the "bips" ? Does it works well with gym cardio machines ? I saw that some models have a "virtual partner" to push you a little bit further... some are good to swim with... others can set you nice sets of intervals...and... Ok.ok !! I have wayyyy too many questions about this ! LOL

I don't think there is one model out there that does it all. I use the Garmin 610 since I can set up a vibrate alert (ex; when I hit a mile mark or when its time to stop, etc) instead of a beep. I love to use my iPod! I'm not sure about calories burned for weight lifting. I've never used my Garmin for that. I log what I've done but never consider nor count the calories I burned doing it. I guess this is harder to measure since we all vary on what weights we use and perhaps our heart rate alone does not provide enough information to assess how many calories we are burning when pumping iron. I really don't know though. The Garmin I have can handle rain but is not rated for swimming. They do, however, have a new model that is. Both Garmin and Polar have virtual partners. Virtual partners always seem to kick my a*&, lol. I do a lot of intervals and my Garmin can handle it. I would assume Polar can too. What steered me away from Polar at the time I made a purchase was that you had to have several different components attached to your body; ex; arm band for GPS, chest band to measure heart rate. The Garmin eliminates the arm band part and the GPS is in the watch itself. Like I said, I don't think there is one model that really does it all. If you find one, please PM me and I'll buy it!

Thanks again David for the much appreciated info !! ;-)

I'm kind of new to the "community part" of MFP, so I'm wondering if it is normal that I didn't get informed that you answered the thread ? Am I supposed to receive something or you just have to look back at your posts once in a while ?

For the HRM monitor.... you seem to have a pretty good model David ! ;-) By looking through Garmin and Polar websites, I've noticed that the 610 has some really interesting features (vibrate alert is awesome), but it does not do "multisports" and since I'm not that much into running... I'll still look to find the right product for me ! I didn't know that Polar came with many things to wear, and that could be annoying...but I've seen that their products seem to offer many "options" and I'm wondering if those are only gadgets that do not work really well in practice... like the "training guidance" or "own zone" which are supposed to tell you when you're body is ready for the next set or how to workout depending on your fatigue...? It seems a little too good to be true ! ;-) Since the prices can be quite high, I think I'll continue to look upon the different models and look for some reviews people made of them... Oh.. and since my wrists are really small... some models just might not fit me !

I also saw an iPhone adaptor that you can use with a HRM strap to track these kind of infos... I might start by trying this, since I really love to train with my earplugs on and that it would probably be less expensive too. Of course, my "perfect HRM watch" would include some MP3 space ! ;-)

But don't worry, even if I think that you bought one of the best models on the market right now, I'll let you know if I find the "magic watch that does it all" !! ;-)

Have a nice day !

I'm kind of new to the "community part" of MFP, so I'm wondering if it is normal that I didn't get informed that you answered the thread ? Am I supposed to receive something or you just have to look back at your posts once in a while ?

No, you SHOULD receive a notice, but unfortunately, MFP isn't set up that way. So, you need to check your posts. Under Message Boards you can check "My Topics."

Thank you very much for all your advices !! Much appreciated ! I was looking at the F80 too...so it's really great to have your input on this ! ...and good to know that this big watch actually fits and works well with you both ! Thanks :-)

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