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Old 08-08-10, 07:03 PM  
jenn38
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: accord ny
Heart rate monitors

How accurate are they? I have a Timex personal hrm and I'm just trying to figure out how to calculate the most accurate calorie burn.
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Old 08-08-10, 10:10 PM  
roleez
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I really don't know but I always wonder. I have a Timex personal HRM too and it gives me great calorie burns for a lot of workouts (like today was 50 minutes, Lauren Brooks Joint Mobility, Quick Blast 2x through, Brook Benten Kettlebell Butts & Guts Express Abs & cooldown - told me I burned 530 calories & HR Ave 143). other people here with different HRMs get way lower calorie burns though so I would love to hear what kind of calorie burn yours gives you and also know if they are at all accurate!
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Old 08-09-10, 09:18 AM  
cooldham
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
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When I first got a heart rate monitor, I read just about every thread on this board trying to decide if the calorie burn showing was actually accurate. There were many opinions - that they showed 20% higher than your actual calorie burn, that it depended on which HRM brand you were using (some were more accurate than others) and that sometimes the calories burned shown were too low! I finally decided to just go with what my monitor said.

Then, recently I read this and am peace with the monitor - it's accurate, but when you are eating to make up the calories burned, only eat half of what you burned. That made sense to me! So, it your HRM shows you burned 500 calories, you "earned" an additional 250 food calories.

Hope that's OK to post...I think most of us are interested in calories burned for a variety of reasons, but that's a major one!
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Old 08-09-10, 10:19 AM  
Mary09(b)
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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There's not really any way of knowing how accurate each one is for each person, without a lab. They all just use algorithms to estimate it. As far as I know there's no other consumer product besides a HRM with a chest strap that estimates calories burned better, though the Fitbit claims it does. But it's kind of apples and oranges, too. The Fitbit and like products aim to capture your daily, average, total burn where most HRMs are designed to capture the incremental burn from your workout alone.
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Old 08-09-10, 10:58 AM  
Wanda
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I have THIS Timex HRM and a Polar F4 (long story). I've alternated the two for the same videos, similar bike rides, etc. and have found the TIMEX calorie count to be significantly higher than the Polar, by a range of 70-100%. The Polar calorie count for bike riding was almost spot on with the calorie count charts on the internet so I think it is the more accurate of the two. (darn!)
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Old 08-09-10, 01:39 PM  
Usia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wanda View Post
I have THIS Timex HRM and a Polar F4 (long story). I've alternated the two for the same videos, similar bike rides, etc. and have found the TIMEX calorie count to be significantly higher than the Polar, by a range of 70-100%. The Polar calorie count for bike riding was almost spot on with the calorie count charts on the internet so I think it is the more accurate of the two. (darn!)
Are you saying that your Timex showed calories burned 70-100% more than Polar??? I'm looking for a HR monitor and was considering Timex, but 70-100%difference between Polar and Timex???? That's a lot!

Does anyone else have other recommendations for a HR monitor without spending hundreds of $$$? Thanks!
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Old 08-09-10, 01:50 PM  
Wanda
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Usia View Post
Are you saying that your Timex showed calories burned 70-100% more than Polar??? I'm looking for a HR monitor and was considering Timex, but 70-100%difference between Polar and Timex???? That's a lot!

Does anyone else have other recommendations for a HR monitor without spending hundreds of $$$? Thanks!
Yes, the Timex shows a much higher calorie burn than Polar. For example, I did KCM Circuit Burn w/o 1 with the Timex, it showed about 350 cals. Next day I did it with the Polar and it was just under 200 cals. My average HR was higher the 2nd day, probably because I was familiar with the moves, so the calorie burn should have been higher, not lower.
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Old 08-09-10, 01:58 PM  
jazzy75
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
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timely thread. I have had a couple of MIOs over the years and like it but am thinking of moving to one with a chest strap for continuous monitoring. Am currently wondering which to invest in but not interested in forking over too much $$$
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Old 08-09-10, 02:29 PM  
jenn38
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: accord ny
According to Consumer Reports the Timex is rated very high for accuracy. I do get very high calorie burns for some workouts and others not so much. I know they say the monitors with the chest straps are more accurate than those without.

Today I did 20 minutes of Fusion Flow and it showed 117. Yesterday I did Turbo jam Kick Punch and Crunch with weighted gloves and was at 680. When I did the 50 minute premix on Circuit Burn I was close to 1000. All of these numbers would be awesome if the were accurate.

I do agree with halfing the calories that you burn to your calorie budget and not adding them all in but what if that is still inaccurate.

Thanks for all the responses.
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Old 08-10-10, 09:53 AM  
Ann1964
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Arkansas
I am wanting to purchase a HRM so which one to buy?
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