Heart Rate Monitor - calories burned seem insanely high, help please!

I just got a Polar F11 HRM and put in all my details - age, sex, weight etc. I'm 27, 5'4, female, 132lbs. So this morning I went out for a run wearing my new gadget, only to be told that after a 35 minute, 3.6 mile run, I burned 485 calories?!?! There's just no way in hell this can be right. I'm a ten-minute-miler, for the love of god!

Admittedly, I've always had a high heart rate when exercising, no matter how fit I am. My resting gets as low as 52bpm, but within my first few jogging steps it'll be up to 130, and only goes up from there. My heart rate hit 188 and averaged out at 175, but I don't feel like I'm going to drop dead, and my body is perfectly capable of running 6 miles easily.

Anyone got any idea what could be going on here? I feel like I just wasted $170 on this HRM....all I wanted was something to count my calories accurately! :(

    Well lets see....Your maximum heart rate is 220-27 (your age)=193.  Is the heart rate at exercise taken by your HRM? Or manually by you?    If it is the machine it may be wrong.  You are exercising at 97% or your max heart rate when you say that your heart rate hit 188. Your average heart rate would place you at exercising at 90% or your maximal heart rate. You should have felt like you were going to fall over any minute.  If you took your heart rate manually I am not sure what to tell you.  You must have the VO2 max of Lance Armstrong to maintain a heart rate that high and not feel like you were about to burst.

    I will pronounce your F11 HRM after you supply more info.

Mine seems high too and I have the Polar F6.

My max was 182 and average was 170.  I'm 26, 5'3" 127 lbs.  My calories burned after jogging/walking 35 minutes for 2.5 miles was about 280.

My treadmill had similar amount of calories burned, but I never listened to it anyway since I knew it was unreliable.

Did you do the VO2 fitness test correctly??  I have an F11 and you need to make sure you do it in a quiet place - I lay down feet elevated first thing in the morning before coffee or food. 

My V02 had been very high in the "elite" catagory for ages and my cal burn was very good, I've since  dropped to only "fair" I guess due to stress and not doing my cardio workouts like I used to and now my cal burns for the same workouts has drpped by 50 - 60%.  Which I know can't be anywhere near what I'm really burning. 

mabye adjust the VO2 down a couple points and the reset a program and see what happens.

I know when I use this site cal burns for weight lifting its now alot higher than my HRM said I burned as well as my cardio class.  Where before it was very close when I was in the elite zone.

dvmnickel15 - it was the HRM that took my heart rate. I'd imagine that the 97% of HRM(max) was on a hill, but my course is actually relatively flat.

dbackerfan - I'm pretty sure I did the V02 test in the correct way. Actually, I was probably a bit too relaxed when I did it, which is why it put me in the 'Elite' category. I did it last thing at night, and I hadn't eaten a heavy meal or anything beforehand, just a sandwich about 3 hours before and picked at some candy after that.

I lay down for 3 mins, then did the test with my User intensity level set to Low. That gave me a V02 score which was 'Good', I think. Then I realised that I misread the categories and would actually have an activity level of Moderate, since I'd definitely be doing between 2-4 hours physical activity a week. Did the test again, and it ranked me as Elite (a shock, tbh). My HR during that test was down in the low 50's by the end of it.

Does it calculate that you burned more calories if you're Elite as opposed to Good?

ARGH!!! But thanks for all the responses :)

This might sound kind of obvious and if you've already done it please disregard my post but just make sure to double check your basic user stats (age, sex, height, weight).  I had forgotten to change the weight after losing a lot and that affected the amount of calories I burned by A LOT!  I'd also assume if you mistakenly entered yourself as "male" it would probably show a lot more calories burned as well.

I just got the F6 and mine is doing the same thing.  The first day I got it I wore it all day just to see what it'd say (yea I'm a dork), my resting HR during the day ranged from 63 to 70 but would quickly increase to 100-120 with normal movement (i.e. walking to the bathroom, putting the dishes away).  Similar to you as well, when I work out I get a high HR (170s-180s) and never feel bad.  I have a hard time trusting it, my calories burnt are consistently higher than what the machine says and what CC says. 

What is the V02 test?  Is that info needed specific to the F11 model?

If you find the answer to these strange readings please let us know!

Stats - 183/m/19

I just got my HRM, and it said that I burned about 575 calories in a 5mile run at a an average of 5mph (it was speed training so I ranged from 3.5mph-13.8mph)  Does that sound accurate?

I need to do my VO2 test again. I do not think I was relaxed at all. I actually did it at work I think and then again at home. I hope I can remember to do it in the morning soon.

Original Post by taranehneh:

This might sound kind of obvious and if you've already done it please disregard my post but just make sure to double check your basic user stats (age, sex, height, weight).  I had forgotten to change the weight after losing a lot and that affected the amount of calories I burned by A LOT!  I'd also assume if you mistakenly entered yourself as "male" it would probably show a lot more calories burned as well.

 I did double check all those things - I wish the answer was so simple! I'm gonna mail Polar customer support....I doubt they'll be much use but I might as well.

The annoying thing is that I can't even return it as I got my folks to buy it when they were in Boston last week (I'm from Ireland). Grrrrr.

try this site it shows you step by step

www.polarusa.com/service_repair/viewtutorial. asp?ID=f11&seg=con

If your average was 175-that is around 90% of your theoretical max HR so that sounds about right.

I've heard a rule of thumb is around 100cals/mile so 575 for a 5mile run sounds reasonable to me, and 485 for 3.6miles doesn't seem all that bad.

When I got a heart rate monitor, it told me I burnt something like 36calories in a 45 minute spin class-that's less than sedentary burn! I took it back.

Also, I think a thing a lot of people overlook is that fact that the formula used to calculate maximum HR is only accurate for about 40% of the population.  So, when you are working out sustaining a high HR for long periods of time, chances are you MHR is higher than the predicted value.  It always good to use the perceived effort scale in conjunction with your HR to get a better idea of what zone you are training in.  You didn't waist $170, you just need a better way of finding your MHR .  I think there is a bit of confusion about what MHR really is.  Your MHR is the maximum BPM that your heart CAN do (unless you have some sort of arrythmia, but lets ignore that for a minute).  So, when people ask about exercising ABOVE their maxmum HR, that is impossible.  Also, it is near impossible to sustain any sort of activity for longer than a minute or so at close to your HRmax.  Even at 90%-95% of your max, you would be feeling like you are going to die trying to sustain for a longer periods of time. 

There are submax tests you can do yourself to help determine your HRmax (google it, as I don't have any sites handy right now), or better yet, get yor VO2 and MHR determined by a professional.  Also, one mroe thing, your MHR will be different for different sports (i.e. running > cycling > swimming).  So you may be able to get a MHR of lets say 190 when running, but only 180 when cycling and 170 when swimming.  It has to do with muscle groups used and body position. 

I hope this helps.  As for the calories burned, I would trust your HR montior before I woud trust the numbers on any website.

ah! my HRM is doing the same thing, I have the sportline s-7 and i feel like its overestimating the calories ive burned.

it doesnt require my height or weight just my age and gender. it has pulse technology so i have to press my finger to the button to get my heart rate, i check it often during my workout, maybe to often, but i want an accurate reading. its been consistent for the week that ive been using it.

i am 21, 5'9 at 156 lbs.

i work out for 80 minutes uphill (+8) on my treadmill at between 3.0-3.7 mph and it says i burn roughly 1000 calories, is this possible? im new to these HRMs so im wondering if its possible or its just a bogus number, im looking into buying a new HRM with a chest strap for more accuracy

 

helpp! =/

anyone? i need helpp

Tretrechic, I'd definitely try one with the chest strap. Good luck to you!

Original Post by blue_eyed_girl:

Does it calculate that you burned more calories if you're Elite as opposed to Good?

Yes, the better your rating the higher number of calories it says you burn. I've been struggling to get a good V02 Max rating from my F11 ever since I bought it last March, so my calorie burn is all over the board. The manufacturers told me that they have a glitch for women of a "certain age and weight range". Ugh, it drives me crazy!