Heart Rate Monitor

 What is the cheapest, most accurate heart rate monitor you can buy? Did anyone buy any from Walmart before? Was it any good? Are the ones with chest straps very much better than the watches?

Gobbley,

I do not have the answers, but I was wondering the same thing.  Thanks for posting, you seem like you were reading my mind.  I am looking forward to the responses!

I don't know about the walmart models, however a heart rate monitor with a chest strap is by far the most accurate one.  Polar are the brand of choice for me, I think they are the most reliable.

I was searching google for them last night.  Not sure about the walmart brands.  The cheapest that I found was $59 and the average price seems to be about $100.
Most of them seem to come with the chest strap, but I seen ads for a bra with the strap in it, expensive bra at about $60-100.
I lost the page that I was looking at yesterday, need to find it again because there was one that caught my interst for about $70.00.

I have a Polar F7. It is about $120 and comes with a chest strap. While I was researching which one to buy, this one seemed to be the most accurate and least expensive with the chest strap.

I purchased a walmart on w/o a chest strap and returned it the next day. I firmly believe that HRM w/ a chest strap is the most accurate, best way to go.

I use mine everytime I'm working out/active.

So, using a heart rate monitor you are able to determine how many calories you are burning? Because that would definitely be worth the investment.

Yes. It's actually really cool. The higher my heart rate is pumping, the more calories I burn. The display is really easy to read and the whole watch is easy to figure out.

I focus on my heart rate during the workout and when I'm done I like to "surprise" myself w/ how many cals I've burned, but you can get your cals at anytime duriing the workout.

TIP: Remember to reset your personal settings in the watch as you lose weight to keep the numbers the most accurate.

Also, I don't wear it all day long, bc I am mostly sedentary at work and I don't think it would read my heart rate at no activity, but even if I take a easy walk, I'll wear it and it the readings seem pretty dead on.

There are lots of ways to estimate how many calories your are burning during exercise, a heart rate monitor is one of them.  Whether or not the estimate you get from a HRM is more accurate than other methods of estimating is a topic for debate.  Personally I don't think they are any more likely to be accurate than the tables that are available on this site and many others.

What they are good at is counting heart beats and that can be helpful if you are training for an endurance event.

I agree with trhawley, if you simply want to calculate calories burned, there are cheaper ways.  When I calculate the calories burned from my HRM, they seldom vary significantly from what this site calculates for me here. 

I find it useful for doing intervals, keeping me from slacking off during long cardio sessions, and helping me during training sessions for half marathons.

Ax

Original Post by gobbley:

So, using a heart rate monitor you are able to determine how many calories you are burning? Because that would definitely be worth the investment.

Most heart rate monitors will estimate your calorie burn during exercise.  But they don't do well for other times.  Just want to make sure you understand that, because a few people have been confused about it. 

Mine is a Polar F6 and cost about $100 from a sporting goods store. 

I also have a Polar F-6, and I really like it.  It does have the chest strap, which after buying and returning a few different cheaper models, is the way to go. 

The way it has helped me is at the gym.  I found myself on a severe platueu, and I couldn't break it.  It turned out that the gym machines over-estimated my calories burned anywhere from 20-30%.  That's huge when you are down to your final pounds to lose, and you are trying to balance calories burned to calories eaten.  Also, when I plugged in my actual numbers from my HRM into calorie-count, the numbers also differed a bit from what the CC calculator would have predicted.  This I attribute to body differences and how hard I actually worked out.

I hope this helps you.  Good luck!

I have a Polar RS200.  I really like it.  Since I don't run, I didn't get the toe clip that comes, I think, with the Polar RS200sd.  I haven't been taking full advantage of all the information I could be storing in my Polar.

All I can tell you is that I bought the watch style from Wal-Mart and returned it the next day.  It grossly over-estimated my calorie burn.  I don't recommend it.

My wife got me one of those $50 ones from walmart.  The kind where you have to press the button to get your heart rate.  It works great (when I'm not working out).   I can sit at my desk at work and press that button all day long and it gives me a real nice display of my heart rate.   The minute I'm in the gym and start to sweat,  it won't work at all (when I really need it).  Totally useless in the gym, but it's fantastic for when you want to sit around and do nothing.   Don't waste your money,  if you want a walmart one,  give me your address and I'll send you the piece of junk I have now, it's only 3 months old. 

I was just looking at HRM today on Walmart's website. I found the Oregon Scientific Smart Heart HRM and it seems decent. It is $38.77.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?pro duct_id=6051181

Gobbley, why do you want a HRM?

I only ask because people often hear about staying in the correct hr zone to lose weight, and this is not necessary. The "fat burn zone" is a misunderstood and misapplied concept.

While (more expensive) heart rate monitors can be used to estimate calories burned, and as trhawley said, are useful for training, they are not essential to working out.

If you think that you will be helped by seeing the number and having it push you to workout harder, then by all means, get one. But if you are simply working out as hard as you can, the HRM won't provide you with additional information.

The reason I want one is because I do a lot of outdoor activity as well as weightlifting and I have no idea how much I am burning whille doing those activities. I would like to build muscle, and I know I need a calorie surplus, but I only need a small one. I want an estimate of roughly how much I am burning, so I can have some idea how much I should eat in order to build muscle, without gaining too much fat. I think I'll stay away from the walmart ones and invest my money in something good, if I do decide to purchase one.

Nevermind

Original Post by overlord1776:

Nevermind

 Did you buy one from walmart that you liked? I'm still open to suggestions- they probably carry a few different brands. I'd still like to hear your opinion!

I recently got a timex one for about $50. I bought it for the same reasons you want one. I wanted to know how many calories I'm burning and I wanted to see how hard I was exercising in my spin classes. When I started using it I was shocked that during the same class I would burn as little as 450 and as much as 750 on other days. I also burn 300 calories an hour lifting weights, which is more then calorie counter says I burn. I wish I had bought it sooner, and highly recommend it. I didn't buy a polar because I wanted to change the batteries myself and they mostly start at $100 for the same features I get in my Timex. The indigo light is a nice feature too. You'll want one with a chest strap if you want to use the heart rate monitor to count calories.

http://www.xcelwatches.com/servlet/the-1130/T imex-T5H881-DIGITAL-FITNESS/Detail

Original Post by gobbley:

The reason I want one is because I do a lot of outdoor activity as well as weightlifting and I have no idea how much I am burning whille doing those activities. I would like to build muscle, and I know I need a calorie surplus, but I only need a small one. I want an estimate of roughly how much I am burning, so I can have some idea how much I should eat in order to build muscle, without gaining too much fat. I think I'll stay away from the walmart ones and invest my money in something good, if I do decide to purchase one.

 I agree that a good HRM is a very good investment, and knowing your calorie burn IS very useful information.  I have a Polar F6 - and I highly recommend it.