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Heart Rate Monitors : Community Message Boards
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Anonymous
Thu, Jul 6, 2006 13:07
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Heart Rate Monitors
I am currently reading YNY, but have (as it turns out) been living by most of its principles for the last four years (and they definitely work!)

Two FYI’s concerning HRMs.


FYI no. 1

YNY is big on HRMs, and I agree. But when I went to buy an HRM my reason was not so much to keep track of my actual heart rate, but rather to track calories burned. I use this information to keep track of and compare disparate workouts. With this info I can compare the amount of energy expended with an hour on an elliptical trainer vs. a four hour hike vs. a 90 minute weight session, etc.

Not scientifically accurate, but consistent from workout to workout. (And for semi-accuracy’s sake, I deduct the number of calories expended doing essentially nothing for the same period of time, which is a little of five per minute.) And then I slap the numbers into a spreadsheet to track this stuff over time. With this I can tell periods when I am really pushing things vs. times when I am slacking of a bit (vacations, the Thanksgiving through New Years holiday season, etc.) It is all part of what keeps me motivated.

Now that I am reading YNY I’ll pay closer attention to the actual heart rate, at least for a while.


FYI no. 2

A problem I came across is that most HRMs will not count calories if your HR drops below 100. Not a problem when on the elliptical or a stationary bike, but definitely a problem hiking and in the weight room (or determining how many calories you burn doing nothing!)

First I bought a Polar, which I used until I discovered this issue. I returned the Polar and then bought a Timex, which had the same problem. I contacted someone at Oregon Scientific, who told me that their HRMs also did this. Finally I contacted someone at Ekho. Their line of HRMs DO count calories at any heart rate, so I have been using one ever since.

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