Heart rate monitors

Lotty Big Botty

Lotty Big Botty

Full Member
Can any one help me please. Im not sure I fully understand the way exercise and weight loss works.

I recently bought a heart rate monitor (polar ft40) I bought this one as it tells you whether your burning fat or improving fitness. I thought to be loosing wieght I would need to be working in the 'fat burning' zone.

Im currently doing the coach to 5k program, so its jogging and walking in intervals. I was under the impression this was really good for dropping the lbs!

Unfortunatly my monitor said I was burning fat just on my warm up.... As soon as I started running intervals it went up to fitness improvement and never went back (well untill I was back home recovering)

Does this mean I wont be burning fat??? Hence loosing weight???

Can some one please explain to me the difference and how it all works.

Thankyou.x
 
Last edited:
Hi Lotty- I recently got a HRM too and am similarly puzzled as to the different "zones" as you. I'm not sure about the rules about posting links to external websites but if you google 'heart rate fat burning' there a few sites which cover the different zones eg aerobic, anaerobic etc.

I believe that when you enter the 'improving fitness' zone that is the aerobic level (don't quote me! this is my assumption from reading the various articles) during which you both burn fat AND improve your cardiovascular capacity and ability to stay at that higher heart rate for longer. Also as you build muscle you generally improve your resting metabolic rate and thus are burning more calories after you finish your work out.

I think....(and this is where I get mega confused) ... that there appears to be a difference between "fat calories" and other calories (derived from carbs/protein?) and when you train at the low heart rate you burn more "fat calories" however the higher heart rate will burn more calories per minute overall.

To conclude- I think that for general weightloss, all that matters is that those calories, whether they be derived from fat or not, are being burnt up and disappearing and creating a deficit.

Sorry that probably hasn't added any value to the question you initially asked!!:sigh:
 
I have a HRM that iv started using recently again .. And the darned thing keeps losing signal and therefore not giving an accurate reading for calories lost etc ..!!!! **humph**
Xxx

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Do you guys believe the cals burned on your hrm?! I seriously think mine over estimates! I went for a 2mi run and 2mi walk (half way round my coach fell over and broke her foot hence the walking bck) but during that I burn 928cals!

Now usually runners are told 100cals per mile to estimate! Which obv I'm completely over that! Now don't get me wrong I appreciate I'm carrying more weight so I will burn more than that! And my hr did reach 191!! At its highest!

Do you think I should believe these figures ?! X
 
Mizkirsty said:
Do you guys believe the cals burned on your hrm?! I seriously think mine over estimates! I went for a 2mi run and 2mi walk (half way round my coach fell over and broke her foot hence the walking bck) but during that I burn 928cals!

Now usually runners are told 100cals per mile to estimate! Which obv I'm completely over that! Now don't get me wrong I appreciate I'm carrying more weight so I will burn more than that! And my hr did reach 191!! At its highest!

Do you think I should believe these figures ?! X
Click to expand...

Crikey I don't know .... Mine I always think underestimates ..!!!! Altho now You'v pointed out 100 cals per mile ... And I run 3 miles .... I'm starting to think mine us kinda more accurate than I think .. But it's only on the treadmill it works .. As I said it keeps losing signal when I run outside ..!!

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
 
I've not tried mine on the treadmill! Only outside! I suppose they're all slightly different! I just kinda wanna know what I burn but I spose it makes no huge difference! X
 
Mizkirsty said:
I've not tried mine on the treadmill! Only outside! I suppose they're all slightly different! I just kinda wanna know what I burn but I spose it makes no huge difference! X
Click to expand...

Don't know really .... All I know is the more I read the more confused I become ..!! Lol
Do you have an iPhone ... Or an android ..??
I have an iPhone and have running/walking apps that you key your stats in and then it works out calories lost and how far You'v gone and at what speed/pace etc xxx

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Oh yeah I do use myrunningapp which does all of that which figures out cals - again not as high as my hrm lol

I know it all confuses me too lol! I suppose there has to be some accuracy in it else we'd not have them at all I spose! Lol cx
 
linski24 said:
Don't know really .... All I know is the more I read the more confused I become ..!! Lol
Do you have an iPhone ... Or an android ..??
I have an iPhone and have running/walking apps that you key your stats in and then it works out calories lost and how far You'v gone and at what speed/pace etc xxx

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
Click to expand...

Those iPhone apps sounds good! Do you know what they're called?

Sent from my iPhone
 
For running there's a few I have the free mapmyrun app that's good it plots your route on a map time speed distance and cals xx
 
You can input the stats ie average pace distance etc into it yes! Obv the gps wouldn't work ;) x
 
Lotty Big Botty said:
Does this mean I wont be burning fat??? Hence loosing weight???
Click to expand...

You will always lose weight when exercising regardless of intensity.

Basically (non-scientifically speaking) it supposedly works like this:
The harder you exercise, the higher your heart rate will go, and the more energy your body will require. That it hard to debate.

It now boils down to where that energy comes from.
Your body has several ways to store energy. The important ones here are:
- the long-term energy store, your body fat (aerobic energy consumption)
- your short-term energy store, i.e. the sugar/carbs in liver and muscle (anaerobic energy consumption)

The key is that getting energy out of the long term store takes time and oxygen.
If you exercise at high intensity (outside your personal fat-burning zone), your body will not be able to get enough energy out of the long term storage. Anerobic, short-term energy stores will have to cover and help out until they are depleted, usually resulting in sore muscles. Sore muscles make you not want to move the next day, which is just one of the reasons why you preferrably don't want to exert yourself in just 10min, but exercise for an hour instead.

This biochemistry stuff gets very complex, so my explanation is just "the gist" rather than perfect science.
One more thing however needs to be said:
Because the percentage of energy that comes from body fat decreases with the intensity, it is often misunderstood as "you will burn less fat at high intensity".
Higher intensity training will NOT make you burn less or even no fat. Higher intensity training will always make you burn MORE fat.

Random example with made-up figures:
- Say you keep your exercise heart rate at 120, well within your fat-burning zone. You breathe easily, can even have a conversation with someone and not run out of breath. Close to 100% of the energy needed will be from aerobic consumption.
- You start running fast and your heart rate reaches 170. You're puffing and you can't even thing of saying more than two words before you have to inhale again. Maybe 50% of the energy needed will be from aerobic consumption. However, absolutely speaking this will still be more than the 100% at 120.

Whoa... originally I wanted to keep this brief... ;)
 
xj-esx said:
Those iPhone apps sounds good! Do you know what they're called?

Sent from my iPhone
Click to expand...

Hi .. There are loads of different apps ... I use a Nike one ... But there are lots of others x

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
 
Oh dear, now im really confused!!! I got mine as I didnt believe mfp averages, but to be honest my half hour run came to roughly the same!!

Never had a problem with mine loosing signal whilst running (outside) but I did try wearing it for a squash match last night and didnt really work. I think my problem is that its supposed to go right where my sports bra sits. I put my hours squash into mfp and it reconds 60mins was 900cals-ish :-o

I try not to eat all my calories back, so I dont worry too much. Im using it more to track progress and how my fitness/heart rate is improving.

Just remember as long as your not scoffing food just cause youve done some exercise and remain sensible, it doesnt have to be. Accurate..... Any exercise is good exersice!??

Xxx
 
I eat some of ly exercise cals back ... Up to 1200 ..!!
I think the prob with HR monitor is it beng shuggled about when running ... I have big boobs ... And I'm going to try a proper conduction gel :)

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins
 
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