I have a Polar hrm. I paid $90 for it and assume it is a pretty good one. It seems to match up well when I take my pulse the old fashioned way. Here is what I have noticed.

For example, I put on my hrm today because I was about to work out on my elliptical. I worked out....had a nice warm-up...got my hr up a little bit....cooled down. When I got off, I sat on couch for my dear husband to give me a little shoulder rub...got relaxed....went right down to my resting hr.
Then....I was still wearing it and noticed as I move from sitting to standing or vice versa...it shoots up (or down) about 20 points. Is this normal or is my monitor not working? It seemed to do just fine during exercise.

I want my gadgets to help me...not confuse me, you know? I am the world's best buyer of fitness videos,equipment..but am still trying to lose the same 20 pounds.

Would appreciate insight from anyone who uses a hrm.

Very normal. I've worn mine around the house and it often fluctuates. They are an amazing investment.

That is what common sense told me, but I just needed to be sure, you know? They are awesome for working out.

I've worn my polar all day before and it really is amazing how much my hr fluctuates from little things. Definitely normal!

I still don't trust it when it tells me how many calories I have burned....it just seems like so much. I appreciate all the feedback. I really, really love this site

Which one of the Polar monitors is it??? I am asking because i am considering picking one up at some point...

Thanks
Vicki

I have one and Love it too. Polar FT7 It really motivates me to pick up my excersize. It really tells me when I am slacking off. Yesterday after 1.5 on the treadmill I burned 865 calories!! I felt great too.

I have the Polar F4. It is the baby blue one. I am pretty confident with the heart rate aspect of it, but I have a very hard time believing I am burning that many calories. It cost $90 which, to me, was a LOT of money. Not sure if you can find one cheaper.

I have the Polar f4 too. I've had it over 4 years, the battery replacements are $1.50, so it is a good investment!

I also wonder about the calories, but I believe they base it off of your heart rate and weight, so I trust it give or take a hundred calories!

I have the F4 too and I love it!

Does your F4 ever just go to zero? And then pick up right where it left off?

Mine does do that. I think it's the strap or something, not sure. It does get annoying though, thought maybe it was cuz my strap is so old.

Good to know. I was thinking the thing was a piece of junk....haha. Seriously, though, I think it is a good one. I feel better about the calories too after "talking" to all of you. I am quite out of shape and don't get mine up too high. I also don't work out very long...but you have to start somewhere!!
All about having a good attitude, right?

I was thinking it was a piece of junk too because of the bad reviews its gotten on amazon. Has anybody had it for a long period of time and noticed that it wasn't working as efficiently.

Mine does the zero thing to but it happens when you get out of range. I HATE wearing it on my wrist because I sweat and it's itchy, so one time I even tried to put it around my ponytail. It wouldn't read. So now, I just strap it to my bra and tank top strap. Also, if I reached too high it would go to zero then pick up again. It's either out of range (33 inches or so I think is max) or the battery is low.