[cammieb]

I bought an HRM from sharper image today and decided to test it out on my HIIT session. It said I burned 500 calories after 32 minutes. This seems awfully high to me. It also said I was working between 85 to 99 percent of my heart rate, which I'm not sure is accurate. My hr was up to 190 at one point and I felt quite faint so I lowered the intensity, but other than that, I didn't feel too bad. How does one know their actual max heart rate? I think that might be why the numbers are so high... Does anyone have experience with these things? Oh, and if it helps to know, my hrm includes a chest strap.

[mandalinn82]

For me, not at all. They'd say I was burning 4000 calories with all of my workouts in a day, but I gained on way less calories. So there's my own experience.

[ringmaster]

hmm.. good question. I have a Polar one that wraps around my chest, it's a few years old but it was a high end model a few years back. It says I burn about 400 for a 45 minute Turbo Jam workout...about 500 for a hour workout. The heart rate does go up when I'm working harder, I don't know how accurate it is though. Never had another heart rate monitor or anything else to compare it to.

I guess just use it as a tool to get an idea of how hard you are working.