Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Do I need to buy a chest strap for accurate heart rate monitoring during workout?

S

SHNXX

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 2, 2013
1,901
663
I do mostly some weightlifting and some light running when I work out.
According to this video, the optical heart rate monitoring really doesn't perform well during weightlifting workouts.

So it seems like getting a chest strap might be necessary if tracking calories is something one wants to do.
What do you guys think?
I'm not a bodybuilder or anything but tracking workouts seems like fun and is one of the main reasons why I want to try the Apple Watch.
 
Thanks for posting the video. I thought it was well done.

Similar to the video, my experience has been that the heart rate tracking is exactly accurate with a strap on an elliptical machine. It also gives the same readings as a recently used but now abandoned Nike+ Polar chest strap for jogging.

My weight lifting efforts are only about 10 minutes long per session so I'm not inclined to worry about tracking calories there.

I have done some reading about heart rate training for jogging and cycling, but have not seen any literature about the benefits of tracking HR while weight lifting. I may be ignorant of this, but do understand that the calorie counting may be inaccurate (too low) with the Apple Watch while weight training.

The Apple Watch does a lot of other great things, but the workout app and activity circles are at the top of my list as reasons why I am pleased with it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 01silver4
I'm going to say yes. I don't own one, or any tracking device. I did purchase a fitbit HR once and returned it when I noticed that me moving my arms at my desk resulted in steps taken.. But weightlifting and anything . I would want a chest strap. none of these trackers are accurate. I'm not sold at all.
 
My watch is often at 1/2 or 3/4 the actual HR during exercise. Wrist devices are just not there for moving arms.

I use my TICKR strap for aerobic workouts, and just live with the watch on outdoor walks.
 
In my own test wearing the AW and my Garmin 620 w/ chest strap I found the AW about 10% off. Suffice to say I still wear my Garmin and chest strap on runs. AW, for all its activity hype, is a terrible sports watch. Good for recovering couch potatoes but if you are already active it's pointless next to a dedicated [insert your sport here] watch.

FWIW I had the same results with the Fitbit Charge HR, so I don't blame the AW. I think the light based HRM tech just isn't prime time yet. I can't wait for the day when it is though. For now I think chest straps are the only route to reasonable accuracy.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
In my own test wearing the AW and my Garmin 620 w/ chest strap I found the AW about 10% off. Suffice to say I still wear my Garmin and chest strap on runs. AW, for all its activity hype, is a terrible sports watch. Good for recovering couch potatoes but if you are already active it's pointless next to a dedicated [insert your sport here] watch.

FWIW I had the same results with the Fitbit Charge HR, so I don't blame the AW. I think the light based HRM tech just isn't prime time yet. I can't wait for the day when it is though. For now I think chest straps are the only route to reasonable accuracy.
Click to expand...
Strange because I have (and 2 friends with Garmin 220/610) dead on results with the :apple:Watch. For instance yesterday I did 9.5 miles and my Garmin 620 HRM average was 149 and my :apple:Watch was 150. I even get near identical results doing cardio machines. They are almost never more than 2BPM average off. Are you sure you are wearing you :apple:Watch snug and slightly up your wrist? On my first run I had a tad loose and my HR was reading all over the map (what I expected from optical) but after tightening and moving up slightly it has been dead on. Of course the :apple:Watch will not a replacement for my 620, but it is surprisingly accurate for HR.

None of this is applicable for the OP since the :apple:Watch can't be accurate in weight training.
 
Yeah I don't really run much and would prefer that the tracking is accurate for weightlifting.
 
SHNXX said:
Yeah I don't really run much and would prefer that the tracking is accurate for weightlifting.
Click to expand...

Weight training offers specific challenges to a monitor HR and on top of that HR is not a good indicator of effort or calories burned. Here are 3 reasons:

1) In weight training your muscle and arteries become constricted making optical HR difficult. You must use a chest strap for this.

2) Your HR will fluctuate wildly up and down in a short amount of time. Determining your HR is done by counting how many beats for an amount of time and then calculating an average. So the dynamic up/down makes it impossible to accurately determine your HR value (except through EKG).

3) Much of the energy used is from the anaerobic system, so knowing your HR is not applicable or meaningful info for determining effort.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TJone
I've only had my :apple: Watch for a week and have done 2 gym workouts (cardio + weight training with a trainer) and a couple of Jog/walks of about 2 miles with my dog. I've used my Polar HR Monitor to compare the results with the watch and have found them to be close enough to each other that I'm satisfied with the results.

I have not yet upgraded my watch to 1.01.
 
What's the best chest heart rate monitor to pair with the Apple watch?
Which size should I buy for the polar h7 strap?
 
I had a Polar watch with heart rate strap prior to my Apple Watch. I find the heart rate monitor on the apple watch unusable at the gym or for any fitness activity. When I lift it is often "updating" so it only displays my heart rate from time to time. During interval training the lag for the heart rate to update is noticeable so I often don't see my peak heart rate. I've had the watch since day one so I've used it quite a bit on bike rides, running outdoors, treadmill, elliptical as well as resistance training. I finally paired my polar heart rate strap for the first time today. I now have instant readings at all times and it continually updates. MUCH better than the built in monitor. No comparison .
 
  • Like
Reactions: SHNXX
I picked up a polar H7 strap this week for non-cardio workouts (loving it so far). I've found, however, that the stored workouts in the activity app don't store an average heart rate when using the chest strap. Is there a setting I'm missing? I can't seem to find anything.
 
I did 2 crossfit classes this week. If you start a "other" workout it seems pretty accurate.

It seems that there will be a ton of new workout apps in the fall with the new os.
 
Julien said:
I like the Wahoo TICKR. It is BT and ANT+ with a built in accelerometer and memory.
Click to expand...

Does the TICKER buckle on the front or back. If back I guess you have to buckle and then slide it around? Also do you then turn the HR sensor off on the watch and the TICKR's data is used by the Apple Fitness app
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back