Abstract
This study examined the accuracy of the Polar F6 heart rate monitor (HRM) in
estimating energy expenditure (EE) using one's predicted maximal oxygen consumption
(VO2max) and maximal heart rate (HRmax) (PHRM), and also to determine if the use of
one's actual measured VO2max and HRmax (AHRM) improves the accuracy during aerobic
dance bench stepping (ADBS) in females. Thirty-two females ( age 18-25) of average
fitness level followed a 20-minute ADBS routine while wearing both PHRM and AHRM. When compared to indirect calorimerty (IC), the PHRM and AHRM significantly
overestimated EE by 28% (2.4 kcalmin-1) and 27% (2.0 kcalmin-1), respectively. There
were no significant differences between the PHRM and AHRM. In conclusion, the Polar
F6 is inaccurate in estimating EE during ADBS for college-age females.
