Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor Not Reading When Laying Down

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khopkins516
khopkins516 Posts: 63 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Y'all!

I have been using my Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor for a year or so now and have loved it.
However lately I've been doing a new cardio weights class, and I find that when I lay back on the bench to do abs or chest exercises, the HRM stops reading my heart rate. When I stand back up, it's fine.
I tried tightening the strap but it still is having the same problem.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    When did you last change batteries

    What about the contacts

    Never had that problem and mine is a couple years old

    Doesn't really matter cos you would have to take the reading with a pinch of salt anyway as its not designed for non steady state activity like a cardio - weights class but I'd probably email polar to ask
  • ntrevino1
    ntrevino1 Posts: 1 Member
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    I use an FT4 also and it sounds like the strap is losing contact with your skin when you lie down. I recommend you apply a couple of dabs of electrode gel where the rubbery inside part of the strap touches your skin. If you have not, I would also recommend changing the batteries regularly (maybe once a year on the watch and the heart rate sensor.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    ntrevino1 wrote: »
    I use an FT4 also and it sounds like the strap is losing contact with your skin when you lie down. I recommend you apply a couple of dabs of electrode gel where the rubbery inside part of the strap touches your skin. If you have not, I would also recommend changing the batteries regularly (maybe once a year on the watch and the heart rate sensor.

    FWIW I use aloe vera gel on my bands, it's much much cheaper and works equally as well.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Doesn't really matter cos you would have to take the reading with a pinch of salt anyway as its not designed for non steady state activity like a cardio - weights class but I'd probably email polar to ask

    For calories perhaps but that's really not its job. A heart rate monitor should be able to monitor your heart rate almost no matter what you're doing. Obvious caveats like a lot of them don't work in water. But I use my chest strap for strength workouts to see/record my body's response to the work I'm doing.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Doesn't really matter cos you would have to take the reading with a pinch of salt anyway as its not designed for non steady state activity like a cardio - weights class but I'd probably email polar to ask

    For calories perhaps but that's really not its job. A heart rate monitor should be able to monitor your heart rate almost no matter what you're doing. Obvious caveats like a lot of them don't work in water. But I use my chest strap for strength workouts to see/record my body's response to the work I'm doing.

    Valid approach but I would guess that most would believe the calorie output as being more accurate than any METS based calculator rather than less

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