fit bit vs. polar, help!
healthymeg1214
Posts: 5 Member
I want to purchase one but I want to know what real people think! help!
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Replies
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Since they are two different things, I would start by asking why you want to purchase something. What is your goal?
I LOVE my Fitbit and the fact that it gives me an estimate of how many calories I have burned during the day. It is also a great incentive for me to get out and walk (and leave my office chair) . I wouldn't have this with a HRM,
However, if I was looking for a good estimate of calories burned while exercising , I would go with the HRM.0 -
I have had a Fitbit Ultra and a Polar Loop. I did not like how the Fitbit Ultra did not capture all of my steps and I did not like how it spread the calories over the day. I like the loop much better but the wrist style might be the reason it captures steps better but they visibility/website/app is poor and not up to today's standards. I got it to use with a HR chest strap but the H7 strap that works with it and works with gym machines has been problematic for me to put it mildly. I would not recommend the H7 strap to anyone, the H6 works fine but is difficult to pair with the Loop. Overall the Loop was not and is not ready for market, seems rushed.
I personally would go with the Jawbone 24Up now but the fitbit Force would be a contender but again I don't like its calories spread model and I think the Up can be showered with.
Just my opinion.0 -
I've had the fitbit one for almost a year and I love it. I also got the fitbit Aria Scale and it makes tracking all my fitness goals so much easier. My bf has the fitbit force and he loves his too. Being able to track your sleep, calories, stairs, steps, weight, etc is awesome. I dont know much about the other fitness tools though but i'm a huge fan of fitbit now. I freak out if i forgot to wear my fitbit. It also really motivates me to keep active through out the day and I can compete against my friends to get more steps than them through the website or my app. It also works with with MyFitnessPal!0
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I got the FitBit Flex in August for my Birthday..
I LOVE IT !!!
It's great for calorie burn / steps tracker .. but the best part for me is the sleep tracker ..
Menopause & hot flashes keep me waking up every hour and it's great to have this as validation .. YIKES !
I can really see a difference in my motivation level as well .. competing with FitBit friends for steps and wanting to exercise just to SEE my burn .. lol ..
I had a HRM and i didn't like having to wear the strap - i find the flex is so easy to wear and i do think it's a pretty accurate burn ..
I'm not sure about the Jawbone .. you would have to find out from others that have it . .
I LOVE the Flex though .. My co-worker got the Force and she loves it for the digital display .. I find that i sync mine often enough i don't need the digital display .. it's only a $20 difference now in price I think ..
Good luck .. let us know what you decide on !
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I should note that FitBit exclusively makes step counters.
Polar on the other hand makes heart rate monitors. They have recently made their own step counter, but according to this review it's not very good:
http://gizmodo.com/polar-loop-activity-tracker-review-a-circle-behind-the-14761996840 -
I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.0
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I have a polar for my workouts and a fitbit to wear all day. I like them both, but if I had to choose only one...I'd go with the Polar to better gauge workouts.0
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I too have been looking at the fit bit and have heard great and bad things! I have also looked at Jawbone... I hear that with both the fit bit and jawbone they can get a little off (or way off) with the counting! Anyone tried Jawbone? Or had the same counting issues?0
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I have a polar ft7. I use it for my exercises and I find the heart rate and calorie burn I can see as I go really motivating. I wore it when I was only able to walk and now I wear it when I run 25km (15mile) races. I also wear it when I swim (the ft7 is waterproof, whereas the ft4 is not). I'm looking at upgrading to a Garmin for my long distance races (I like the idea of a gps for maps and splits all in one device) but I will still use the polar ft7 for every other cardio workout.
I always set my activity level to sedentary so I can count all my exercise therefore I have no need for a fitbit. I also have had mfp and real life friends have bad experiences with the fitbit not working properly and giving highly inaccurate readings (including watching it rack up steps while it was sitting on a dresser). Each to their own.
Good luck with whatever you choose.0 -
Thank you guys! it was all very helpful! i think i may go with a polar!0
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I have both a fitbit one and a polar ft7. My Polar just collects dust most of the time as I live off the fitbit calories it gives me.0
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I was on the fence for a while about this. I recently bought the Polar FT4 and I love it! It gives me exactly what I want, a more accurate count of calories burned while exercising. I don't feel the need to track my normal everyday movements.0
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I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.
This. I use both a FB and an HRM for the same purposes. Fitbit give me a minimum goal to achieve daily; so many steps per day. Not terribly intensive for the most part, but it is a minimum. My Timex HRM gives me a more accurate reading of calories burned during strenuous activity, for which I find FitBit and the estimates on MFP lacking.0 -
I have the Fitbit Zip as does my husband. We wear them all day every day. This is to gauge activity not necessarily calorie burn all though using just steps we do get a count.
The polar I assume you mean heart rate monitor which will only calculate your cardio burn. You would not wear that all day
I have a heart rate monitor too which I wear during work outs only.
So it depends on what your looking for - want to count steps and basic daily burn. Get a fit bit. Want an estimated burn while you work out..get the Polar
Want both - get both lol The zip is only like $55 on Amazon0 -
I have a Polar FT7 and it's amazing for the gym. I start it up before I work out, and can tell how many calories I've burned through the entire process.
I am considering a Fitbit Force though. I need to to more research and see what it actually does. I'm not sure exactly how it syncs with MFP, because I don't know anybody who has one. I think it's a really neat gadget it just seems complicated.
Good luck!0 -
I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.
This. I use both a FB and an HRM for the same purposes. Fitbit give me a minimum goal to achieve daily; so many steps per day. Not terribly intensive for the most part, but it is a minimum. My Timex HRM gives me a more accurate reading of calories burned during strenuous activity, for which I find FitBit and the estimates on MFP lacking.
So, you are using a Fitbit for your daily activity and the HRM for your workouts? Do you just take the Fitbit off during exercise? This sounds like what I'd like to achieve but I haven't quite figured how they'd work together.0 -
I have a fitbit...LOVE IT
Great for daily activity and letting you know how much you have actually done in the day. I thought I was doing WAY more than I was
I am getting a HRM to accurately log my more intense workouts as well. Better gauge than just the fit fit.
So if you can only get one start with the fitbit then as you progress I would also get an HRM
Good Luck!0 -
Sold my FitBit Ultra - not accutate enough and not a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM).
I have had several Polar items, many with issues & pluses - I CURRENTLY have a Polar Loop & H7 band. It works nicely as a HRM, tracks decently enough as a tracker (wristband), but I use my BodyMedia Link to track my daily movement and such.
I will state, baring that you understand "wrist band" trackers use movement of your hands, if you "plan" accordingly, they can be close to correct.
I remove the Loop while in the shower & dressing, plus for some things like washing dishes (little body movement, but alot of hand movement). Once I did this, the STEPS between the Loop & the BM Link where within 100-400 of each other.
You need to take into consideration what you are expecting from the device. Simple walking and running, strength &/heavy lifting, daily movement, heart rate tracking and WHAT you want them to sync with.
My BM Link talks to my Samsung Galaxy S3 & PC, the Loop doesn't have an ANDROID APP yet, so it only syncs to my PC. AND the H7 band isn't technically S3 capable (yet) - I have the new Jellybean update but no app to sync to it (NO ANDROID APP from Polar) but it does talk to the Loop & the machines @ the gym.0 -
i think the Polars are better for those who do more strength training. I have a bodymedia band right now and the exercise burn during my weight sessions seems very low for the amount of effort i'm putting in. I'm planning to get a Polar as well. 0
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I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.
This. I use both a FB and an HRM for the same purposes. Fitbit give me a minimum goal to achieve daily; so many steps per day. Not terribly intensive for the most part, but it is a minimum. My Timex HRM gives me a more accurate reading of calories burned during strenuous activity, for which I find FitBit and the estimates on MFP lacking.
So, you are using a Fitbit for your daily activity and the HRM for your workouts? Do you just take the Fitbit off during exercise? This sounds like what I'd like to achieve but I haven't quite figured how they'd work together.
If you sync FitBit and MFP, as soon as your log a workout in MFP, say with the calorie burn the HRM told you, you give a time and duration of the workout.
Those stats then overwrite what FitBit estimated as calorie burn for that time and duration on their site.
Then another sync later will update MFP with how much more to eat based on your activity being more than planned.0 -
i think the Polars are better for those who do more strength training. I have a bodymedia band right now and the exercise burn during my weight sessions seems very low for the amount of effort i'm putting in. I'm planning to get a Polar as well.
No HRM is valid for strength training for calorie burn estimates.
The relationship between calorie burn and HR is only valid for aerobic steady-state exercise, meaning same HR for 2-4 minutes.
Strength training is both anaerobic and non-steady-state - double incorrect usage. You'll get inflated calorie burns based on that high anaerobic HR increasing the average.
As is intervals like HIIT if done correctly, wrong tool.
For strength training, the MFP database is actually most correct, it may seem small compared to cardio, but that is exactly the case.
You don't burn as many calories during the workout with strength training compared to decent level of cardio. But you do burn more after the workout for longer compared to cardio.
The daily benefit usually outweights the workout difference.
Especially since strength training will help retain muscle mass, cardio won't, during a deficit.
If the BodyMedia sensors are working well for you, you should see elevated burn for hours after the workout on lifting, because your temp should be higher.0 -
I have the Polar FT4 and LOVE it. It's my new favorite toy. The way I see it the fitbit is meant for tracking your everyday movement, and the HRM is great for tracking any intense workouts that you do. I am looking to get a fitbit soon here to add to what I already have going.
This. I use both a FB and an HRM for the same purposes. Fitbit give me a minimum goal to achieve daily; so many steps per day. Not terribly intensive for the most part, but it is a minimum. My Timex HRM gives me a more accurate reading of calories burned during strenuous activity, for which I find FitBit and the estimates on MFP lacking.
So, you are using a Fitbit for your daily activity and the HRM for your workouts? Do you just take the Fitbit off during exercise? This sounds like what I'd like to achieve but I haven't quite figured how they'd work together.
If you sync FitBit and MFP, as soon as your log a workout in MFP, say with the calorie burn the HRM told you, you give a time and duration of the workout.
Those stats then overwrite what FitBit estimated as calorie burn for that time and duration on their site.
Then another sync later will update MFP with how much more to eat based on your activity being more than planned.
That is really good to know, thanks! Sounds like it takes a few extra syncs to get everything correct but it might be beneficial for what I'm trying to achieve. The other problem I have is that I'm in the gym at 1am, which is at the end of my day. I work from 3:30pm - 12:00am and then go to the gym after work... I wonder if that would screw up the Fibit or not.0 -
NOOOOOO, HRM's, including polar, will not give you an accurate burn from strength training. the calculation used to get to cals burned assumes a certain exertion level based on % of max HR to estimate oxygen uptake (V02Max cals). You HR is elevated for different physiological reasons during strength training and a HRM will grossly over estimate cals burned during anything other than steady state cardio, the more anaerobic the activity the less accurate.i think the Polars are better for those who do more strength training. I have a bodymedia band right now and the exercise burn during my weight sessions seems very low for the amount of effort i'm putting in. I'm planning to get a Polar as well.
Even MFP's estimate of strength training cals in the cardio section would be a better estimate than a HRM.0 -
I started with the FitBit One and then recently purchased a Polar FT4. I wear the FitBit all the time, and I find I walk and take the stairs more to meet my FitBit goals. For tracking workouts I like the HRM as it provides a more accurate calorie burn. I found out that MFP's calorie estimates for certain activities were much higher than the HRM was reading. Fortunately I wasn't eating all of my exercise calories....
I have compared the FitBit and HRM calorie burns for a walk (not a controlled treadmill test, but on around my hilly neighborhood) and the calorie burn from the FitBit was within 10% of the calories of the HRM on a 40 minute walk. I think it is probably more accurate than taking the standard MFP calories for walking/running types of activities.
The advantage of the HRM is that it can help me capture calories burned for activities like swimming, where the FitBit just sits in the locker.
Each has its purpose and I find I get useful information from both. The FitBit helps get me moving more just during my regular day, outside scheduled workouts. The HRM gives me more accurate information when I do a workout. You need to determine what you are looking for.
I log the workouts in MFP with the HRM calories, start time and duration. That then syncs to FitBit and updates the calories burned for the FitBit. FitBit will then automatically sync back to MFP with an update if there are any extra exercise calories because my activity level is higher than expected. The sync between FitBit and MFP is automatic. I walk in the house and the FitBit syncs wirelessly. Once the accounts are linked the calories fly between the apps automagically. 0 -
Maybe the perfect solution is about to come out.
Garmin Vivofit, water resistant to 50 metes, one year battery life, always on display which can show time, learns your activity and notches the goals up a tad each day to keep you pushing, will pair to a HR chest strap that DOES NOT have to be Bluetooth and will connect and update to a Phone app. Does all the Loop promised but better since the HR effort is combined with your activity unlike with the Loop. Shipping in 5-8 weeks. Downside cost $129.
Also Google Nabu by Razor. Lot of new products on shoes a CE.0 -
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Maybe the perfect solution is about to come out.
Garmin Vivofit, water resistant to 50 metes, one year battery life, always on display which can show time, learns your activity and notches the goals up a tad each day to keep you pushing, will pair to a HR chest strap that DOES NOT have to be Bluetooth and will connect and update to a Phone app. Does all the Loop promised but better since the HR effort is combined with your activity unlike with the Loop. Shipping in 5-8 weeks. Downside cost $129.
Also Google Nabu by Razor. Lot of new products on shoes a CE.
The Nabu will be a lot different than the normal fitness activity recording, according to their CES announcement. I still want it, it looks pretty neat.0 -
If the BodyMedia sensors are working well for you, you should see elevated burn for hours after the workout on lifting, because your temp should be higher.
I believe it's a pretty insignificant effect, and occurs after cardio, too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/health/nutrition/21best.html?_r=00 -
If the BodyMedia sensors are working well for you, you should see elevated burn for hours after the workout on lifting, because your temp should be higher.
I believe it's a pretty insignificant effect, and occurs after cardio, too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/health/nutrition/21best.html?_r=0
More recent studies, and older too that the NYTimes article didn't comment on. And vigorous in the study is very vigorous indeed. Touching the anaerobic line the whole time.
Here is newer NYTimes article, with more detail in the Chicago article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/health/nutrition/19best.html?_r=0
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-01/health/sc-health-0201-fitness-burn-20120201_1_post-exercise-exercise-scientists-metabolism
vigorous 45-minute cycling exercise. On the exercise day, they were given extra food to keep their energy levels in balance.
Based on previous work, the researchers expected metabolism to be elevated for an hour or two after the workout. To their surprise, "every single subject had an extended increase in their metabolism after their vigorous cycling, an average 14.2 hours,
body's oxygen consumption rate stayed elevated for at least 36 hours after an intense, whole-body resistance workout. The study used several multijoint exercises — power cleans, squats, bench press — that were so intense that some subjects became nauseated. Other resistance-training studies have used more sustainable workouts that resulted in less but still significant excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, he said.
"In terms of body adaptations, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption is all about recovery and growth," said Schuenke. "The more strenuous — and the more novel — the exercise, the more (muscle) microtears (that) need repair."0
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