HRM help!

Tinkaboo

Ok, so I am buying and HRM and need one that tracks calories burnt. I have narrowed it down to either the Polar FT4 or the Polar FT7. The problem is I just don't know what the difference is between the 2!? Other than £20! Can anyone enlighten me?!
XxX

spinndrift

Main differences seem to be in the data transfer and the ability to set your own HR zones.

Have a look here and you can compare the two.

http://www.polarelectro.co.uk/uk-en/products/compare?product1=nid_23057

NatalieWinning

I'm interested in seeing your replies! I'm considering one.

spinndrift

The long and short of it is what do you to get from it?

Why have chosen Polar - Garmin have some good products too.

DrBorkBork

Polar F7. I love mine!

ickybella

The long and short of it is what do you to get from it?

Why have chosen Polar - Garmin have some good products too.

Because Garmin HRMs are a million pounds! I have to admit, I'd love to have GPS while I'm out for a jog, though. I'd never get lost again.

I just ordered a Polar FT4 but it hasn't arrived yet. I have no idea what it's like, but I will let you know as soon as I use it!

Tinkaboo

The long and short of it is what do you to get from it?

Why have chosen Polar - Garmin have some good products too.

Because Garmin HRMs are a million pounds! I have to admit, I'd love to have GPS while I'm out for a jog, though. I'd never get lost again.

I just ordered a Polar FT4 but it hasn't arrived yet. I have no idea what it's like, but I will let you know as soon as I use it!

You're right with that honey! And also, they do too much for me! I am rubbish with technology and apparently Garmins are quite complicated. My trainer reckons polar are good and says as long as it does calories as well as heart rate that should be fine. Let me know how you get on with it Bella, would appreciate that!
XxX

ickybella

The long and short of it is what do you to get from it?

Why have chosen Polar - Garmin have some good products too.

Because Garmin HRMs are a million pounds! I have to admit, I'd love to have GPS while I'm out for a jog, though. I'd never get lost again.

I just ordered a Polar FT4 but it hasn't arrived yet. I have no idea what it's like, but I will let you know as soon as I use it!

You're right with that honey! And also, they do too much for me! I am rubbish with technology and apparently Garmins are quite complicated. My trainer reckons polar are good and says as long as it does calories as well as heart rate that should be fine. Let me know how you get on with it Bella, would appreciate that!
XxX

Lol I understand about technology! It's lucky my husband is a computer geek for a living, or we'd have two permanently broken PCs. I will let you know! Amazon is being super slow right now because of the holidays and of course I'm not helping with my impatience.

ickybella

Ok, got my HRM this morning. It's a Polar FT4, the female version. It was really easy to set up. There are detailed instructions that come with the HRM, but you really don't need them. You just set the time, which you can do in 24 or 12 hour format, the date (American style) your height, age, gender, weight, etc. You can set it to metric or imperial. Then you have to get the chest strap wet, put it on (it's adjustable) and clip in the little electronic thingy (I know, so technical, but I don't know what it is, a transmitter I guess) which just snaps right in. You put in on just under your sports bra and make it tight, but not uncomfortable. Once you've got it on, just push the OK button on the watch and it will find your heart beat. After that, push OK again when you start working out. It keeps recording your heart beat and calories burned until you press the stop button. I would say it's basic, but that's good for me. It tells me my average and highest heart rate, calories burned, time spent working out, and how long I was "in zone" which I guess means how long I spent in the fat burning heart rate zone.

It's not something I would wear as a watch. It's not pretty and the face is as big as my wrist, but that's not why I bought it. I like it so far, but I can't really say how good it is compared to others, as it's my first, and I just got it today! Anyway, if you're like me (a little technologically challenged) and just want to know how many calories you're really burning, then this is probably the thing for you. I have to say, I'm actually considering doing one of my Jillian workouts to see how many calories I burn! I did c25k today and burned 310, which is more than I thought I'd burn.

Also, I read somewhere that you have to subtract your BMR from the calories burned. To do that, you just go into TOOLS (on MFP) and then BMR. Calculate your BMR, divide that number by 24 (24 hours in a day) and then by 60 (60 minutes in an hour) and multiply that number by the number of minutes you worked out. For instance, my BMR is 1510 divided by 24 is 62.9166666667 so I burn that many calories an hour doing nothing. 62.916666667 divided by 60 is 1.0486111111 so I burn that many calories a minute. I was working out for 27 minutes, so 1.0486111111 times 27 is 28.3125, and that's how many calories I'd burn for 27 minutes if I were doing nothing. So, the HRM said I burned 337 calories in 27 minutes. 337 minus 28.3125 is 310.6875 and I just rounded down. Sounds complicated but it's really not. I know this probably didn't make much sense, but I do hope it helps.