any one have Polar FT4 heart rate watch??

craftycassie

I just go one for Mother's day...I did ask for it so no worries for the hubby. lol
Today was the first time I use it and while doing my cardio it kept beeping saying I was out of my HRZ (heart rate zone) that I was dong too much, but I felt fine. So, I am asking is there a risk of going out of your target HRZ?

Nikkei24

I raised my heart rate zone on mine. I still go over doing some of my more intense workouts. But I don;t really think it is that harmful. I spent the first week worths of runs trying to slow down to keep my heart rate in the zone which actually caused me to hurt my joints and stuff more. Stick to what your comfortable with. Your body will tell you if you are over doing it.

blaquepearlbeauty

How accurate do you find the readings? I used to do WW where I would measure intensity and time basically but I wanted something more accurate so I got this and found that my readings for workouts where always lower then what I thought they should have been. Maybe that was just it I thought I was doing more but normally 30 minutes of exercise would burn more than 100 calories...maybe I am not working out as intense as I think I am.

shaycat

Mine is always beeping that I am to low! Some days I cant get into my range. I dont think I have ever gone above.

secretlobster

I have the FT60 which has three zones for target heart rates...but I know that for all the FT heart rate monitors, you can manually change your target zone in the settings menu.

You COULD also ignore its advice on target HRZ, because you will still, of course, burn calories if you're working at a higher heart rate than your target heart rate... But in terms of getting an EFFICIENT workout (as a ratio of how much energy you expended to how much time you spent exercising), there is a lot of truth to staying around 60-80% of your maximum heart rate.

Happy mother's day! That's a nice gift!

DaBossLady24

I raised my heart rate zone on mine. I still go over doing some of my more intense workouts. But I don;t really think it is that harmful. I spent the first week worths of runs trying to slow down to keep my heart rate in the zone which actually caused me to hurt my joints and stuff more. Stick to what your comfortable with. Your body will tell you if you are over doing it.

^^^ I just got mine about a week ago and started using it and did the EXACT same thing. Just change the limits of your heart rate zone. If you're extremely short of breath to where you can't utter words just syllables, panting, aching, or literally feeling dizzy, then you know that you're overexerting yourself and need to slow down a bit more... just my opinion, but this works for me since my heart rate is usually high when I'm just resting and it peaks like crazy during workouts.

heddylyn

I turned all the sounds off so it would stop yelling at me. I also upped my hr zone because I have been working out for awhile so I don't feel there is any harm in pushing it a little harder. That is just an average range based on your age/gender, etc. As long as you're not up super high for extended periods of time it's okay to be out of that range. The monitor also gives what your average heart rate was per work out and what your max got up to. I think as long as the "average" is in the HRZ you're probably okay.

frenchie2727

I just got one of those too...I ignore it when it says I'm not in the zone if I feel fine (not sure if that's right or not!). You can turn the beeping off in settings.

craftycassie

Y'all are all awesome. I will raise my hrz then cuz I have been working out for :glasses: awhile.

stephsousa2

What you need to do is set your own maximum heart rate properly. You can do this by calculating your Max Heart rate using a more accurate formula. The Polar watches use an age predicted formula which is a great start, but using the Kravonen formula you can make it more specific to you and your resting heart rate.
To do this you must test your resting heart rate. Wear your heart rate monitor in the morning right after you wake up and lie still for 5 minutes. Best results occur before breakfast and before a work out. Use the heart rate it gives you to calculate your Max Heart Rate. This website will do it for you http://www.briancalkins.com/HeartRate.htm or you can do it yourself by looking up the formula. Your target heart rate should be between 65-75% of your maximum heart rate. You can then input these numbers into your watch for it to read more accurate.
Hitting your maximum heart rate is not dangerous as long as you allow yourself time to recover afterwords. Always stop excercising if you feel dizzy or faint or sick in anyway.

craftycassie

I will try that Ms. Stephsousa2! thanks!

MinnieInMaine

Good hubby!

I feel compelled to add...if you have any history of heart disease in your family, high blood pressure or any of that, I would suggest talking to your doctor to get professional advice rather than listen to a bunch of strangers who don't know anything about your medical history.

stephsousa2

Good hubby!

I feel compelled to add...if you have any history of heart disease in your family, high blood pressure or any of that, I would suggest talking to your doctor to get professional advice rather than listen to a bunch of strangers who don't know anything about your medical history.

You are EXACTLY correct! Always check with your doctors if you have any risk factors! Certified Personal Trainers at your gym can give you a basic assesment and let you know what risk factors you may have. They too will refer you to speak with your doctor (if they are doing their job right) about starting any program with these risks.

SPNLuver83

I have a FT40. Your "zone" is whatever you set it at. But zones are kinda crap. You want to push as hard as you can, burn as many calories as you can, period.

FitCattitude

What you need to do is set your own maximum heart rate properly. You can do this by calculating your Max Heart rate using a more accurate formula. The Polar watches use an age predicted formula which is a great start, but using the Kravonen formula you can make it more specific to you and your resting heart rate.
To do this you must test your resting heart rate. Wear your heart rate monitor in the morning right after you wake up and lie still for 5 minutes. Best results occur before breakfast and before a work out. Use the heart rate it gives you to calculate your Max Heart Rate. This website will do it for you http://www.briancalkins.com/HeartRate.htm or you can do it yourself by looking up the formula. Your target heart rate should be between 65-75% of your maximum heart rate. You can then input these numbers into your watch for it to read more accurate.
Hitting your maximum heart rate is not dangerous as long as you allow yourself time to recover afterwords. Always stop excercising if you feel dizzy or faint or sick in anyway.

Thanks for posting this. I was concerned as I'd changed my max HR, after changing 2 zone numbers to fit with DDP Yoga. Now I see the Polar had got max HR exactly right, didn't need changing. Have kept the 2 zone numbers to fit with DDP Yoga, and very happy to know the max HR setting is now right. Thanks!