Polar HRM, is this the right one?

sosapili

Your heart being lower is normal, your either getting in better shape which just means you need to push your self harder than before.... or, look into the other variables, like how long your sleeping and how tired you are, that makes a huge difference.

In regard to zumba, I never ever burned 700 cals..the closest I got was 560...

good luck!

BlackLabLover

If you just want to track calories, as did I, then go with the FT4. Otherwise, you will be paying for bells and whistles you don't need. I love Polar. I had my last one for 14 years and the only reason I replaced it is because I wanted to see calories burned. I have found that the MFP calories burned estimates are grossly overstated and others are grossly understated. If you want accuracy, go with a Polar. Some of the Polar HRMs have a WearLink chest strap that has a detachable coded transmitter. You can purchase a Polar Cardio Sports Bra with a built in strap and you just snap in the transmittter that came with the HRM of your choice. (Cardio Sports Bra only works with the WearLink chest strap transmitter.) Recently, I did 5000m on an indoor row machine... the machine said I burned 225 calories, the Polar (programeed with my stats) said I burned 224. I feel confident in the Polar readings. (If you are considering a strapless HRM, BEWARE, as they only read point-in-time heart rate - not good for continuous monitoring.) Looking back, there are a few features of the FT40 that I wish I had. Notably, the FT40 has a Fitness test to determine your VO2 max, it will tell you whether the main effect of your training is fat burning or improved fitness, and it is compatible with the data transfer into the PolarPersonalTrainer.com site. (The FlowLink accessory is sold separately.) The training effect is based on heart rate though, so all I have to do is calculate at what percentage of my max HR is the fat-burning range.

However, if all you want is continuous HRM and calorie expenditure, then go with the FT4. I love it for that feature. (And I got the pink one - FT40 only comes in white or black.)

FA20 - a glorified step counter
FT40 - compatible with data transfer (accessory sold separately),
FT4 - a basic top-of-the-line HRM with calorie expenditure, more aesthetically pleasing than the FT40

mmuzzatti

Polar....enough said and I have had a few others. Simple and to the point.

davegruper

I recently bought the Polar RS300x, which tracks calories burned and other information. I am still getting used to it. It is easy to set-up and use. I love it.

tnqnt

I swear by mine.... I have the FT60. The machines at the gym are way off on calorie burn - they are much too high!! Definitely recommend the FT60 :-) :-)

BlackLabLover

Polar....enough said and I have had a few others. Simple and to the point.

Her question was *which* Polar to get, so actually your response of "Polar" is not enough said. Which Polar do you have? Do you like it?

mbts08

Which ones have a stopwatch?

42kgirl

Well I'm in the minority here. I have a Polar FT4. I bought in February. It worked great for about a month, then it started going all wacky.

Sometimes it says my HR is over 200, and sometimes it says 37 or so. Most of the time it says 00, check transmitter! I have tried all things with the strap, water, rinsing, gel. It frustrates me so much that I don't bother using it anymore.

Just be warned that they do malfunction occasionally. With my luck, maybe I just got a bad one.

These things typically happen when the battery starts to go. I sell these and on occasion, I have had batteries that needed replacing pretty quickly. Once the battery is changed, assuming that's the issue, you should be good to go for 1-2 years depending on use.
That being said, I have the FT60 because I won it. Had I been spending money, I would go for the FT4. The extra features on the FT60 are cool, but realistically most people use it once, say that's cool, and use the basic calorie counting and heart rate features. I even got the GPS, but am selling it as I now use Endomondo on my iPhone.

Dudagarcia

I have the ft7

Flab2fitfi

I have the ft4 and it is fantastic. I use it all the time and would recommend it.

mmuzzatti

Polar....enough said and I have had a few others. Simple and to the point.

Her question was *which* Polar to get, so actually your response of "Polar" is not enough said. Which Polar do you have? Do you like it?

Wow I got busted so early in the morning...your right, I'm sorry, Polar FT4, yes I like it and it just so simple to use. The only problem is I am left handed and wear my watch/Polar on the right arm and every so often it hits the stop button when working out but that is my problem because I don't want to wear it on my left arm/wrist.

Now can I please have my coffee back.....pretty please.....

thinkpositive3

I have a Polar FT4 and love it. If you run/walk and want to keep track of mileage you may want to upgrade to a different model. It's the only thing I would change if I had a do-over.

Remember to rinse it out after each work out. Also, disconnect the transmitter from the strap. It will kill your battery. I've not had any tracking issues with mine. Highly recommend!

Check out bodytronics.com with the promo code of POPO. Mine came in under $60

foxbat2828

Well I'm in the minority here. I have a Polar FT4. I bought in February. It worked great for about a month, then it started going all wacky.

Sometimes it says my HR is over 200, and sometimes it says 37 or so. Most of the time it says 00, check transmitter! I have tried all things with the strap, water, rinsing, gel. It frustrates me so much that I don't bother using it anymore.

Just be warned that they do malfunction occasionally. With my luck, maybe I just got a bad one.

I have the RS100 ... for about four months now ... and mine is also doing some weird stuff too. At first it was reading really high or really low on the heart rates, then I noticed that the calorie counts seemed to be off. Recently, it's been acting like it can't find the transmitter and the heart rate number just keeps "searching" then goes to zero. Last night, after doing all of the recommended things like cleaning contacts, washing the strap, tightening the strap, etc., I finally popped the battery out of the transmitter and wiped down the contact sides. The watch finally found the transmitter and started displaying the proper heart rate. Did some wonky stuff at first like acting like it was cycling through various things like the limits setting, etc., but finally seemed to calm down and started displaying the heart rate, workout time, and calories without jumping around. Wondering if it's the battery in the transmitter. Will switch that out over the next couple of days and see, but I'm somewhat disappointed that after such a short time, I'm already having to worry about troubleshooting the thing.

thinkpositive3

Well I'm in the minority here. I have a Polar FT4. I bought in February. It worked great for about a month, then it started going all wacky.

Sometimes it says my HR is over 200, and sometimes it says 37 or so. Most of the time it says 00, check transmitter! I have tried all things with the strap, water, rinsing, gel. It frustrates me so much that I don't bother using it anymore.

Just be warned that they do malfunction occasionally. With my luck, maybe I just got a bad one.

I have the RS100 ... for about four months now ... and mine is also doing some weird stuff too. At first it was reading really high or really low on the heart rates, then I noticed that the calorie counts seemed to be off. Recently, it's been acting like it can't find the transmitter and the heart rate number just keeps "searching" then goes to zero. Last night, after doing all of the recommended things like cleaning contacts, washing the strap, tightening the strap, etc., I finally popped the battery out of the transmitter and wiped down the contact sides. The watch finally found the transmitter and started displaying the proper heart rate. Did some wonky stuff at first like acting like it was cycling through various things like the limits setting, etc., but finally seemed to calm down and started displaying the heart rate, workout time, and calories without jumping around. Wondering if it's the battery in the transmitter. Will switch that out over the next couple of days and see, but I'm somewhat disappointed that after such a short time, I'm already having to worry about troubleshooting the thing.

Do you keep your transmitter attached after each workout? I ready early on when I bought mine that if you keep it attached it will wear out the batter and can do funky stuff to the information it relays. Good luck!

LittleMissRainey

I don't have one yet so I'm here just for the replies, sorry!
Have been looking at the FT4 because of its looks tbh, the brown one seems to blend in the most and doesn't look too huge on the wrist so it's not totally obvious it isn't just a wristwatch. But I've also had the FT7 recommended, I wondered what the main differences are? Can the FT7 track mileage or is that a higher model?

TamaraHaase

Thank you! It makes me wonder if all those 700 stats are people saying they burn that much just because that's what Zumba says you burn. I don't know why, but it is reassuring to hear from someone else that it is probably not malfunctioning.

As for the look of the FT40 not being aesthetically pleasing, that was why I chose mine. I would have gotten the pink FT4, but that was the first hrm I ruled out. I was disappointed none of the others came in pink or something equally girly (it was down to the nitty-gritty details on which one to choose). I ultimately went with the FT40 for the fitness test and the black watch band with the flowers on it.

PinkKitty724

I have heard most about the Polar FT4. This is what I recently got my hubby for his birthday (he won't get it for another week, though!
I almost bought him a Pyle because it was cheap and I had already spent a bunch of $$ on other stuff, but then I did a little research and everything pointed to the FT4. I am not familiar with the other one you mention, but I know the FT4 is the highly regarded one because it calculates calories burned and is reasonably priced for having that feature. I also liked that it had an encoded transmitter so that other people around you with these HRMs won't mess up yours. This is good for me because he and I will often use them at the same time. Another great feature for the $$.

TamaraHaase

I don't have one yet so I'm here just for the replies, sorry!
Have been looking at the FT4 because of its looks tbh, the brown one seems to blend in the most and doesn't look too huge on the wrist so it's not totally obvious it isn't just a wristwatch. But I've also had the FT7 recommended, I wondered what the main differences are? Can the FT7 track mileage or is that a higher model?

For those of you who want to know the minor differences between the polar products, they have a compare feature on their website, which is how I narrowed down my choice. You can compare up to three watches at a time.

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en/products/compare?product1=23349

PinkKitty724

I swear by mine.... I have the FT60. The machines at the gym are way off on calorie burn - they are much too high!! Definitely recommend the FT60 :-) :-)

I have found that to be the case with most machines.. but my elliptical at home likes to tell me I burn less than 100 calories for doing 3 miles on an interval course! HA! As if I believe that.

sgmomma

I'm currently biddin on one on ebay that i think is a ft6? its used but if it works great....I just don't have a lot of money for a hrm but want to get a polar