Polar FT7 question

jehuster

I have been using my new Polar FT7 a couple of days now and I am curious about one of the readings. One of the settings says that my Fat Burning was 3:51 minutes and my Fitness was 33:09 minutes. Does this mean that I need to add some more cardio? I think that cardio is what helps a person to burn fat...or am I wrong. Just curious as to what this means. Thanks for any feedback.

:flowerforyou:

holly3585

**I do not know for sure** (just wanted to put that out there!!) I think that 'fat burning' may be the higher than just reg. cardio HR??? Maybe maybe not hehehe. I believe that it has to do woth the 'zones'.....a certain HR is just cardio or aerobic conditioning.... go a little higher and it s anaerobic- I may be barking up the wrong tree here but my guess is that you HR wa in a higher zone for the 3:51

Greenrun99

Holly you got it right just backwards, fat burning is lower HR zone, fitness is the higher one for the zones of your heart rate based on your stats you entered

jehuster

Holly you got it right just backwards, fat burning is lower HR zone, fitness is the higher one for the zones of your heart rate based on your stats you entered

So are you saying I need to do more cardio in order to burn more fat????

ShannonMpls

In my opinion, you should 100% ignore the fat burning/fitness zones. I do I love my FT7, but that information is absolutely meaningless.

Gapwedge01

In my opinion, you should 100% ignore the fat burning/fitness zones. I do I love my FT7, but that information is absolutely meaningless.

I will have to100% politely disagree with that statement. When you need a recovery run or ride staying in the lower zones is important. Your body will burn more fat percentage wise in the lower HR zones and then shift gears and burn more carbos percentage wise in the upper zones. Running or cycling constantly day after day in the aerobic upper zones will produce fatigue. So, yes, HR zones do matter. The fitness time on the FT7 burns more carbos and strengthens you aerobically. The time spent in the fat zone burns more fat but does not push you aerobically. You need to learn the different HR zones.

cathooo

Having had mine for a few workouts now, I think the HR zones could matter, but I don't think they're necessarily the right settings "out of the box". Polar's website can help, but you need to spend weeks entering data, besides what you put in MFP.

I wish that Polar's stuff would sync with MFP (or anything else), but their website only takes your data in, it doesn't share :frown:

melanscr

if you are trying to increase your aerobic ability and lose weight, get up out of the "fat burning zone"! This zone is low-intense exercise. You burn "more" fat because you are working out at such a low intensity that your metabolism has enough time to utilize the fat. However, if you increase your intensity, you will burn the same amount of fat and also more carbs and more total calories- this is what we want to lose weight! It is a myth that staying in the "fat burning zone" will result in greater weight loss and this "zone" will not produce large aerobic improvements either. Your carbohydrate stores are plentiful to get you through a 60-90 minute workout at moderate intensity, after this point you may need some refueling if you workout longer than 90 minutes.

ShannonMpls

In my opinion, you should 100% ignore the fat burning/fitness zones. I do I love my FT7, but that information is absolutely meaningless.

I will have to100% politely disagree with that statement. When you need a recovery run or ride staying in the lower zones is important. Your body will burn more fat percentage wise in the lower HR zones and then shift gears and burn more carbos percentage wise in the upper zones. Running or cycling constantly day after day in the aerobic upper zones will produce fatigue. So, yes, HR zones do matter. The fitness time on the FT7 burns more carbos and strengthens you aerobically. The time spent in the fat zone burns more fat but does not push you aerobically. You need to learn the different HR zones.

Well, you're right. I suppose I should have said "unless you're an endurance athlete concerned with fat fueling vs glycogen fueling AND you have had metabolic testing done and programmed your HRM so the zones are set up according to your max and not the standard "formula" max, which can vary significantly especially for women."

The vast majority of HRM users do not need to concern themselves with zone training. On long endurance runs, I use my HRM to pace myself, but I still don't give a *kitten* what my Polar says for fat burning vs "fitness" mode.

9jenn9

The above replies contain a lot of info that, while useful to a seasoned exerciser, can be confusing to someone just starting out. I try to keep it simple. MFP is basically a calories in/calories out method. A heart rate monitor counts calories burned. The higher your heart rate goes, the faster you burn calories. I try to mix up my workouts. Some days I do short, hard work outs. Other days I keep my heart rate lower, but exercise longer to get to the number of calories I want to burn. IMO, the most important thing is burn more than you eat. All the rest of the functions of a hrm may be useful to some, but aren't vital to helping you lose weight. Good luck with it!