Heart Rate Monitors!

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mermaidrae
mermaidrae Posts: 13 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Thinking about getting a HRM for myself for the holidays. This way I can accurately see how many calories I'm burning. Anyone have a specific type that they like a lot? I'm looking at the Garmin FR70, the Polar FT4, and the Nike+ heart rate monitor watch. Let me know what y'all think! :) Hope you all have a fantastic day!
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Replies

  • NJL13500
    NJL13500 Posts: 433 Member
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    One of my MFP friends recommended the BodyMedia armband. I ordered it yesterday, so I can't yet recommend. I'm interested to hear your responses on this though. Thanks for posting!
  • oOMusicBabii
    oOMusicBabii Posts: 494
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    I see the Polar FT4 mentioned a lot on here. I've been doing research on it and at this time, it's the one I will most likely choose whenever I decide to get one in the next year.

    Bump for you and looking forward to the responses from people.
  • betzeross
    betzeross Posts: 161 Member
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    I really like my Polar FT4. I've had it for about a year - works great and easy to figure out.:laugh:
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Really like my FT7 (and not just because it has a black face and red stripe...).
    Easy to set up and use.
    Really didn't like the FT1.
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    Polar FT4 (I have the FT7 and love it!).

    I like that Polar will link with most exercise machines (if you do those kinds of things). When I was researching, the Nike+ required to many additional components that I would need to purchase to make it useful for me; the Garmin required you to be outdoors (to link with satellites). The Polar worked right out of the box, useful indoors or out, and while there are additional components (the uplink thingy) they weren't necessary.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    Can someone tell me if all HRMs tell time and speed too? Or are they basically just HR and calories burned?
  • mirthfuldragon
    mirthfuldragon Posts: 124 Member
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    I recently purchased the Garmin FR70, and it rocks. The ability to program custom workouts through Garmin's website is deep, functional, and generally great, and the ease of uploading and analyzing data is cool too. The chest strap is comfortable. User-replaceable batters in the watch and strap are nice, and the fact that it is compatible with the foot pod for running and a cadence / speed meter for cycling is great too. It is a bit pricey though. It's also ANT+, which means it should work with most cycling-related electronics and almost no gym equipment. It also should eliminate any chance of cross-talk with the ubiquitous Polar devices that flood my gym.

    I looked at several Polar devices, and the extra cost for the device to upload data to the computer, plus the lack of replaceable batteries in many of the straps (depending on model) seems consumer-unfriendly.
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
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    Can someone tell me if all HRMs tell time and speed too? Or are they basically just HR and calories burned?

    Some do, some don't. Check them out and you can compare. Most Garmins tell everything (including miles ran)

    OP-I have a Polar FT4 and I love it-I use an app on my phone for my miles and my boyfriend has a Garmin that tells miles and all the fancy things I don't need at this time. Whichever you get, make sure it has a chest strap, I'm not sure if the Nike one does, I didn't look at it when I was getting mine. I did a search for best HRM reviews and found a ton of info and reviews
  • crazyellybean
    crazyellybean Posts: 999 Member
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    One of my MFP friends recommended the BodyMedia armband. I ordered it yesterday, so I can't yet recommend. I'm interested to hear your responses on this though. Thanks for posting!

    The Body Media is a great tool, however it's not an HRM.. and it used all day versus just when you exercise.


    I have a Garmin FR60 and I love it, and it syncs with my Body Media.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
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    I have the Polar FT7 and love it but probably would've been plenty happy if I had gotten the FT4. It's easy to use, chest strap is comfortable (I usually forget I'm wearing it after about a minute) and it's considered a good quality and reliable brand. I got mine from Heart Rate Monitors USA...it was the cheapest I could find. Shipping was pretty reasonably quick too.
  • AMHouse85
    AMHouse85 Posts: 285 Member
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    I have a Polar FT7 and love it. It does tell the time and I wear it as a watch most days. When exercising it is set to tell me heart rate but all I have to do is pass my wrist in front of my chest where the monitor doo dad is and it beeps and shows me the time(no having to push buttons). I chose the FT7 Mens Black with the Silver stripe cause I wanted something simple that I could wear everyday and not have a pink or red eyesore on my wrist.
  • MartialPanda
    MartialPanda Posts: 919 Member
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    I was thinking about getting one too. However, I dont want to pay for a really expensive one. Anyone know so decent slightly cheaper ones?
  • hauer01
    hauer01 Posts: 523 Member
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    I have the Polor FT4. I didn't need too much, just want to keep an eye on my heart rate and get a better reading on the calories burned. This does everything that I need a HRM for.
  • KStyleFitness
    KStyleFitness Posts: 46 Member
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    I have the Polar FT7. I have not had it for long and don't use all my features. What makes it different from the FT4?
  • Juliechilli
    Juliechilli Posts: 123 Member
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    I am minutes away from receiving my Polar FT7. I'm hoping to wear it to work out today and I will let you know how it goes. I was looking for accurate calories burned and I believe this watch also gives a fat burning readout as well?
  • ANeWcRe8N
    ANeWcRe8N Posts: 1,180 Member
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    I have the polar ft4.. love it and does what I need :)
  • Countryslove
    Countryslove Posts: 50
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    I have the Polar FT4 and I love it. It does tell the time and gives you the duration of your exercise session. Also very easy to use. It has really shown me that I was overestimating my calories burned by going by the mfp site and also my stationary bike.
  • AlwaysBigSteve
    AlwaysBigSteve Posts: 82 Member
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    I have a Suunto and it is awesome! It links up to their website so you can enter customer fitness. It monitors calories, HR, MPH. It even has built in GPS so you can program in routes. It will even show you where you were on google maps (you can share your running/hiking routes with other people).

    I find it helps me get more out of my workout. It gives me an alarm when my HR is heading towards normal so I can speed up or move my arms more.

    I could not recommend it more!
  • Desired01
    Desired01 Posts: 10 Member
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    I have the Polar FT60, had it for about a year now and I love it! It really helps in tracking the intensity of my workouts so I know if I need to pick up the pace or slow it down and seeing how many calories I burned. I have not used any of the other brands out so I am partial to Polar. The Polar FT60 also tells time, day and date and is really easy to use.
  • Skinny_minny_mo
    Skinny_minny_mo Posts: 1,272 Member
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    just checked the price for polar and garmin and they are a bit pricey.

    for a beginner, do you think a cheap HRM will still do the job?

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