HRM don't think its reading right

SwissTracey
SwissTracey Posts: 34 Member
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I have a new Polar F6 this is only my 2nd week with it. Last week everything seemed normal, my heart rate was around 80 just walking around and during my harder workout it was between 160-180.

This week I don't know what happened but when I first put it on, its around 40 and today during my workout it only read 101. I know my heartrate has to be higher than that. The calorie burn seems about right maybe a little lower than I had thought but since its so new to me I'm not sure what up. A friend suggested wearing the chest strap backwards so its on my back, but when I just put it on that way it didn't really read anything.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Replies

  • athenafl
    athenafl Posts: 41 Member
    No personal experience with Polar, but I recommend you check the following:
    -make sure you've moistened the sensor part of the belt before putting it on.
    -check the battery in the transmitter (belt)
    -be sure you're turning off the HR mode (if that's an option on your model) when you're not using it

    Since yours is new I wouldn't expect cracks in the belt, but you might also look for small cracks near the outer edge of the belt. When mine developed these, I didn't know they were there until I looked for them.

    Hope that helps.
  • mhotch
    mhotch Posts: 901 Member
    Is the strap on snug enough? I was having trouble with mine and I realized that the strap was a bit loose. It should be snug, not tight. Also you may need to dampen the strap {the center of the strap that has the connectors to pick up the heart beat} to get the connection going. Could your sports bra be pushing on the strap?
  • SarahNicole317
    SarahNicole317 Posts: 302 Member
    i wear my HRM strap under my sports bra and that keeps it secure. Unfortunately, you've only had it for two weeks but the transmitter band may be bad. You can't just replace the battery, but if you look in the booklet that came with it I believe you can send it back and get another one.

    Do you have the T3-coded? If not, there may be something disrupting the reading.
  • Chavtastic
    Chavtastic Posts: 40 Member
    My question is are they very accurate? Mine says I burned 1095 calories in 60 minutes of run/walking yesterday based on my weight, age, etc. According to Myfitness, I should have burned about 600. Which is right?
  • SarahNicole317
    SarahNicole317 Posts: 302 Member
    My question is are they very accurate? Mine says I burned 1095 calories in 60 minutes of run/walking yesterday based on my weight, age, etc. According to Myfitness, I should have burned about 600. Which is right?

    Do you have to input VO2 Max in yours? This will make it more accurate if it does and you have an idea of what yours might be. VO2 max is your body's ability to take in oxygen which is need to burn calories. I think my Polar F6 is pretty accurate.
  • SwissTracey
    SwissTracey Posts: 34 Member
    Is the strap on snug enough? I was having trouble with mine and I realized that the strap was a bit loose. It should be snug, not tight. Also you may need to dampen the strap {the center of the strap that has the connectors to pick up the heart beat} to get the connection going. Could your sports bra be pushing on the strap?

    I'm wondering if it is my bra that is pushing on it. Tomorrow I'm going to try wearing the strap under my bra and see if that helps.
    Oh and no, I'm not getting any codes
  • WrenLynn
    WrenLynn Posts: 213
    I have the same HRM and a couple things I have noticed are:

    certain sport bras will interfere with the reading
    make sure you have the chest strap on and in place before turning the watch on to exercise
  • SwissTracey
    SwissTracey Posts: 34 Member
    I got it figured out. So some how without me realizing I changed it to start reading percent. So it was reading correct just as a percent and not beats per minute! I changed it back and all is well. Thank you everyone for your help in trying to figure it out.
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