HRM?

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  • livityliv
    livityliv Posts: 110 Member
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    I have the Polar FT7 (step up from the FT4, the one I have just lets you know when you are in fitness mode or fat burning mode.) I got it on amazon for $109.99 and i love it. It's really easy to use and helps a lot.

    I got an FT7 from Amazon as well, right before the holidays, but scored mine for about $70. I love it...I've found MFP estimates to be pretty accurate, but love having it right there on my watch.
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
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    I purchased an Polar FT7 after doing some research on this site and on the net. OMG wish I bought one of these a long long time ago. It makes you work just that little bit harder. It counts your calories (MFP exercise calories was way out) and is so simple to use. It also saves upto 99 of your workouts.

    Fantastic tool.
  • ValerieMomof2
    ValerieMomof2 Posts: 530 Member
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    Thanks everybody! I've been reading about them before deciding if I want to buy. I like the idea of knowing more accurately how much I'm burning.

    Does the chest strap bother you? Seems like it would be uncomfortable or weird to get used to. And does it stay in place? I do a lot of Zumba and kickboxing.

    Not like I thought it would. I also do kickboxing, body pump, step and zumba and it stays in place fine. It didn't take long getting used to it at all
  • frantny
    frantny Posts: 17 Member
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    I have a Timex HRM, and like it. It is pretty basic, and I like the fact that both the watch and the chest strap have batteries I can change myself. I dont notice the chest strap once it is on. I would suggest you wet your fingers under a tap and run it across the inside of the strap before putting it on, as that helps it adhere better to your skin. I wear it for both cardio and strength workouts with a trainer, and it doesnt shift at all.
  • ejwme
    ejwme Posts: 318
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    I have a garmin 310xt. I bought it because it's got better than average waterproofing, good GPS features, it's rechargeable and has a 20 hour battery life, and it will work with a bike cadence meter as well.

    I have a tendency to run or bike long distances while playing the "what's down this road..." and "where's this trail go..." game. This watch has a "return to start" feature that keeps me from getting totally lost on these adventures.

    I can download pre-programmed workouts and courses, so if I'm running a poorly marked race, or with a training group, I can program my watch and not worry about catching the turns or matching somebody's pace - I can run my own pace (which I can set for it to help me stay on pace). I still get a little lost, but not horribly.

    Things I don't like - I hate how the menus are set up. Some settings are in an obvious place, some are "hidden" in a completely different and non-intuitive location. And the manual is poorly written, so very little help. Luckily, the interwebs have documented all my issues and their solutions before I have them, so help is just a search away. But it's awkward. Also, if it's taking some getting used to actually planning pretty far in advance for when I want to do a specific kind of run for the first time - especially if it's cold, I can't just do my warm up then sort out my watch - I could, but if it's a first time using a feature, it's extremely painful.

    I bought it on a black friday sale, but would have paid list price for it at this point. Definitely worth the money, and I'm a cheapskate.
  • ejwme
    ejwme Posts: 318
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    might want to scope out http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews he's quite thorough and was invaluable to me when I was making my decision. Really helped a lot, and he's very even-handed towards the different products.
  • HokieMama4
    HokieMama4 Posts: 112 Member
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    Most of the negative reviews I've read said that the Polar HRMs were great at first but after a few weeks of use they started losing their accuracy pretty quickly. Has anyone had theirs long enough to address this? I'm not sure I'm ready to drop 3-digits on something right now.
  • davidmac69
    davidmac69 Posts: 5 Member
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    I picked up an FT4 at Sears this week for $45 because they consider the Janurary fitness season over already in sales. (No more post-New Year's purchases).

    So far I like in in general, and the chest strap has been quite comfortable. However, being a gadget geek, there's are a lot of extras I wish it had. For one I'd like the ability to keep a detailed track over time so I could see how my bpms change with intensity, for another I'd like to have multiple zones preset so I could easily switch between burn, fitness, and aerobic on the fly. (Track over time would help here too since I could see how long I was in each zone after the fact).

    The FT7 has two preset zones and the ability to upload the overall results (using a $45 extra gadget) to a computer but it doesn't keep the track over time either. For that you have to get one with a triple digit price.
  • katbean12
    katbean12 Posts: 45 Member
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    Polar ft4 is my first HRM, I really like it, I'm rather small height wise so the estimates machines and website provide haven't been accurate.. I've actually had to work much harder to burn what I thought I was burning at the gym... And it's cool because now I can do my p90x discs or Jillian michaels and know how much I've burned. Accuracy is a good thing!
  • mleech77
    mleech77 Posts: 557 Member
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    might want to scope out http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews he's quite thorough and was invaluable to me when I was making my decision. Really helped a lot, and he's very even-handed towards the different products.
    X2, and he has a discount code for clever training so you get 10% off.
  • hannibal28
    hannibal28 Posts: 32 Member
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    I have a garmin FR60 watch with chest strap and love it.

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