Swimming with your heart rate monitor?

traciredjo
traciredjo Posts: 32 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
OK I have a question. I have a Polar FT7 hrm. Has anyone worn theirs while swimming? It says it is waterproof, but I am still nervous about trying it. With the kind of luck I have I might screw it up. I guess I would feel better if I knew from others that it would be OK. Or is their any suggestions? Any and all help is appreciated :wink:

Replies

  • dlegros
    dlegros Posts: 162 Member
    I think the watch unit is water resistant (there is no such thing as water "proof" - even my dive computers are described as water resistant).

    I don't think the HRM side will function in water as the conduction properties will change and you won't get a stable reading - that said my FT7 is badly behaved now anyway :-(
  • traciredjo
    traciredjo Posts: 32 Member
    Thanks! I just looked on the Polar website and saw they have a chest strap designed for swimming. Guess I should have gone there first. Appreciate you insight =)
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    You should also be aware that the heart rate to calories burned math is different for water exercise.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    It is waterproof, so long as you don;t push any buttons while underwater.

    It cannot transmit properly though water so won't give you an accurate calorie burn for your workout, but you can stand up every so often and get a reading of how hard you're working.
  • christimccarty
    christimccarty Posts: 81
    Glad you posted this! I never really thought about it! Not much of a swimmer... as in AT ALL! But I like to kayak and will definitely be taking it with me and didn't think about taking a dive to cool off with it on....
  • traciredjo
    traciredjo Posts: 32 Member
    You should also be aware that the heart rate to calories burned math is different for water exercise.
    [/quote
    So how should I go about figuring that one out?
  • traciredjo
    traciredjo Posts: 32 Member
    I have never really been much of a swimmer but last year I started swimming the breast stroke(froggy style) and had great results. But had no accurate calorie count to work with. Kayaking would be a great burn, sounds like fun =)

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