HEART RATE MONITOR QUESTIONS...

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13

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  • mimiteh35
    mimiteh35 Posts: 486 Member
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    I use the Polar FT4, that comes with a chest strap, so you get a far more accurate HR reading than the pulse ones. It transmits directly back to the watch your HR, records calories (based on weight, height, age and gender) and it's waterproof, I use mine in the swimming pool all the time.

    As far as the strap goes, I think you'll be safe. It goes under (that area) not over it or above it, so you should be OK. In the unlikely event it doesn't fit, you can buy an XXXL strap from Amazon or eBay. I have a big chest (probably size 48) and it fits perfectly OK around me, plus I can extend it even further, so I doubt you'll need the bigger one.

    Hope this helps!

    Yes! Thank you! :)
  • kathleenjoyful
    kathleenjoyful Posts: 210 Member
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    I've got a Polar FT4 which is great - but I use my Polar H7 instead. The H7 is a strap that has a bluetooth connection so my iPhone picks it up, and I can monitor my heart rate and calories burned in the app. I would recommend either, depending on whether you have a smart phone or not. The H7 is slightly more expensive (here in Australia, anyway). Last time I had bras fitted I was a 36GG cup (I have lost some more weight since then), and I wear the strap really comfortably. I make sure the strap and transmitter sit up under the strap of my sports bra.
  • jmayerovitch
    jmayerovitch Posts: 71 Member
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    I have a Polar RS300X and I love it. A few years ago I accidentally ran over mine with my car (it fell out of my gym bag) and I had a new one shipped overnight because I didn't want to go without one for over a week.

    I wear the chest strap right where my sports bra strap is. As long as no part of the bra is getting between the strap and your body, there's no issue. Very rarely do I see that it's stopped reading and have to pluck my bra out from under the strap. Polar also sells bra/strap combos where the strap is designed to fit in the sports bra. But I couldn't tell you if it's a very good sports bra.

    Also, I recently bought the bluetooth chest strap and it's awesome because it synchs with my iPhone. So I don't even have to wear the watch if I have my phone (a good solution in case I run over my watch again!)
  • jmayerovitch
    jmayerovitch Posts: 71 Member
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    I've got a Polar FT4 which is great - but I use my Polar H7 instead. The H7 is a strap that has a bluetooth connection so my iPhone picks it up, and I can monitor my heart rate and calories burned in the app. I would recommend either, depending on whether you have a smart phone or not. The H7 is slightly more expensive (here in Australia, anyway). Last time I had bras fitted I was a 36GG cup (I have lost some more weight since then), and I wear the strap really comfortably. I make sure the strap and transmitter sit up under the strap of my sports bra.

    Bwahaha. Another Polar junkie.

    How long have you been using your H7? Had any issues? I just got mine a few weeks ago.
  • mimiteh35
    mimiteh35 Posts: 486 Member
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    I've got a Polar FT4 which is great - but I use my Polar H7 instead. The H7 is a strap that has a bluetooth connection so my iPhone picks it up, and I can monitor my heart rate and calories burned in the app. I would recommend either, depending on whether you have a smart phone or not. The H7 is slightly more expensive (here in Australia, anyway). Last time I had bras fitted I was a 36GG cup (I have lost some more weight since then), and I wear the strap really comfortably. I make sure the strap and transmitter sit up under the strap of my sports bra.

    Oooo, iphone app! I will definitely look into that as well, thank you! :)
  • mimiteh35
    mimiteh35 Posts: 486 Member
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    I have a Polar RS300X and I love it. A few years ago I accidentally ran over mine with my car (it fell out of my gym bag) and I had a new one shipped overnight because I didn't want to go without one for over a week.

    I wear the chest strap right where my sports bra strap is. As long as no part of the bra is getting between the strap and your body, there's no issue. Very rarely do I see that it's stopped reading and have to pluck my bra out from under the strap. Polar also sells bra/strap combos where the strap is designed to fit in the sports bra. But I couldn't tell you if it's a very good sports bra.

    Also, I recently bought the bluetooth chest strap and it's awesome because it synchs with my iPhone. So I don't even have to wear the watch if I have my phone (a good solution in case I run over my watch again!)

    LOL I just read another person mention the app, and then I replied to her and saw you saw it too. :)

    I also saw the sports bra one with the sports bra in the strap, but was worried that I'd lose weight and have to get a new sports bra and wondered how that worked with this strap thing and since I exercise 5 days a week, that's a lot of washing of 1 bra in particular, so figured it might not be a good thing for me. :)

    I will definitely have to look into this app synching thing. I wonder if it would disrupt my couch to 5K app I use right now, like if I could use that app and the synching app and it not cause problems. Will definitely look into it, thanks for the info!
  • jmayerovitch
    jmayerovitch Posts: 71 Member
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    LOL I just read another person mention the app, and then I replied to her and saw you saw it too. :)

    I also saw the sports bra one with the sports bra in the strap, but was worried that I'd lose weight and have to get a new sports bra and wondered how that worked with this strap thing and since I exercise 5 days a week, that's a lot of washing of 1 bra in particular, so figured it might not be a good thing for me. :)

    I will definitely have to look into this app synching thing. I wonder if it would disrupt my couch to 5K app I use right now, like if I could use that app and the synching app and it not cause problems. Will definitely look into it, thanks for the info!

    The nice thing is that it synchs with more than just the Polar app. I've used iSmoothRun for over a year now, mainly for tracking hikes. It's probably the most accurate run/walk/hike tracker out there. And it synchs with my polar strap (so does the Nike app and many others). Every mile, iSmoothRun chirps at me and tells me my time for that mile and overall time. Now it also tells me my heart rate for that mile. It's pretty cool.
  • Nikusz
    Nikusz Posts: 69 Member
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    my bf and all his running friends use Garmin (chest strap + wristwatch) forerunner series, and they all seem happy

    I have Zephyr HxM strap that syncs via bluetooth with my Android phone and with the Digifit app which in turn syncs with MFP.. not sure about Zephyr or Digifit - iPhone compatibility, but Android phone - Polar WearLink Bluetooth HRM - Digifit combo works well too (only this Polar uses CR2025 batteries and quite a lot of people, me included, complained that it eats them up very quickly). there are also other apps for Android that work with both of those HRM straps.
  • joolsmitchell
    joolsmitchell Posts: 53 Member
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    I am a larger lady and I have one that fits around the chest...it sits just underneath your boobs and as long as its tight enough it won't move. They are much better than just the wrist ones as they give a much more accurate and consistent reading. Mine is a sportsline model and it beeps when you are above and below target and it wasn't too expensive. It was £50 Not sure what that is in $ but i am sure you can look it up. Well worth the money in my opinion. :-) x
  • angex3333
    angex3333 Posts: 83 Member
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    Love the idea of the Polar H7. Will definitely have to have a look into that one. I have a Polar F11 which is awesome. I have had it for a few years now.
  • DanIsACyclingFool
    DanIsACyclingFool Posts: 417 Member
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    Fyi the h7 doesn't work with android devices :(
  • joshdann
    joshdann Posts: 618 Member
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    it does with ones that support BTLE... which right now is few, but still.
  • sinoodle
    sinoodle Posts: 8 Member
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    I bought the cheapest polar they sell, I did notice the strap had an "M" on it, so it looks like you may be able to choose a size. I wore mine for about 5 minutes then ripped off and threw it across the room. I wasn't able to get any sort of reasonable reading out of it. Seems like a PITA to strap that thing on, every time you exercise. Yes, it's still lying on the floor where I threw it...

    -jason
  • joshdann
    joshdann Posts: 618 Member
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    they don't read well if the sensor pads aren't moist.

    I don't use mine every time I work out, just when I go walking or running, so I can get a mostly-accurate calorie burn. It's not a pain at all for me. takes all of 5 seconds to put it on, less to take it off.
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
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    I have a Garmin GPS/HRM Watch with a chest strap and LOVE it.

    The chest strap is adjustable and I like that it helps give the girls extra support.

    For walks I do not use the strap and just use the GPS feature for time and mileage.

    In response to not getting a reading you need to get the strap wet.
  • kathleenjoyful
    kathleenjoyful Posts: 210 Member
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    I've got a Polar FT4 which is great - but I use my Polar H7 instead. The H7 is a strap that has a bluetooth connection so my iPhone picks it up, and I can monitor my heart rate and calories burned in the app. I would recommend either, depending on whether you have a smart phone or not. The H7 is slightly more expensive (here in Australia, anyway). Last time I had bras fitted I was a 36GG cup (I have lost some more weight since then), and I wear the strap really comfortably. I make sure the strap and transmitter sit up under the strap of my sports bra.

    Bwahaha. Another Polar junkie.

    How long have you been using your H7? Had any issues? I just got mine a few weeks ago.

    I've had my H7 a few weeks. The only problem I've had is that the Digifit app wouldn't always recognise it - I actually thought the problem was my H7, even swapped out the battery! The Polar BEAT app has NO problems recognising the H7. I'd really like to try the Endomondo app for intervals but I've read online that it also has problems recognising the H7. Not sure if I wanna spend five bucks on an app that might fail! How are you finding yours??
  • Msdnice
    Msdnice Posts: 50
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    I have a 'Polar and it is AWESOME. It works wonders for me.
  • manda1978
    manda1978 Posts: 525 Member
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    I endorse the recommendation for the Polar FT4, and you can use the PolarFitness.com site to calculate your workloads and recovery times too

    2nd this
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Since you comment about liking the HR zone training - the cheaper polars do NOT allow you to set your own zones.
    They have 2, fat-burning and fitness, which floats based on amount of exercise in either.

    You can set an upper alarm of FT7, but no lower alarm to know that you want to speed up.

    So when reviewing Polar's site, look for option to set zone alarms, and option to have it audible or not, which is nice.

    RS300X does.

    That model also has the needed stats and self-test to actually have a decent calorie burn estimate, compared to the cheaper models.
  • PaulaKro
    PaulaKro Posts: 5,690 Member
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    Bump to save this place.
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