Polar FT4 vs. Fitbit

Run4Me2Day
Run4Me2Day Posts: 344 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am currently using a Polar Hear Rate monitor, but am considering something that is more user friendly through the entire day.......any suggestions would be appreciated. Also I love my Heart Rate Monitor and am wondering the pros and cons of the Fit Bit...

Thank you in advance!

Replies

  • agcarden1
    agcarden1 Posts: 35 Member
    I have both an ft4 and a fitbit. I wear the HRM during most exercising, and wear the fitbit all day. Unless you just walk as your main exercise, fitbit seems to be way under the HRM calories. For some of my workouts, I burn about 650 calories, but fitbit only counts for about 250 because it only logs steps. It's easy to adjust to the correct calories burned on mfp. I personally would recommend having both, especially if you're trying to increase your fitness. Fitbit has really opened my eyes to how much/little i move throughout the day! Hope this helps!
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
    It's not a versus situation. The Polar FT4 is a heart rate monitor. The Fitbit is not. I have both. I wear my Fitbit 24/7, but only wear my Polar FT7 when I workout.
  • PupPupMomma
    PupPupMomma Posts: 9
    I have both as well and have started to just use my FT4 since the logging of food is really so much easier on MFP. I find the Fitbit's interface to be nicer looking but much harder to understand.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Totally different types of devices. The Polar is good at telling you what your heart rate is, and how many calories you burn during long periods of steady-state cardio. The Polar is poor at giving you calorie burns during strength training, light activity, sedentary time, HIIT, or highly variable activity.

    The Fitbit is meant to quantify your daily activity, including any exercise that involves taking steps. It won't do much for strength training or non-stepping exercise like cycling.

    I personally use a Fitbit, because my daily activity is highly variable. It has proven immensely useful at quantifying the walking, housework, tennis, and other various things I do from day to day. It's extremely good at that. I don't do much steady-state cardio like jogging, road cycling, or elliptical trianing, so the Polar would be all but useless for me.
  • KReduced
    KReduced Posts: 98 Member
    I agree with everyone else. I have both. Use Polar when I'm working out and fitbit (Zip) for all day activity. Both are completely worth the money.
  • KetosisTina
    KetosisTina Posts: 197 Member
    Thanks for this post folks.... I have been trying to use my Fitbit to estimate my calories and I am pretty sure it is wrong... and some days it is just WAY off the mark... I got up one day and after 5 minute so just walking around the house it said I had burned 1200 calories LOL wow... mega walking..

    So yes for my morning T25 I will be getting the FT4.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Thanks for this post folks.... I have been trying to use my Fitbit to estimate my calories and I am pretty sure it is wrong... and some days it is just WAY off the mark... I got up one day and after 5 minute so just walking around the house it said I had burned 1200 calories LOL wow... mega walking..

    So yes for my morning T25 I will be getting the FT4.

    You realize your body is burning calories even when you're not moving right?
  • KetosisTina
    KetosisTina Posts: 197 Member
    Thanks for this post folks.... I have been trying to use my Fitbit to estimate my calories and I am pretty sure it is wrong... and some days it is just WAY off the mark... I got up one day and after 5 minute so just walking around the house it said I had burned 1200 calories LOL wow... mega walking..

    So yes for my morning T25 I will be getting the FT4.

    You realize your body is burning calories even when you're not moving right?

    Yes I realize that. But it said I burned 1200 calories in the 5 minutes since I had been up. Now during a good workout I can burn 50 to 70 calories in 5 minutes but not 1200.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Thanks for this post folks.... I have been trying to use my Fitbit to estimate my calories and I am pretty sure it is wrong... and some days it is just WAY off the mark... I got up one day and after 5 minute so just walking around the house it said I had burned 1200 calories LOL wow... mega walking..

    So yes for my morning T25 I will be getting the FT4.

    You realize your body is burning calories even when you're not moving right?

    Yes I realize that. But it said I burned 1200 calories in the 5 minutes since I had been up. Now during a good workout I can burn 50 to 70 calories in 5 minutes but not 1200.

    Could be something as simple as the time zone being off, or a logged activity from the previous day entered as 30 hours instead of 30 minutes. Can't know. But it was clearly a mistake.
  • KetosisTina
    KetosisTina Posts: 197 Member
    Thanks for this post folks.... I have been trying to use my Fitbit to estimate my calories and I am pretty sure it is wrong... and some days it is just WAY off the mark... I got up one day and after 5 minute so just walking around the house it said I had burned 1200 calories LOL wow... mega walking..

    So yes for my morning T25 I will be getting the FT4.


    I know it was a mistake... When I talked so my Fitbit group at work (there are like 8 of us) we all had wacky calorie readings that day so we just chalked it up to a software glitch on the Fitbit site. It happens.
    You realize your body is burning calories even when you're not moving right?

    Yes I realize that. But it said I burned 1200 calories in the 5 minutes since I had been up. Now during a good workout I can burn 50 to 70 calories in 5 minutes but not 1200.

    Could be something as simple as the time zone being off, or a logged activity from the previous day entered as 30 hours instead of 30 minutes. Can't know. But it was clearly a mistake.
  • lintino
    lintino Posts: 456 Member
    Thanks for this post folks.... I have been trying to use my Fitbit to estimate my calories and I am pretty sure it is wrong... and some days it is just WAY off the mark... I got up one day and after 5 minute so just walking around the house it said I had burned 1200 calories LOL wow... mega walking..

    So yes for my morning T25 I will be getting the FT4.



    You realize your body is burning calories even when you're not moving right?

    Yes I realize that. But it said I burned 1200 calories in the 5 minutes since I had been up. Now during a good workout I can burn 50 to 70 calories in 5 minutes but not 1200.

    Could be something as simple as the time zone being off, or a logged activity from the previous day entered as 30 hours instead of 30 minutes. Can't know. But it was clearly a mistake.


    This is not necessarily a mistake. It tracks your calorie usage from midnight. Even though you are sleeping you are still using up calories. When I wake up my count is usually already in the 600-700 range.
    You realize your body is burning calories even when you're not moving right?
  • jjnorth84
    jjnorth84 Posts: 2
    My question to all that have both (fitbit and polar) do you wear them both while working out or do you take the fitbit off, log the calories burned then put it back on?? I have a fitbit and a polar ft7 I have been wearing them both but I'm not sure if that is considered doubling up on calories burned! I want to be as accurate as possible but have looked all over the internet and can't seem to find the answer!!!!! Thank you all in advance
  • cabrerva
    cabrerva Posts: 33 Member
    Pretty sure you can wear the fitbit all day, but the HRM only during a workout. In that case I would take off the Fitbit, and put on the polar so as to not "double up" if that makes any sense.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    If you log the times properly there will be no double loggjng.
  • cassondrarn
    cassondrarn Posts: 11 Member
    I have the Fitbit Force and find it to be quite accurate. You can start an "activity" and it tracks higher calorie burning than regular walking or stair climbing. I have not been using my heart rate monitor (Polar) in addition and have been averaging 2 lbs/week loss as I have budgeted in my goals.
  • jjnorth84
    jjnorth84 Posts: 2
    Thank you for the answers!!!
  • PolkaDot_Princess
    PolkaDot_Princess Posts: 314 Member
    I use both as well and wear the fitbit while I workout. It links to MFP as well which l Love! I use the calories burned from the HRM and enter them as cardio then at the end of the day when MFP calcuates the calories burned for the day it automatically deducts any calories you entered as burning so you dont have to wory about doubling up.
  • rosiegoes
    rosiegoes Posts: 16 Member
    I emphasize a lot of strength training, and am curious which device would be best for monitoring heart rate, calories burned etc while doing so.

    I bought a polar ft4 last night...still in the package...there was also a garmin watch and a fitbit....I may be going back for an exchange

    thank you!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Nothing estimates strength training calories well. But it's probably not that significant a value, either. I'd count it as 200 or something conservative (well below 10 calories/minute) and chalk it up to something you do for your overall health that you can't really quantify in terms of food/calories.
  • rosiegoes
    rosiegoes Posts: 16 Member
    great response...thank you....

    Its easy for me to stay interested in weights but cardio bores me ;) i am thinking that i probably have made the right selection with the heart monitor to keep me encouraged
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I emphasize a lot of strength training, and am curious which device would be best for monitoring heart rate, calories burned etc while doing so.

    I bought a polar ft4 last night...still in the package...there was also a garmin watch and a fitbit....I may be going back for an exchange

    thank you!

    HRMs are ludicrously bad at estimating calories while strength training. They are notorious for greatly overestimating. There is no relation between heart rate and calories burned while strength training.

    HRMs aren't very encouraging, IMO, because they're only useful during steady state cardio. You describe cardio as "boring." I agree with that 100%. I don't do "cardio." I do try to stay active by playing tennis, skiing, etc, but I never just go to the gym and hop on the treadmill.

    I find my Fitbit extremely encouraging since it gets worn all the time. It encourages me to take the stairs at work, go for a walk at lunch, etc, because I get "credit" for all that stuff. HRMs don't do any of that for you.
  • rosiegoes
    rosiegoes Posts: 16 Member
    update: i returned the heart rate monitor for fitbit force yesterday...only used it for a few active hours but i am in love :)

    thank you for the input! i am going to have to spend some time thinking about setting timers, etc but so far so good

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