FT7 calories burned??

brown85
brown85 Posts: 5
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone,

Hoping I can get some advice. I recently purchased the Polar FT7 and I'm certain that the calories burned are not calculating correctly and just wanted to see if anyone else has had this issue.

I have gone through all my settings which are correct. I did a 45 minute personal training session today with an average heart rate of 158 and max 180 and yet it showed 255 calories burned, how the heck does that work? I am also over 100kg (female) so based on my weight alone I don't see how I can be burning so little. When I compare it to online calculators/the machines at the gym it always seems to be half of what it should be.

The monitor is only 2 weeks old, any advice??

Ta :)

Replies

  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Are you wetting the sensors and is the strap tight enough?

    When I do a 45 min personal training session( and I weigh 159 and stand at 5'8) I burn anywhere between 530 and 670 calories.
  • brown85
    brown85 Posts: 5
    Yeah I make sure I wet the strap first and have it tight enough so it's snug without being too restrictive.

    I friend of mine pretty much weighs the same as me (difference of 2kg) and within the same amount of time burns 700ish and she has a polar watch too.
  • keljo720
    keljo720 Posts: 30 Member
    Ditto Dad's comment. I recently bought the FT7 and I didn't wet the sensors very well for one workout...just moistened them. Of course, I realized that after the fact as my calories burned were lower for that work out than normal. Now I pretty much run it under the faucet and soak that baby before putting it on! :) Hope this helps.
  • foreverloved
    foreverloved Posts: 220 Member
    Doesn't seem right, I log around 300 cals doing 30 min cardio video with avg 155 HR. I wet my strap sensors good and tighten the strap so that it's borderline slightly uncomfortable at first but you get used to wearing it.
  • MsLadyVirgo
    MsLadyVirgo Posts: 160 Member
    Good morning,

    Make sure that:

    *you're wetting the 2 webbed areas on the strap?
    *the strap fits firmly, directly under your breasts area?
    *the transmitter is centered between your breast?

    I hope that this helps.
  • fitniknik
    fitniknik Posts: 713 Member
    Did you enter all of your personal info correctly? Weight, (in kg or lbs make sure because it makes a big diffrence in burned calories as im sure you know) Height, age, sex... its pretty easy to change if you dont have it in right.
  • beachbumdoug
    beachbumdoug Posts: 171 Member
    I just got mine about 2 weeks ago also. So far it seems pretty accurate, i wet the strap under the tap and make sure it is snug. i burn around 300 for a 30 minute video average hr around 130. Hope that helps!
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
    One more thought. I don't have a polar, so not sure if it has this setting or not, but my Suunto asks me to also set my daily activity level. The higher I set it, the less calories I burn. Might yours be set too high?
  • healthyjen342
    healthyjen342 Posts: 1,435 Member
    What was your starting heart rate? like when you pressed the start button? I have an FT7 (purchased in march), and I have noticed that if the number is LOW to begin with (and I'm talking like 65)..then it isnt going to work properly...I am taking mine back as soon as I lose 2 more lbs without it (whole different story)...Did you get a warranty? I would see about getting it checked

    Also, was there more cardio involved in your session or more weight training?
  • brown85
    brown85 Posts: 5
    I definitely have all my settings correct and made sure it's in KG and not pounds as that would make a huge difference (and me half of what I weigh! lol)

    I just run the strap under the water quickly so maybe I'm not wetting it enough. I'll make sure I wet it really well tomorrow and see if there is any difference.

    Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it! Will let you know how I go :)
  • bigdavet1
    bigdavet1 Posts: 1 Member
    Taking into account that your settings are correct and that the strap is wet enough before the start then in my opinion your strap may be faulty.

    There is a tendancy for the Polar straps to deteriorate and become useless (I've gone through three in as many years). You could ask your friend to swap straps and do a bit of fault finding/ problem solving by eradicating which (if anything) is at fault? whether it's your watch or strap?

    I agree that this shouldn't be happening after such a short time but you can't escape from the fact that not all goods are 100%.

    Hope you find a solution as i know how frustrating this can be.
  • brown85
    brown85 Posts: 5
    That's a good point actually. I think my resting heart rate is around 75-85 so I'll make sure I warm up before I put it on.

    In regards to training it both cardio and weight training and it gets my heart rate up pretty high. Even 45 mins of just cardio training along and I never seem to burn more than 300 calories.
  • Mamoonie
    Mamoonie Posts: 328
    On a personal training session I usually don't burn as many calories as on a cardio session I do on my own.
    It's because you may burn more fat than calories, doing more strength training than cardio with a personal trainer.
    At least it's like this for me.

    MM
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