Polar FT4 newbie

skcornett
skcornett Posts: 169 Member
edited November 10 in Fitness and Exercise
I traded in my wrist-watch style HRM for a Polar FT4 this weekend, but something isn't working right. I worked out for 40 minutes tonight and it said I only burned 159 calories. Based on about three other calculations, I burned over 500. So, what did I do wrong on the FT4?

Ladies - where do you place your chest strap? I was wondering if I didn't place it right. The device captured the data - but not sure what I did wrong. Those of you in the IT world might refer to this as an ID-10-T error....ID IO T.

I'm getting ready to check all of my settings to make sure height/weight/gender is correct. Would appreciate any feedback.

Replies

  • jody664
    jody664 Posts: 397 Member
    Did you wet down the chest strap before putting it on? That's very important to do for connectivity's sake.

    I usually wear mine just under the band of my sports bra. Also when you first start it, it should tell you if you have a good signal or not. If not, you might want to readjust it. And yes, check those settings to make sure it has your weight and gender correct...That could definitely throw it off.

    Good luck!

    P.S. I've only had mine for about 3 weeks, so I'm far from the expert. Hopefully somone who knows more than me can give you some better pointers.
  • clarebrad
    clarebrad Posts: 188 Member
    bump
  • einee14
    einee14 Posts: 13 Member
    if you go by the "machines" on the gym...like the what the bike says you burned is usually off a lot...I'll wear my heart rate monitor, think it's a polar F6, and its off by about 100-200 calories less what the bike says...heart rate monitor is right....40 minutes of biking on a stationary bike would be very hard to get to 500 calories! In a spin class, I would work my *kitten* off to get to 500! I would bet your heart rate monitor is right!...sorry I know that sucks!
  • dmouse0225
    dmouse0225 Posts: 104
    I wear mine just under my chest. Make sure it is flat on the skin, and that you wet the sensors. Also, when you start it, it gives you your heart rate... start it while doing nothing, take your own heart rate and compare to what the watch says to make sure it is the same...
  • twiztedgrl69
    twiztedgrl69 Posts: 191 Member
    definitely make sure it's wet enough...I didn't wet mine enough one time it was a low count because it kept losing connection
  • fourthirtyten
    fourthirtyten Posts: 67
    Make sure:
    - The electrodes on the strap are wet before you put it on.
    - The strap is tight enough. (Really! I've had to tighten mine twice already and I just got it for Christmas.)
    - Your information is correct.

    I wear my strap right underneath my sports bra - at least right in the center of your chest, so technically mine ends up right below my boobs; that's pretty much the most accurate to me considering that's where your heart is contracting.
  • LessOfMePlease
    LessOfMePlease Posts: 50 Member
    Now perhaps I'm the ID-10-T for not reading my owner's manual (at least I'm honest!) but I don't wet my strap down... I just adjust it over my rib cage and under the breast area until it shows a strong heart rate reading... I place the transmitter square in the center over my xiphoid process.

    I am guessing there was a loss of signal OR the settings need tweaked (as you mentioned you would be checking on).
  • inetgirl
    inetgirl Posts: 174 Member
    The only advice I can give is to make sure the chest strap (where the silver part is) is wet down. I hold mine under water for a good min. Also I place my chest strap under my sports bra with the reader right between my boobs. Sorry did not have a better explanation of where to put it.

    Also, check where your heart range in, mine in the heart rate zone is between 122 and 161..If I am not in that zone than the calories burned are a lot lower.

    It does not track strength hardly at all. So if your calories were burned from doing that, then I would go with the other calculations. I think this band is great for cardio though.

    Hope this helps :)
  • belantan000
    belantan000 Posts: 1
    500 for 40minutes work-out is too much... don't you think? Info on FT4 is correct... i think, the amount of calorie burned depends a lot on the how hard you do your workout... the other day, I brisk walked for 1.2km --> 50kcal, then when i jogged for 1.2km --> almost 100kcal
  • paulwgun
    paulwgun Posts: 439 Member
    Just to give you an idea
    Im 49 and my max HR is 170ish, last Saturday doing an intense spin class for 45min and then 10 min of intense rowing including warm up and cool down a total of 1.04 hrs gave me a calorie burn of 634 my max heart rate reached 163
  • lizjames1971
    lizjames1971 Posts: 39
    I burn much higher with my heart rate monitor than the gym machines- sometimes nearly 200 cals more after an hours run!! The only time I haven't got a decent burn/number was when the battery was dying?! Unlikely when it's new although my original battery lasted considerably less time than my current battery!! 500 is not too high for 40 mins cycling- I burn at least 800 in 60 minutes!
  • godricshollow
    godricshollow Posts: 274 Member
    Make sure the silver/grey bits of the chest strap are wet enough! I usually wear mine just underneath my sports bra :)

    Also, sort of piggybacking this post. Anyone else with an FT4 or any HRM for that matter, have an issue where every single cross trainer / treadmill / stationary bike picks up the wireless data on your HRM? I wore my new one to the gym the other day and my heart rate was displayed on every machine. It was sort of hilarious... lucky nobody else was in there at the time!
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    What kind of exercise were you doing? 30DS, running, walking, etc?

    All are going to have a different calorie burn and if you weren't really exerting yourself, well then you prob. did really burn 159 calories.
  • skcornett
    skcornett Posts: 169 Member
    Thanks to everyone for your input. I consistently have pretty good calorie burns - I'm still pretty big and it doesn't take much to get that heart moving for me. I've discussed it with my trainer and he thinks we've been on target with what my last HRM was reporting. I don't rely on the machines at the gym because they don't take age, gender, and other info into account.

    Last night was a tough workout - heart rate stayed up in the range like it was supposed to. There was jogging and biking and other cardio. I'm thinking that my placement might have been off - all the settings were correct. So, I'll try again tonight and I'll make sure the strap is really wet.
  • juliedee6
    juliedee6 Posts: 46 Member
    Make sure that you are rinsing the fabric strips well after each workout, and wash each week as indicated in the owner's manual. I went too long one time without washing and I burned 8 calories in 45 minutes!
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    Did you wet down the chest strap before putting it on? That's very important to do for connectivity's sake.

    I usually wear mine just under the band of my sports bra. Also when you first start it, it should tell you if you have a good signal or not. If not, you might want to readjust it. And yes, check those settings to make sure it has your weight and gender correct...That could definitely throw it off.

    Good luck!

    P.S. I've only had mine for about 3 weeks, so I'm far from the expert. Hopefully somone who knows more than me can give you some better pointers.

    I've had mine over a year, and your thoughts are spot on.
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