Heart Rate Monitor

sunkissedxo20
sunkissedxo20 Posts: 36
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
There are a lot of threads here about heart rate monitors, but I'm still unsure about what to get!

I want a heart rate monitor that I could use for workouts (P90x, turbofire, etc), running, AND daily walking...

That being said, I would prefer a heart rate monitor that doesn't require me to wear a strap + something that isn't too bulky.

Which HRM do you suggest?

Does the Polar FT7 or FT4 require the strap to be worn at all times or just the wrist watch? What is the difference between the FT4 and FT7? Any help is very much appreciated, thanks!

Replies

  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
    My Polar does have a strap. It will not operate without it. The ones with the straps do give a more accurate count.
  • jmeddows87
    jmeddows87 Posts: 23 Member
    I bought my Polar FT40 today, absolutely love it. It does have a strap but to be honest it's not very big and I don't notice it once I'm exercising. Well worth the money!
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    I just started using the FT4 and it has the strap. Why don't you want a strap? That's what makes the HRM accurate. I can't even feel mine when I wear it.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    I have an FT4 and I love it. I do have to wear the chest strap when using it, but it's very comfortable. I feel the FT4 is pretty accurate since it requires me to input my age, gender, weight, and height to help calculate my burn. It also stores data from my last 10 workouts and I can chose to display my calorie burn, heart rate, or time spent exercising. Since I got mine, 2 friends got the same HRM and they love theirs too.
  • kmuree
    kmuree Posts: 283 Member
    The ones with the strap give optimal count. (: It's very comfortable. On my Polar FT4, all I have to do is wet the two sensors, put it on under my bra and the wrist watch keeps track of the data the strap gives it. It monitors the time, length of my workout, heart rate and whether or not my heart rate is in the right zone for my sex and weight for optimal fitness.

    It was worth every penny.
  • goldfinger88
    goldfinger88 Posts: 686 Member
    Most people here like Polar and they're good. But I, like you, hate a strap. I don't even wear a bra. I use a Sportline and find it very accurate and easy to use.
  • MelissaMisevicz
    MelissaMisevicz Posts: 9
    I had a hard time with one without a strap reading my heart rate and when it did I had to be standing still and not sweaty. I have the FT4 now and it isn't uncomfortable at all.
  • lunamare
    lunamare Posts: 569 Member
    The watch of a HRM will work without the strap but the HRM won't. If you're looking for something to wear all day to track your calories burned etc you want a Fit Bit or something along those lines, not a HRM. A HRM is only worn when you are active to track your heart rate.
  • _HeathBar_
    _HeathBar_ Posts: 902 Member
    If you are going to get a HRM it needs the strap in order for it to give you an accurate calorie burn estimate. I have had a FT4 for a couple years and have found it very useful and durable.
  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
    I was under the impression that the strap is what made the HRM accurate.
  • goldfinger88
    goldfinger88 Posts: 686 Member
    I don't agree that the strap makes it accurate. I have an ipad app that's very accurate and it doesn't touch my body. I check it against my blood pressure monitor and HRM.
  • ldalbello
    ldalbello Posts: 207 Member
    You can change the battery yourself with the FT-7, the FT-4 you have to send to the manufacturer or so I've been told.
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    Polar FT4 has a strap as others have said. I believe the only difference between the 4 and the 7 is that the 7 saves more exercises for you. Personally, that wasn't necessary for me.

    I have a Polar FT4 and it works perfectly. Plus it wasn't as expensive as all the others because it doesn't come with all the "bells and whistles"

    If you're worried about the strap, so was I. But once I tried it I realized it wasn't bad at all. You get used to it and forget that it is even there. The strap fits nicely under my sports bra and the sensor gets hidden between the girls :wink:
  • ozerion
    ozerion Posts: 47 Member
    I don't agree that the strap makes it accurate. I have an ipad app that's very accurate and it doesn't touch my body. I check it against my blood pressure monitor and HRM.

    What app is this? Do you lug your iPad on runs?
  • robert65ferguson
    robert65ferguson Posts: 390 Member
    The most effective HRMs are those which use a chest strap. Azdak has an excellent blog on here which gives a comprehensive overview of HRMs and how to set them up. It's well worth reading. Just use the search facility on here to navigate to his blog.
  • allisonmrn
    allisonmrn Posts: 721 Member
    I change the batteries in mine...in both the strap and the wrist watch. Its easy and cheaper than sending it to the manufacturer. I love mine, but have had to put it away. I was wearing it all the time. It was an obsession..... lol. ;-) I am doing more heavy lifting now anyway, so I think it is not very accurate with that sort of excercise.( I could be wrong). I would def recommend either one though....I have had both. :-)
  • dbevisjr
    dbevisjr Posts: 183
    All HRMs thst I have looked at that require no strap do not provide continuous info. They have one or two contacts on the wristwatch that you must touch your fingers to in order to get a momentary read. If I remember correctly the FT4 and FT7 both require a chest strap. I did see one model that had a chest strap but also had the contacts on the watch so that you could also use it without but only for momentary information. If I remember what model I will re-post.
  • AmyLRed
    AmyLRed Posts: 856 Member
    There are a lot of threads here about heart rate monitors, but I'm still unsure about what to get!

    I want a heart rate monitor that I could use for workouts (P90x, turbofire, etc), running, AND daily walking...

    That being said, I would prefer a heart rate monitor that doesn't require me to wear a strap + something that isn't too bulky.

    Which HRM do you suggest?

    Does the Polar FT7 or FT4 require the strap to be worn at all times or just the wrist watch? What is the difference between the FT4 and FT7? Any help is very much appreciated, thanks!


    like others said, you really do want the strap, and yes, you ned it for the FT4 and the FT7. Those were also the same two models i was deciding between. The Polar website has a section where you can compare the features and i ultimately went with the FT7 for a few reasons but i think one of the differences is that the FT7 can track miles/distance and the FT4 i think does not. It also hold more data (workouts recorded). I dont rememeber if there are other differnces or not, check out the website though.

    My chest strap sits just below my sports bra, it is not uncomfortable, bulky, or in the way, and it doesnt even show with my workout tops on. I usually forget i have it on!
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
    I WOULDN'T buy one without the strap, that is the part the MONITORS YOUR HEART RATE. :huh:

    It's not that bulky, if that is what you are worried about.

    I have the Polar FT4 and I just loooove it.:love:
  • Moriarty_697
    Moriarty_697 Posts: 226 Member
    The strap is worth getting used to as they are the most accurate HRM's out there. If you want an HRM to help you exercise, you owe it to yourself to get the most accurate type.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
    I use a Garmin forerunner 305 it does use a strap but it is alos a GPS and you can upload all your data to their website and track everything on a map, elevation, HR, Pacing, ect ect its a nice tool. But this is way more than a HRM if that is all you will ever use it for then I would not recommend this becouse you can get nice HRM for less. Oh yea you can program all your data so it will beep at you if your pace is too slow or if your HR falls below a certain level ect ect.
  • melissachipman123
    melissachipman123 Posts: 64
    I bought 2 and returned them bought the polar ft4 and it's so simple and easy! Strap does not bother you at all! The other 2 I bought where complicated and inaccurate! Buy the polar I had a 20% coupon for sports authority so was only 70 dollars!
  • Lay821
    Lay821 Posts: 73 Member
    just bought FT60 hope its as great as ppl claim!
  • johnscat1981
    johnscat1981 Posts: 27 Member
    Bump
  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
    I don't agree that the strap makes it accurate. I have an ipad app that's very accurate and it doesn't touch my body. I check it against my blood pressure monitor and HRM.

    This makes no sense. We are talking about Heart Rate Monitors, the whole purpose of which is to accurately estimate calories burned by monitoring your heart rate! (Hence the name.) A Heart Rate Monitor needs to have a chest strap to be accurate, because that's the part that monitors your heart rate.

    Whatever your iPad app does, I guarantee it is not monitoring your heart rate without touching your body, therefore the fact that it does not require a chest strap is quite irrelevant to a discussion of Heart Rate Monitors.
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