I have to give a report/review on polar Heart Rate Monitor!!!!!!

Thank you to Runner_Girl who talked me out of cheaping out!  I'm so glad I didn't buy the less expensive one!

WOW dont believe the readings (calories and heart rate) on the elliptical/stairclimber/treadmill/bike says!!!  WAY OFF!

First of all, the monitor transmits the heart rate read out directly to your machine so you don't ever have to worry about placing your hands on the metal pads to get a readout!!!  Very nice bonus!

I was monitoring the calories burned between the two readouts and I found that the reading on the treadmill was approximately 30% higher than my reading on MY monitor.  The reading, did get MORE accurate the higher my heart rate got, however, still not accurate enough for me.

I am still learning a ton about weight loss and exercise and I really had NO idea that calories burned was a direct link to rate of heart beat!  I know I must be really sheltered, but for someone who NEVER exercised, I would have no reason for knowing that!

This monitor is also great as it gives you an alarm if you exceed your recommended "higher" heart rate.  As well as if you go "below".  By the time I was done 45 minutes on the treadmill, my caloric readout was 505 calories and my actual was 360.  Big difference?  The watch part of the monitor also gives you a summary at the end....including average heart rate, maximum heart rate, minutes you stayed "in the zone", calories burned, overall minutes and 'bullets'.  These bullets are a fun little thing.  For every 10 minutes your heart rate stays CONSISTENTLY in the zone, you receive a bullet!  I like this feature cuz it gives you a little push to strive for yet another bullet each time!  I found that utilizing this monitor by pushing my heart rate to maximum...keeping it there for 1-2 minutes then recovering for 2-3 minutes really made the time go by faster!  That was the fastest 45 minutes EVER!!!  However, the best part about this whole thing is I am CONFIDENT knowing that I am NOW logging VERY accurate calculations for my calories IN vs calories OUT!

PS>  NO i am not a spokes person for POLAR! LOL

~H~

 

WOW.

what an endorsement! I'm very interested and never even heard of it. maybe for Christmas...

:) thanks!

I have one that I wear while cycling so that I can make sure I am working hard enough. I like that it works on the treadmills and such. I have also noticed that the machines give a higher calorie burned count.

I also like the way it keeps track of the last few workouts so I can compare my workouts. The more I use it the more I like it. For me it is almost like a coach to tell me to keep going and push through the lazyness I somtimes get.

Which model did you purchase? Where do you wear it? How much was it?

Thanks!

This is the one I bought

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.c fm?SKU=20980&subcategory_ID=4115

You can find them at target too.

Polar F4 Women's model.....$99.99

Worth EVERY cent!

~H~

 

Where I wear it??

The chest strap you wear under your shirt.  Once you size it to fit you, just use the rubber clips to attach and unattach.  You can't even feel it!  It's very flexible and totally comfortable.   This strap transmits to the watch you wear on your wrist....as well as to the cardio machine you are working out on!

AMAZING!

 

Where I wear it??

The chest strap you wear under your shirt.  Once you size it to fit you, just use the rubber clips to attach and unattach.  You can't even feel it!  It's very flexible and totally comfortable.   This strap transmits to the watch you wear on your wrist....as well as to the cardio machine you are working out on!

AMAZING!

 

I used to have one of these and it was great! really! when i first got it, i started walking fast and it would beep if i went under the target heart rate and if i went over. as the pounds started to melt away, i had to start speed walking to keep my heart rate up. pretty soon i had to start to jog! then run! no kidding! i ran a 8K that year and did now stop! but, when i left my ex, i took only what would fit in my car and ended up with the chest strap and not the watch. this was 3 years ago. sense then i had put on 35 lbs. i have lost 25 so far and have 10 left to go. i seen the wonderful "body bugg" advertised and asked jeff for that for christmas. he got it for me. but, after asking advise from people that have used it, i changed my mind and he took it back. i told him that the polar was a way better deal for the money. so, he is getting me one. i asked for the f11.

worth the money all really. and the other feature i loved? if you miss more than 2 days of working out, an alarm goes off! very motivating!

Kat 

my roommate has one that she uses when we did workout classes so we would know how much we burned - hers also keeps track of how much you work out for the week and lets you know on monday how much you have burned, its really cool! i used it once and i don't think i will ever be able to go back to not knowing!

i asked for the f11 for christmas and my mom originally said she wouldn't buy it for me, but i managed to talk her into it and she said she was probably going to order one for herself too!  

I Loved this thread today- very timely for me, lol!

I saw a Nutritionist/Dietician/RN today- and one of the first things she recommended was a monitor! And add regular cardio...!

She said I was doing fine, just add the cardio- with the monitor to know what I'm really doing in an accurate way, and "Keep Doing What I'm Doing!"

CC got GOOD GRADES, lol!!!

Thanks for the thread and posts, everybody!

I've been using a Polar heart monitor like that for six months and I love it.  I use it the entire time at the gym, so know what my total workout was, from jogging on the track, to more accurate readings for the machine.  HIGHLY recommend it.

I only use my Polar for cycling (so I don't get lost - I have very bad sense of time, speed and distance, so it helps a lot). It also reminds me that I have to drink every 10 minutes, because otherwise I only would every 30.

My normal, relaxed heartbeat during sitting is higher than it should be and even though I entered it in, it still shows that I burn up to 900-1000 kcal per hour (which is HUUUGE). I'm estimating it's more like 660 (mountain cycling).

That's why it's also hard for me to stay in the aerobic zone, I'm always pushing myself to 200 bpm. Well, it's not exactly pushing, because I don't have a problem with maintaining the speed at that heartrate. I also noticed that before I go downhill on a new way, my heartbeat can raise up to as much as it does when I climb that hill! So yeah.. I guess I'm an adrenaline addict

And I'm perfectly healthy and normal weight and toned and all.. My heartbeat therefore shouldn't really be that high because my heart is supposed to be used to it, no?

Either way, I don't monitor my heartrate during running or on the stepper (I don't go to they gym, I do cheap sports at home :)), because it shows way higher expenditure than my stepper (it was so cheap it only has an approximation, it doesn't have any electrodes to touch, so it shows the calories that an average person would burn), so I'll just believe that. If I combine it with how/what I eat and how much I weigh, the results aren't that far off.

(To be honest, what I like the most is looking at the speedometer. And if I had the version that calculates your running speed, I'd be very disappointed, hehe.)