Polar FT7 Review

I received the Polar FT7 heart rate monitoring watch as a birthday present and the thing I like most is that its water proof and I never have to take it off. Then when going for a run just put on the chest strap. For some reason I feel more motivated to run when its simple to get ready. When originally setting up the watch you put in your age and weight so it knows what your target training range is. During exercise it measures your heart rate in beats per minute, then indicates whether you are exceeding or falling below your target zone. I've never heard it beep for going too slow but I have heard it go off when my heart rate got too high usually around 165 it will start complaining. This feature can be turned off if it gets too annoying.

Another feature is the EnergyPointer, which tells you whether the main effect of your training is to improve your fitness or burn fat. I was surprised to learn that because my heart rate has been high, I've mostly been working on fitness as opposed to loosing weight. I've now learnt that walking keeps my heart rate lower which is better for weight loss. Who would have thought?

The FT7 also comes with a calendar function, which tracks energy expenditure during a single exercise session as well as your accumulated kilocalories throughout the week. As you progress, you can set goals for burning set amounts of calories. The only downside I have found with this watch is that you need to buy an extra accessory called 'Flowlink' to connect it to a PC. And without the Flowlink device you can't upload the data to the polar website where the training data can be seen more visually. The flowlink costs an extra $50.

The Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor is available to buy here from Amazon. They are now under US$100 which is much cheaper from when mine was purchased.

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Posted: 1 year, 5 months ago by al.do #414

Polar watches are reliable and simple to use, I have just offered one to my wife to encourage her to start exercising. For those who wish however to have a more detailed picture of their training, here is an alternative solution:

Run.GPS (19 Euro) + Zephyr HxM (99 USD)

Below, an example of training result with such a combination of technologies:
www.gps-sport.net/trainings/Rosemont-Cro...slas-Rosemont_355933

The feature “Start training Simulator” (at the end of the page referenced above) is a powerful tool to analyze your training … and to motivate yourself!

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