• Review: Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor
  • Review: Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor

    Last month I decided to invest in a Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor to really improve my training. I love data and so wanted to know more about my performance during my workouts. The FT4 had been in my wish list since late last year after seeing practically all of the fitness accounts I follow on Instagram with one. I was hooked, I just had to get one!

    To be honest, I didn’t do as much research into Heart Rate Monitors as I probably should have done. There are many different brands that do HRMs, but I was heavily influenced after seeing everyone who I admire had a Polar. I did at least shop around on Polar’s website to see the wide range of HRMs they provided and decided the FT4 was the one for me.

    polar-ft4-heart-rate-monitor-review

    It comes with a chest strap (which you wear just under your bussoms ladies, where the band of your sports bra sits), the heart rate monitor device (which clips on to the chest strap) and the watch, which shows the readings. The Polar FT4 tells you your heart rate, your target zone and whether or not you are in the zone, how long you have been training for, the time and how many calories you have burned.

    When you are not training, it displays the date and time like a normal digital watch. Whilst you are training, you can easily flick between the different readings at the press of a button. I like to flick between my target zone and how many calories I’m burning. This shows me that I either need to work harder or take it easy so that I stay in the zone and don’t under or overtrain, as well as motivates me to keep going so that I get a good calorie burn.

    polar-ft4-heart-rate-monitor-review

    I’ve found that having the Polar FT4 HRM helps me push myself further and harder. When doing cardio, I would usually go by distance or time, but since having my Polar FT4 I’ve started checking calories and so I go longer or further until I get to a round number of calories (I just hate ending a workout on 284cals for example- it has to be 290 or 300!). When weight training, if I rest too long between sets my heart rate will drop out of the target zone, so I try to take shorter breaks to keep my heart rate up. If my body really is aching though, I will rest longer, even if I am out of the target zone so as not to cause an injury.


    I’m so glad I purchased the Polar FT4 HRM as it really does motivate me to work harder during my workouts and honestly, I need all the help I can get!


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    12 Comments

    1. April 25, 2013 / 1:57 pm

      This sounds so interesting! I’ve often wondered about HRMs, but I think I’ll have to let myself get into running more first so that I can justify it a bit better! ;)

      Rhiannon xx
      THE BARBELLE

      • April 25, 2013 / 5:49 pm

        I wanted it more for weight training as I had no idea how many calories I was burning! With the cardio machines in the gym, they give you a rough estimate once you put in your weight, age & sex so I was fine with that. But I wanted to know how many calories lifting weights burns x

    2. April 26, 2013 / 10:01 am

      I never really thought about it in terms of weightlifting! I’d find something like this really helpful in Body Pump or spin classes when I have no guidelines from machinery :)
      Natalie xoxoxo
      Theblondeethos.blogspot.co.uk

      • May 1, 2013 / 9:09 pm

        I haven’t tried it in classes yet but I’m sure it’ll be perfect for that! :) x

    3. April 29, 2013 / 3:33 pm

      I’ve been looking into this exact heart rate monitor, it’s like you knew :).
      I don’t think I really need it though so maybe if I find myself with a bit of extra cash then I might get it.

      Sally x
      Rainydayfaces.com

      • May 1, 2013 / 9:12 pm

        I honestly really recommend it. So if you do have some extra cash, I say treat yourself! :) x

    4. July 26, 2013 / 5:48 pm

      haha I’m just as neurotic as you. All my calorie burns have to be even numbers or end in 5.

    5. Lizzie
      December 26, 2014 / 10:07 pm

      Loving exploring your blog! Just wondered if you compared between the ft4 and the ft7 before you chose which to buy? I’m going to treat myself with Christmas money but unsure which to get. Any tips will be appreciated, so a huge thanks in advance! x

      • Cantara
        Author
        January 1, 2015 / 9:12 pm

        Hi Lizzie, ohh you’ll be glad you bought a Polar no matter which one you buy! I believe the main differences are that the FT7 tells you when you’re in the fat burning zone and what percentage of calories you’ve burned are from fat, which is really great if you are looking to lose fat! Also, the FT7 gives you a weekly summary so you can compare how you’ve done over the week. The FT4 doesn’t have these features, so if you’re happy with the higher price point then I’d say to go for the FT7, especially if you’re wanting to lose fat – I hope this helps! Let me know how you get on x

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