In this week's Health & Weight Loss 4 my tip was to track progress. A while ago I was sent the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor to review and I've been using it during my workouts.
The Polar FT7 is a watch that helps you track your progress during training. With a separate heart rate monitor wrapped around your chest it tracks calories burned as well as your heart rate. I wear it most days as a regular watch, but when training I grab the included heart rate monitor. I've used it while walking with friends, doing yoga and while running. The Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor costs £93.50.
The watch is easy to use, finding your heart rate easily which allows you to get on with the workout. A glance down at my wrist when working out and I can see when I need to increase the intensity or ease off. The watch is water resistant to 30m so can be used for swimming too.
The heart rate monitor was adjustable but I had it as tight as it would go. Anyone smaller than me (size 12) might find the strap a bit too big. There are separate devices for you to sync your training results to the computer and load onto the Polar website. This was a barrier for me, I didn't log onto the website and wrote the results down instead. I'd much prefer my results to upload to an app on my phone, updating my progress wirelessly.
Here's a summary for the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor:
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Helps improve training
- Usable for swimming
Cons:
- Separate device to sync to computer
- Heart rate monitor sizing
- Separate heart rate monitor
Ratings (out of 10):
Ease of Use: 9
Ability to Improve Workout: 7
Value for Money: 8
Overall Rating: 8/10
I was sent the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.