Review: Polar FT4 Watch

Not too long ago, I ran for Shape Run 2015. For the fun of it, I took a #flatlay the night before the race just so to ease off the pre race jitters. I didn't actually know there's a ongoing Shape Contest and it's only until after the race then I came to know about it. 

But there were quite a number of people posting their #flatlay or #ootd for this contest so I never think I will be lucky enough to win the prize. 

It was only till one fine day I saw shape_sg commenting on my photos! It happened during sometime near the end of August (more than a month after the race). I totally forgot about this contest so when I saw the comment, it totally caught me by surprise :)  

I remember I did googled it once before to find out more about the watch. I do like this watch because it's in my favourite color and it looks kind of cute haha! Very similar to the tamagotchi I used to once owned when I was a kid. 

Though having a heartrate monitor watch is something good to have especially for runners, I did not think of buying it so soon. It was part of my to-buy list in the near future. 

And that's how it looks like. 

After few weeks of waiting, I finally received the letter to bring down for redemption of the watch :) 

Felt so excited because I can't wait to use it! The redemption hours is from Mon - Fri and only during office hours. I accumulated a number of wedding errands to run so I took half day leave to run those errands and also to collect this watch. 

Say Hi to my new 'baby' :)

I started configuring the watch once I reached home that day. I was first asked to set the language and to input my height and weight. Not forgetting I've to set the date and time too. I can't really remember if there's any other information I set but these are the main few important ones. 

That's how it looks like once you press the middle button on the right hand side. You will be brought to this page and the heart rate is only caculated when you wear the heart rate monitor below your chest area. It comes with a strap for you to strap across your body. 

That's the heart rate monitor(on the left) that I'm talking about. It will detect your heart rate and reflect it on your watch. 

Come to think of it, I've an additional thing to wear/bring out when I go for a run. The watch will just be another digital watch if I forgot to wear the heart rate monitor out. It took me awhile to adjust the tightness of the strap across my body to a comfortable level. At first I wasn't really used to it, but sooner or later I got used to it.

Due to the hazy weather that comes and goes so often, when the skies are clearer I will seize the opportunity to go for a run.

One of the run during the not so hazy day. 

Other than showing the duration of the work out and calories burn, it also allow you to monitor the calories burned and your heart rate during your work out. 

However, I find it a chore to keep switching the screen here and there (by pressing the right bottom button to change view), so I will usually stick to the heart rate page till I end my workout. 

One example of the summary of the heartrate page after I end my workout.

I did up some research and this is what I found

"The basic way to calculate your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220. For example, if you're 45 years old, subtract 45 from 220 to get a maximum heart rate of 175. This is the maximum number of times your heart should beat per minute while you're exercising."

I usually keep my heart rate below 180 which is my comfort zone. I supposed I'm still at the optimal condition to burn fats! I believe this heart rate monitor watch will come in useful when I go for races and training next time.

Once again, I will like to thank shape_sg  for this watch :)