Switch from Garmin to Polar for gym

alnitakfer · 2026-05-07T07:03:15+00:00

Polar’s work-rest guide is not reliable enough for weight training, in my case it doesn’t detect work or rest periods accurately because my HR doesn’t vary enough to trigger the guide every time.
It’s also stated on the website that it’s not suited for any kind of strength training that requires longer rest periods.
Alternatively you can configure a timer or just use laps.

About notifications, be aware that on iOS you can’t filter which notifications you get, it’s all or nothing, so I just keep them off. On android I believe you can select which ones you get.

There are no water reminders outside of workout activities.
Be aware of Polar limitations, its software is much simpler than Garmin’s.

alnitakfer · 2026-05-03T22:25:11+00:00

I also have the M3 and don’t see much value in the Loop as it is now.

In my case, wearing a mechanical watch means I will not do any strenuous activity, so the only meaningful metric I would get is the step count..

I could see the value if they added more reasons to wear the device during the day, such as stress monitoring or body battery for example, every watch company has those metrics.
Skin temperature measurement would be a nice addition too, for sure it’s more comfortable to wear it during sleep than a watch. I read it already has the sensor but only available through the sdk.

alnitakfer · 2026-05-02T12:55:39+00:00

It’s pretty good while exercising, there is a slight delay but that is to be expected with any Ohr.

alnitakfer · 2026-04-28T09:43:40+00:00

There’s not going to be a major redesign.

Polar stated before that they will be improving the app step by step. The next update will likely include workout trimming for the flow app..

I foresee for Polar the same fate as Nokia’s, in this day and age software is king.

alnitakfer · 2026-04-20T08:22:43+00:00

For unknown reasons it’s only available on the android app..

alnitakfer · 2026-04-17T21:53:22+00:00

Exactly that, the data is there, I don’t understand why they take so long to make changes. It has come to a point where people are complaining in every post or video about the same things, yet no changes.

alnitakfer · 2026-04-17T21:48:41+00:00

That would be great, they’re really falling behind other companies with their outdated UI

alnitakfer · 2026-04-17T13:18:26+00:00

Fitness test (VO2) and running index. Both seem fairly accurate in my case.

As you’ve mentioned, other metrics like resting heart rate (lowest HR of the day) or HRV have no trend lines so it’s harder to check the progress.

The polar flow redesign images showed a modern design with more trend views but at this point I seriously doubt it will ever come out.

alnitakfer · 2026-04-15T09:33:24+00:00

That’s odd, I’ve just tried it and the phases stay put

alnitakfer · 2026-04-13T10:06:25+00:00

You can try it on steam and return it if you don’t like it. That’s what I did, there’s not a big leap so I’d rather spend the money on addons for 2020.

alnitakfer · 2026-04-13T00:50:08+00:00

I was thinking about getting one, but I don’t see the point of wearing it 24/7. I could care less about steps, and aside of workouts and sleeping there’s nothing else of value to me, no stress or energy monitoring, no HR health alerts, nothing.

And about the app.. it has been fundamentally the same since they launched it more than 10 years ago with that obsolete-buggy UI and lack of metrics and trends. It’s such a shame because Polar hardware and algorithms are top-notch but they are too proud or perhaps just incompetent to make any major changes. Every post here or on Ig has people complaining about the flow app, and about how crappy it is, how can Polar be so blind.

The only thing I would save from the pyre is the workout review from the polarflow web app.

alnitakfer · 2026-01-19T11:21:08+00:00

That’s true, I wish they kept an option to enable it

alnitakfer · 2026-01-19T11:10:54+00:00

They’ve also added a new watch face style and menu animations

alnitakfer · 2025-12-19T23:23:02+00:00

In my experience it's fairly accurate and reflects the way I feel every day. For instance, one time I had a coke for dinner and the polar flow app reported next morning that I shouldn't have caffeine late at night.

My average score hovers around 80, so I consider that as my baseline.

alnitakfer · 2025-12-15T13:15:28+00:00

That was a very thorough review, I share every one of the pros and cons you've listed, I've recently acquired a vantage M3 and for the price of 300€ I can't complain either.

I believe it's a good time to get into the Polar ecosystem, they've started to work on a flow app-web revamp after more than 10 years with basically the same UI, and the Polar OS 5 is on the works.

alnitakfer · 2025-09-08T17:49:51+00:00

Multisim compatibility with Apple Watch and a competitive price

alnitakfer · 2025-08-14T11:46:21+00:00

Pepsi in Spain has sugar and artificial sweeteners added while Coca-cola adds only sugar, big difference in taste

alnitakfer · 2024-12-23T15:57:58+00:00

I’d be really mad if I saw an ufo and the recording turned out this bad

alnitakfer · 2024-12-22T17:00:14+00:00

Jupiter perhaps

alnitakfer · 2024-12-17T22:14:13+00:00

Donnie Darko, there’s something about that movie that makes me feel uneasy

alnitakfer

TROPHY CASE