Inspiration to move with the Polar A360
This post is sponsored by Fitfluential on behalf of Polar.
Heading into the New Year, my fitness goals are pretty straightforward. I’ll write a post about it, but I’d love to increase my strength and cardio endurance, run another half marathon, and build some lean muscle.
My number one priority is moving on a consistent basis again, and with the Polar A360, it’s been a great nudge to get back into it.
Since I took off the necessary 6 weeks postpartum to recover from birth, at first, I thought it would be like a fitness vacation to recharge and hit it again with gusto when I was cleared to resume activity. I was like, “Oh, this is nice, I’m going to feel so refreshed when I can return to the fitness game. “ After the first week, I felt completely normal and my attitude changed. I was itching to move again. I feel so much better when I get in a sweat session, and it’s a fresh breath of “me time” amidst the many actions involved in keeping two small children alive, happy, fed and entertained. When the midwife cleared me to work out again, of course I was excited, and then I was like, “How am I going to have time to work out?” It can be a little tricky when you feel like you don’t take a breath until you collapse into bed.
Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled when Polar sent me one of their new A360s to test out. Not only would it provide some motivation to safely resume my activities, but also a way to monitor my heart rate throughout workout sessions.
Here are some of the things I’ve noticed:
Even though I feel like I’m on the move all day, since we’re still not quite out and about as much, my step count has gone way down.
I was excited for the insightful data from this monitor… except the sleep part. I didn’t need to know how much sleep I’m (not) getting. Haha.
When you wear a fitness tracker, you’ll get a lot of questions! I always love to ask about how people like their fitness trackers, so I’ve been happy to share the love and how much I’ve been enjoying the A360.
Pros:
Motivation to move. Just knowing that you’re trying to reach a 10k step goal is extra encouragement to take small actions throughout the day to accomplish it, like parking farther away, taking the steps whenever possible, or extending the dance party time with your preschooler. For the record, if you find that you’re low on steps, just do some Zumba songs. (YouTube has a ton.) BOOM. It’s an easy and fun way to get some extra movement!
I love the giant touch screen. I haven’t tried anything like this, and you can easily scroll to view your day, heart rate, the time, and what you’d need to do to reach your 10k goal.
The app is extremely user-friendly. You can access it on your computer or phone, and quickly sync to see how you’re doing. I’ve found that since the tracker itself provides a lot of information, I don’t usually need to check into the app much throughout the day. It’s a nice way to view patterns over the span of a month or week.
The A360 also tracks your heart rate. This is particularly awesome for classes or activities that don’t register as high step counts, but are still great workouts, like BODYPUMP and Spin.
It’s also waterproof and you can get notifications, like incoming calls, messages and your calendar. I love that they added some smartphone features!
Cons:
The only con I’ve noticed is that the band and screen are very large on my freakishly small wrists. Even so, it’s very comfortable to wear and use.
Is there a daily goal you try to hit? For me, I always try to make sure I get enough water, and some type of protein and produce in every meal and snack. When I’m wearing a fitness tracker, I like to try and crush my 10k step goal.
Leave a comment below, and I’ll surprise a lucky reader with an A360 of their own. 😉
xoxo
Gina
This is a sponsored post, but the giveaway is being sponsored by yours truly. Thank you so much for supporting this blog and the companies who help to support our family.
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Polar.
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Drinking enough water and cutting back on sugar are my goals. We try to get moving more which is hard in the cold weather but when the temperature allows us I get outside with my girls as much as possible.
After having some major surgery in October I have found that I am extremely limited in what I can do for exercise. It especially sucks cause I finally feel good enough to do it, but the Dr says NO. The main thing I can do for exercise is just walking (for at least 6 months) Im definitely trying to get my 10,000 steps in & hopefully build up to about 15,00 in the next couple of months.
PS. I love that bracelet!!!!!
As a grad school student, my exercise habit has suffered this last year. I would love this as an added motivation to get moving!
I try to get my water in every day. It can be a challenge occasionally.
I would love to really start working on getting more activity in during the day. My job has me sitting in meetings more often than I would like.
Thank you for sharing this review! I’ve been trying to decide which type of fitness tracker to get and this one wasn’t even on my radar! Happy New year to you & your beautiful family!
I need an accountability boost! I’ve been eating poorly lately and that makes me not make exercising a priority.
My daily goal is to do something good for my body, whether that’s walking, a workout, or foam rolling.
I sit at a desk at work about 8-9 hours per day, so I’m trying to recommit to moving in 2016 by setting a goal of 10,000 steps. It motivates me to take quick walking breaks throughout the day, which is good mentally and physically!
I definitely try to move every day and try to hit more than 10K a day!
My baby is almost 6 months old! Having a hard time getting motivated and finding the time to move…I know I’d feel better-can’t wait until Post Baby Bod! My last heart rate monitor broke a couple of years ago and I have yet to replace it, it sure did help me stay motivated! Would love a shot at winning this one! Thanks for all you do!
I love how popular fitness trackers are becoming- they provide such great motivation! This looks like a stellar one, and I love the added heart rate monitoring!!! 🙂
Sounds awesome! I’ve been debating what fitness tracker to get since I lost my fitbit flex…
I also like to focus on moving throughout the day. This looks like a great tool. Happy New Year! Thanks for the giveaway!
I have a fitness tracker now, but would love one that tracked heart rate, too, as I do a lot of workouts that don’t involve many steps (weightlifting, circuits, HIIT, etc.). My tracker always says I burned way more calories on a day when I was running errands than a day when I work at a desk and do an hour bootcamp session after, even though I know they are probably more even in the end.
Does it track your inactivity time?
yes, and if you’re sedentary for an hour, it vibrates and tells you to get up and move 😉
Thanks for the giveaway. I have a Polar F4 that I love, but have been considering a fitness tracker with a HR monitor. I would love to see how much sleep I am getting, and I would like more motivation to get up and move.
I’m trying to move every single day yet making sure to take rest days. Oh, and to be more vigilant counting my macros, lol.
My goals for 2016 are to better manage portion control and try new workouts. This seems like a great product!
This sounds like and looks like a great activity tracker! Lucky whoever wins it:)
i try to hit 10000 steps a day and also keep track of my water intake.
I just turned 59! I need this technology to reach my goals.
I do a lot of boot camp and body pump type workouts – it would be great to know what my heart rate and calorie burn is!!
I try to hit 10K every day, but in the winter, that seems harder for me to do because I don’t belong to a gym or have a treadmill at home.
Happy 2016!
Wow this looks fantastic! What a fun way to stay inspired in the new year! I used to have an early Polar years ago (like 15 yrs, yikes) and I miss knowing what level I’m actually working out at. This would be a great addition to 2016 resolutions!
I love the heart rate feature. I’ve been curious about these trackers and would love to see how many steps I take a day as a teacher. I just invested in a spin bike, and the HR monitor would be a great asset
I use my phone’s monitor to try to hit 10k steps a day, but I don’t find it very accurate and it’s not always on me, so a wearable tracker would be great.
I love that it has smartphone features!
I’ve been researching something like this for a long time! I’m still on the fence about which to buy but I’m doing a lot of research
wondering and figured you would be the person to ask!
i run 4 days (varied with purpose), rest or active rest one day, and two days of just no set workouts that i would like for more strength building. my husband got me the home set for Physique 57 and was wondering what is the best way to integrate P57 into my weekly routine??
i would do something like:
long run
off
physique 57 + short easy run
tempo/interval run
physique 57
off
easy run
Great review of the watch. I would love to track all my different workouts and see how many steps I take on a regular day as a school teacher.
Love that this is waterproof too! been trying to find one that an monitor my swims along with my other activities!
I have a simple Polar heart rate monitor and a jawbone Up. I love to be able to track my workouts. The A360 sounds like it’s everything packed into one. I would love to upgrade!
Getting in my 10K steps is something that I love a tracker for.
I would Love to have that tracker, I need to move more””
My daily goals are at least 5 to 10 minutes of yoga each morning in addition to moving 10K steps a day.
Thanks for sponsoring!
My jawbone broke earlier this year, so I would love to get a new activity monitor!
Consistency with good eats and gym time continue to be my goals!
I love that it’s waterproof!
Looks like a great tracker!
I have been wanting to try a tracker! So many options!
My goals are to drink more water and take a walk with my new hubby every night 🙂
My resolution fitness wise is to get back into dance and to start to expand my flexibility into the contortion zone! I did my first ballet barre class today – first time in at least 3 years I think! Lets make 2016 the must fun fitness year yet! <3
My daily goal is 10K steps, and to write in my journal. I’m always so grateful to my past self for recording memories, but need to work to remember to do it often!
I do my best to hit my 10k steps goal, but sometimes that is not always possible considering I work a desk job all day! However, having a tracker would really motivate me to do more! I also try to make sure I always fill up my water bottle at least 3x while I am at the office!
Daily goals aren’t really fitness related, but to put the phone away earlier so I have more time to read and have a better sleep. This year I would REALLY like to PR some of my current race times. <3
Enough water, 5 servings of veggies and 10k steps are must for me !
With a desk job, I really try to hit my 10K steps, but man, it’s hard!
i’ve been aiming for 100 ounces of water today and at least one green meal!
I find it so hard to hit the 10K steps each day! As a college student, I never feel motivated to get out when I know that studying is so important to my success right now. Thank you so much for your constant inspiration!