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.
495 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I’m fairly new to the whole sitting in a desk 9-5 thing, so getting in more steps throughout the day is definitely a new year goal for me!
This is great! Thanks.
So fun!! I’d love this!
I’m in school now (returning for a career change after working for a few years), and I would love to use this to help increase my activity level when I’m not stuck inside studying at the library!
My old heart rate monitor stopped working a few months back 🙁 It was very basic and there are so many new fun options out now that I have no idea what to get!
With having a desk job my goal is always trying to get my steps in! I’m adding water intake this year also!
I would love a new fitness tracker! I’m still sporting a (super) old Garmin watch that I use for running and biking, but I’m never sure if it will turn on each time I go to use it!
Hope you and the fam have a great New Years!
I would LOVE to start the new year with one of those puppies!
I aim for lots of water and not much sugar. Would love a new way to track activity.
I have to make sure I drink a ton of water. I obviously need it for my health but also need it to help me make enough breast milk for my baby.
This fitness tracker looks awesome! I would love to try one that is user friendly like this. It would be such a great way to stay motivated!
I would love to try this fitness tracker! I want something that can track my heart rate during classes so I know how hard I’m working. I like how it links to your phone too.
I love my Polar ft60, but have felt a little left out on the activity tracker front. I’d love to try this to see if I hit my 10k steps a day!!
I like to see how I feel in the morning
I have always wanted a fitness tracker! Thank you for the giveaway! 🙂
I have goal of moving again. While finishing up med school my fitness got put on the back burner. I hope to get active again now that I have more free time.
I want to know how many steps I take taking care of my 2 kiddos and on days I walk back and forth our long hallway at work to treat my patients. Would love to get one of these.
I am trying to get back on track with working out…the holidays with two littles is NO JOKE! I wouldn’t trade the craziness for the world but some “me” time at the gym is in order 🙂
I love reading these reviews, I always find it so insightful versus just reading the product features… I have small wrists too but I’d love to try this out- I currently wear a FitBit flex, but it’s more of a glorified pedometer than anything special- I love that this Polar tracks HR, so important!
my first fitness watch was a polar, great company! would love to use this!
The new polar looks AMAZING!
I’ve really been trying to up my water intake–I was not good about it at all while traveling over Christmas, so trying to get back in the swing of always having a full water bottle with me!
I sit at a desk for most of the day, so a tracker would be good motivation to move more.
Drinking water used to be so easy for me, but now that I’m pregnant it is tough! So that’s a goal, as is making sure I’m working out each day even when I don’t feel like it:)
My goal is to get some kind of exercise outside of my daily activities every day. Sometimes it’s hard, but I always feel better when I do!
I’ve always wanted to try a tracker like that, but can never seem to justify the expense! I’ve been getting back into my usual exercise routines and trying some new ones after having my daughter last year, and it sounds like I should give some more thought to trying something like this! Thanks for the giveaway 🙂
to always take the stairs when there’s an elevator… even after a 12 hr work shift!
My goal is to move more!
I’ve always wanted a fitness tracker!!
This is the first time I’ve seen this gadget and I love it! What a nice giveaway!
I have a 10k step goal, I usually crush it when the weather is warmer, but the colder it gets the harder it is to reach.
Hi Gina!! Happy almost new year! I’m with you, I turn into a major grinch when I don’t get in a sweat session. But over the last few years my goals have rapidly changed. For me, it’s not about how much weight I’ve lost or feeling guilty about having an “off” day of eats, it’s about my lifestyle! This is my lifestyle, I love to workout and nourish my body with great food and that will never change. An off day is just an off day, there’s always tomorrow!! Thanks for always impacting my life in the most positive way! And duh, I would love to try this device! 😉
Love your commitment to fitness, I hope I can get back into it (trying to stay with it now) after I have my baby in June!!! XO
My daily goal is to get enough sleep! I try to make sure I get 7 hours each night because I know my workouts will suffer if I don’t! I have been searching for a good activity tracker, would love to try this!!
I want to build up my cardio endurance! I’ve been stuck running 2 miles and really want to find the strength within me to push past that!
I’d love to try a tracker with a heart rate feature!
This would be an awesome motivator to move more!
I’ve got an 18 month old and recently went back to work full time (in October) and needless to say eating healthy and working out regularly have fallen to the back of my priority list…This would be a great way to motivate me in my 2016 New Year’s resolutions to getting back to a healthy lifestyle!
My daily goals are: move my body, drink 2 liters of water, eat healthy and to be more mindful.
My 2016 goal I am very excited about. I am going to Costa Rica in January to become a yoga teacher. So excited
Would love this! I’ve always wanted a watch like this! Congrats on your sweet new baby!!! I’m a mom of two also! My daughter is 4 and my son is 18 months!
I just found out I’m pregnant with baby #2, and I think a fitness tracker would really help encourage me to maintain an active pregnancy! And I love all of the smartphone features!
My primary goal for the new year (or maybe it’s my “word” for 2016″) is consistency, rather than some sort of perfection. I’d love a heart monitor to help me track that I’m active enough but also to heart rate feature would be so useful to make sure I’m really getting fitter! thanks for the giveaway – happy new year.
Would love to monitor my activity or “lack of activity” …. Lol! Cheers to 2016 being a good year!
I love this fitness tracker!! I have the fitbit flex and while it’s awesome, I would love something with an actual screen!
I find myself sitting at my desk way too much lately. I think that the Polar will help to encourage me to get up and move more.
I would love a fitness tracker with all of the extra bells and whistles!
That activity tracker looks great! I love the screen.
I try to find a way to stand an extra three hours a day. Hard at first, but boy am I getting a lot more house cleaning and organizing done than ever before.
I would love this. I need to get myself moving. I enjoy reading about you and your young family. You posted about the bombas socks and i bought them for everyone on my Christmas list. They love them. Thank you so much for sharing.
I am beyond ready to make 2016 a more fit and healthy year. We are finally settled in our new home and city and ready to get back to normal!