Polar Flow 4+

I have used Polar Flow with my Vantage M for the last two and a half years. I really enjoy seeing the heart rate graphs for each workout and how they compare to previous workouts. Polar Flow also shows you a graph of how much “strain” you can take based off your last seven days and your average strain over the last month. With Polar Flow I can easily see if I have been consistent or falling off in intensity and duration. It’s detailed enough that I can nerd out, or just feel guilty for too many “recovery” days. I do a wide variety of workouts as well but the Polar program really shines when it comes to running. Great in app maps, pace counts, and detailed analysis on the supporting website. Very accurate prediction for future running performance. The Vantage M paired with Polar Flow has been a worthy investment that I have enjoyed for several years.

I enjoy flexibility. I enjoy compatibility.
My vantage m and the polar app have some great features. I like seeing my progress and the ability to gauge overreaching mixed with poor sleep. I enjoy the sport profiles and being able to set heart rate monitored activities and non heart rate activities. But over the last two years I have a small wish list. 1) I have to restart the polar app every time i want to sync with my watch. 2)There is no find your phone option. 3) Cant charge the watch in the middle of an activity. This is nice for long days bike-packing. Garmin allows overnight charging without stopping the activity. This way the entire route is one post. 4) I am in the medical field and frequently need to count respirations or heart rate using a second hand. The second hand on my polar only displays for about six seconds when i raise my wrist so its not helpful. 5) Zwift: Polar does not link with zwift so I cant see my heart rate data from my watch on the zwift platform. This is a dilemma when I want to track strain and progress with polar. I have to start my watch as well as wear a heart rate strap compatible with zwift. I then have to delete the strava activity (i use both fitness platforms to track progress) Compatibility with other apps and platforms would be great!
I have really enjoyed the watch however couple things that I would like to improve. Thanks Polar!

It works, and eventually does everything you need it to do, but it has some annoying features. If you’re not doing heart rate based training, you’re constantly having to change the defaults, or else risk having the watch beep at you throughout your run, at which point there’s no way to change it. There’s also no way to change the default of proceeding to the next phase automatically, which can mess up a run if I forget to change because I often can’t feel the vibration of my watch and don’t want one phase cutting into the next so I proceed manually. I don’t like how the program and my notes are all lost. After I’ve done the run, all that remains is the running data, but not the program that led to it. it would be nice to have running index and recovery state in the app, but they’re only available through the web service. Ability to program a run through the app is limited, the most complicated possible is a warm-up plus one set of phases plus a cool down. on the plus side, it works, and after learning, all the quirks, and going back-and-forth between the app and the web service, it is eventually customizable for everything I need to do.