Polar M32 Heart Rate Monitor

The main features of the Polar M32 monitor are as follows:

• Continuous heart rate monitoring
• Manual setting of heart rate training zone (target zone)
• OwnZone: Faster automatic determination of your target zone based on your weight, age, gender and a test of your fitness during warm up
• Audio alarm can be set to beep when you train outside of your target zone
• View real time data while exercising: Time spent in target zone (so far), calorie count and (of course) your current heart rate
• Progress bullets: One bullet per 100 kCal energy consumed
• Stop watch to start and stop exercise session
• File (data of last session) can be reviewed: Date, total exercise time, time spent in target zone, heart rate limits used for the session, average heart rate, calorie count and % of that due to fat burnt, cumulative total of calorie count and exercise time since last reset
• Basic Time Keeping: Time, date and alarm
• Backlight
• Exercise Reminder: Text message appears 3 days after your last recorded exercise.
• Polar WearLink coded transmitter: Belt made of fabric and hence very comfortable to wear. Coded transmission reduces crosstalk interference.

The enhancements over the Polar M21/M22 are bolded in the list above.

Note: The Polar M31 (shown on the right here) is exactly the same as the Polar M32 heart rate monitor (with a different color) but as far as I am aware was not marketed for sale in the United States.

The main changes of the Polar M32 really concern the use of the new WearLink coded transmitter belt. It is much more comfortable to wear and a lot less prone to interference. Apart from these, the only other changes are just a new fascia design and a supposedly faster determination of your OwnZone (if you decide to use it) while doing your warm up.

Summary

The Polar M32 is an intermediate heart rate monitor with a calorie counter and useful statistics summarizing the training session. The Polar M32 heart rate monitor should be able meet the needs of many users training for fitness and weight management.

Note: The Polar M32 has recently been superceded, though it may still be available in some internet shops. If you are looking to buy the M32, you may want to have a look at the current models Polar F4 and Polar F6.

Not sure which heart rate monitor is right for you? Take a look at the Which Heart Rate Monitor page.