What is a heart rate monitor?

Heart rate monitors (HRMs) have been around for over 20 years, used primarily in the early days by the international communities and the U.S cycling community. The use of HRMs for traditional sports is in its infancy, but it's quickly growing among the elite level programs at the professional, collegiate and scholastic levels.

If you're new to an HRM, it's a 2-piece system that consists of a wireless transmitter that is worn on the chest and attached with an adjustable elastic strap. It will not hinder the athlete or impede movement in anyway. It picks up the signals of the heart and sends the signal wirelessly to a watch worn on the wrist. The wrist unit displays continuous heart rate and also collects data for you to view after the workout. The new Team Transmitter actually stores the data right in the transmitter, so for contact sports where a watch cannot be worn, the data can be collected and analyzed on a computer. This data can help any coach make fitness assessments in game conditions or during practice in simulated drills.

How Accurate is a Polar HRM?

Polar HRMs are 99.9% accurate, or as accurate as an Electro-cardiogram machine. Polar is the only medically validated HRM available, so the accuracy is assured and reliable enough to use for performance testing.

How can heart rate training help my team?

Every coach realizes the importance of conditioning and fitness. A player can have all the skill level in the world, but without the proper endurance or fitness, they’ll never perform to their potential. In a team environment, the overall fitness of each player affects the team’s outcome. The days of just running laps and training everyone the same is giving way to more specialized training, individualized, but within the team environment. Or, training by position to ensure each player is conditioned according to the cardio demands of that position.

That's where the Polar heart rate monitor and Team System come in. It allows you to assess your athletes' fitness levels by tracking their intensity in game conditions. From there, you can make sure each athlete is training effectively, while at the same time ensuring that they are not overtrained. You can set up off-season training with a goal, and let the heart rate monitor be their guide or compliance tool. The watches will store files of workouts that can serve as a training log for you to review. You can ensure that your non-starters stay in game shape for when they are called on - a great tool when you come to the end of the season, tournament time, or late in a game.

At Polar, we've been helping individuals realize their potential for over 20 years. That same approach today is helping teams win Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, Olympic medals, World Series, and national championships. Integrate heart rate training and Polar into your training and you'll see the difference.