New Polar Move Heart Rate Monitor for Students Facilitates Effective and Safe Physical Education

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Polar (www.polarusa.com), the leader in heart rate monitoring and fitness assessment technologies, today introduced the Polar Move. The new heart rate monitor is designed specifically around the needs of the education market. Its introduction solidifies Polar as a pioneer in safe and effective physical education, building on the success of schools who have used Polar technology, and whose results reinforce the connection between physical movements and improved brain function. The Polar Move provides data to inform teachers and motivate students to exercise more efficiently in their target heart rate zones.

Since the early 1990s, Polar has been the leader in equipping physical education programs with tools and technology to quantify and evaluate students' fitness. Collectively, Polar education technology is used in more than 10,000 K-12 physical education programs across the United States.

"We're honored that our company makes a product that can truly impact behavioral conditioning and help students become healthier for the rest of their lives," said Jesse Harper, senior director, Polar USA. "Heart rate training can facilitate fun, innovative P.E. programming, and Polar Move takes the guessing out of assessing. The technology inspires children of all athletic abilities to do their best, while enabling educators to measure performance and progress."

Key Features:

Polar Move has several features to guide and motivate students, while offering objective information for parents and teachers. These include:

• An intuitive heart rate display, which can be set to show the student's beats per minute or percentage of maximum heart rate, ensuring that they exercise at the correct intensity
• A calorie counter that educates students on the principles of energy expenditure, and how it differs for each person
• The comfortable fabric WearLink®+ transmitter that accurately measures heart rate data and transmits information to each wrist unit
• Individually-coded transmitters, which prevent "cross-talk" between multiple units during class
• The ability to set the unit in eight languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Finnish and Swedish)
• Storage of up to 10 exercise training files
• User-replaceable batteries, which facilitate easier maintenance over time

Correlation Between Physical Activity and Academic Performance

As a result of its expertise and experience in the education market, many schools with which Polar has partnered have tracked a positive correlation between physical activity and other developmental areas, such as academic performance. For example, Sierra Vista Junior High in Canyon Country, California, implemented the "New P.E." in 2003 – focusing on individual fitness and holistic development of lifelong wellness.

Sierra Vista uses Polar heart rate monitors to track students' intensity during workouts, and teachers objectively measure each student's effort and participation based on his or her level of exertion. Since instituting this program, the school has improved its scores on state fitness testing – in addition to reporting a drop in discipline deferrals and absenteeism. After introducing physical activity (brisk walking and warm-up exercises) into students' pre-testing routine, the school has also reported improvement in their Academic Performance Index (API) scores.

At Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois, new Learning Readiness Physical Education (LRPE) classes were created, which utilize Polar heart rate monitors to help students complete an intense cardio workout before the students' most difficult classes. After just one semester, students who took P.E. before literacy class improved their reading by half a grade level compared to students who didn't have PE before class.

As a result, Naperville instituted LRPE before math classes. Students in the math program improved 10% or more over the course of a semester compared to students not involved in this class. Most students now participate in the LRPE program before their standard academic courses in reading and math. The entire culture at Naperville Central has changed to involve more movement in and out of the classroom. Naperville Central is now taking part in a research project to highlight student achievements in this program. The program would not work without knowing heart rate intensity during the physical education classes.

The new Polar Move is immediately available for purchase by schools, in time for the 2011-2012 academic year.

About Polar

Headquartered in Lake Success, NY, Polar USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finland-based Polar Electro OY, which invented the first wireless heart rate monitor (HRM) in 1977. Polar now operates internationally in more than 80 countries. Polar heart rate and fitness assessment technology delivers unparalleled insight into the human body from valuable training guidance and feedback, to enabling individuals to improve their fitness level and sports performance. Polar technology is key to the success of leading fitness facilities, athletic teams, corporate wellness facilities, health insurance providers and thousands of physical education programs around the world. Today, Polar training computers are the number one choice among consumers worldwide. For more information, visit www.polarusa.com.

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SOURCE Polar USA