The faculty in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) at Texas State University-San Marcos (TXSTATE) is aware of the importance of promoting physically active lifestyles to all Americans. TXSTATE has been recognized as a leader for many years in Texas for producing high quality teachers and health/fitness professionals who advocate physically active lifestyles via our multidisciplinary programs. The HPER Department at TXSTATE is currently trying to bridge the gap between educating their students about the need for physical activity and adopting healthy lifestyles by joining Polar in a multilevel program that integrates fitness technology into their Exercise and Sport Science (ESS) and Personal Fitness and Wellness (PFW) programs. TXSTATE currently enrolls over 4,000 students each semester in one-credit hour activity classes, and has over 800 ESS majors? The HPER Department is one of the leaders of the State of in certifying Physical Education and Health Education teachers.

The TXSTATE physical fitness and wellness perspective allows students to participate in a variety of physical activities which promote health, physical fitness, and wellness. The physical fitness perspective is critical to the TXSTATE Core Curricula because it allows students to develop sound minds, strong bodies and helps to combat the problems associated with rising levels of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other serious health problems among the adolescent population in Texas.

TXSTATE takes great pride in being one of the few institutions in Texas that continues to offer Personal Fitness and Wellness classes in the General Education Core Curriculum. In the 1990's, Universities across the state began a general departure from requiring physical activity and wellness classes to undergraduate students as a part of their core curriculum. In the spirit of maintaining what TXSTATE does best and different from other Texas institutions, the HPER Department feels that the benefits of learning lifelong leisure activities and individual sports, as well as developing lifelong health and wellness behaviors are most vital to the undergraduate learning experience.

In the Fall of 2006, the Department of HPER will take their commitment toward student health and fitness one step further and has joined with Polar to furnish PFW classes with heart rate monitors so they will be able to track and evaluate fitness levels more accurately. Additionally, HPER has equipped their Exercise Physiology lab with a dozen PC computers and has installed the latest TriFIT Software and downloadable heart rate monitors to teach their ESS majors how to use these technologies in the schools or private fitness centers when they graduate. Dr. Bob Pankey, Chair of HPER indicates that this fitness-based technology will be an integral part of the student experience and each of our ESS majors will be required to learn how to use the Polar hardware and software to increase their marketability in the workforce and be able to utilize this technology in teaching, coaching or working in fitness facilities after they have left TXSTATE.”
 

About Polar 

Polar is the number one choice among consumers, coaches and personal trainers worldwide. They are committed to not only producing the best products, but also being the leading educator on the benefits of heart rate based exercise. Polar is dedicated to providing everybody involved in physical activity with the personal fitness solution to help them achieve their improvement goals. They strive to remain the benchmark that people look to for innovation and quality when looking for the most effective method of exercising. Heart rate monitoring is only part of what Polar does. Information and personal guidance is what they aim to deliver to their customers.

The first EKG accurate wireless heart rate monitor was invented by Polar back in 1977 as a training tool for the Finnish National Cross Country Ski Team. The concept of "intensity training" by heart rate swept the athletic world in the eighties. By the 1990's individuals were looking to heart rate monitors not only for performance training needs, but also for achieving everyday fitness goals. Today, the same concept of heart rate training is being used by world-class athletes as well as everyday people trying to lose weight.

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