The Physical Education department at Rutland High recently purchased some thirty heart-rate monitors to use in their wide array of personal fitness courses. These high quality monitors were purchased with a $9000 federal grant the department received earlier this year. Ours was one of three lucky schools in the state to receive the grant.

These monitors consist of a chest strap and a visual display watch and are very simple to use. When worn, an active user need only glance at his wrist to see exactly what his current heart rate is. These monitors synchronize with a computer via USB to save all data for future review and perform a variety of other functions that are useful to Physical Educators.

Students will be able to analyze the data they collect to learn more about the way they exercise. Through observation of his or her own heart rate each student will be able to manipulate his or her workout in order to stay within their target heart range, which is the optimal beats per minute one should maintain during exercise.

Mr. Geisler, one of the P.E. instructors behind the purchase, thinks that the monitors will usher the program into the new era of technology in the gym.

“The nice thing about the monitors,” he says, “is that it takes the guesswork out of it…takes the effort out of giving the kids a fair grade.”

Using a Palm Pilot, Mr. Geisler can now keep track of every student’s activity over the course of a class period or semester, allowing him to identify consistency, longevity, and improvement in each student’s performance and more accurately assess what each student should receive come grade time.

Mr. Geisler says he is pleased with the monitors. He says the department is grateful for the grant, without which the purchase would not have been possible. “As we begin to use these more, I think it will become clear just how useful they are.”

Story contributed by Sam Lucci, 11th grade student at RHS