Team NuMetrex: Burich Seeks Consumer Input to Develop New Heart Rate Monitor

The NuMetrex Heart Sensing Sports Bra, Racer Tank , and Cardio Shirt have gotten rave reviews from triathletes, marathoners and even Olympic athletes who regularly use heart rate monitors in their training. But Meg Burich, the company’s director of marketing, wants to know what “non-athletes” are looking for in a heart rate monitor.

“We are looking for ways to make heart rate monitoring relevant to more people who are concerned about managing their health and fitness,” she explains. “Heart rate monitors aren’t just for serious athletes, they can help with weight loss and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”

An avid runner and aspiring marathoner, Burich uses her NuMetrex heart rate monitor whether she’s training for a race or just exercising to stay healthy and fit. “Running on a flat stretch at a comfortable pace takes my heart rate to somewhere between 130 and 140 which is about 70 percent of my maximum (190). This is where I need to be for a strong heart and good lung capacity,” she explains. “I also know that to get faster and fitter I need to spend time between 70–80 percent of max…that’s where the hills come in. I use my monitor to see the results as I push hard up the hills. My heart rate typically climbs into the 150 to 160 range. I use it again to reassure myself that I am recovering in between hills by getting back down to 135.”

Burich hopes that more women like her will discover the benefits of heart rate monitoring as part of their daily wellness routine. By offering a comfortable alternative to the hard plastic chest straps that athletes have traditionally used to monitor heart rate, NuMetrex has already won half the battle in making their heart rate monitors appealing to a broader consumer audience.

“Our heart sensing technology is knit directly into the fabric of a sports bra or shirt, so it’s no different than putting on your regular work-out clothes,” she says. “The monitor transmits your heart rate to a watch or exercise machine. Our next step is to offer other user-friendly ways for people to view their heart rate data, like on a cell phone or computer.”

Consumer focus groups have helped Burich identify new ways that heart rate monitors can help manage health and fitness. She believes heart rate monitoring can make a big difference for the “pedometer crowd” — those who walk for fitness but may never get their heart rate high enough for a cardio or weight loss benefit.

“We have learned that people who are engaged in taking care of themselves — watching what they eat and exercising on a regular basis — are interested in new technology and tools that can help them do that,” says Burich. “Our job is to bring that technology to them.”