• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 9, 2007

Polar, the leader in heart-rate monitors for the fitness crowd, is striking up a new tune: The company says it has teamed up with Podfitness.com to provide heart-rate training synced to consumers' favorite music, via their MP3 player.

Depending on the Polar model they purchase, consumers will get up to 60 days of complimentary personal training from Podfitness.com (a $40 value). After downloading a workout and syncing to any of their selected play lists, Podfitness.com's elite trainers provide clear instructions that take users through training at various intensity levels based on heart rate and health goals--all played over the user's own music, whether that's 1980s power rock ballads, opera or techno.

Traditionally, heart-rate monitors have been the secret weapon of hard-core athletes. Competitive runners, cyclists and triathletes use them to make sure they keep their heart rate in peak training zones. "But in the last few years, they have become much more popular among mainstream people looking to assess and improve their fitness levels," says Jeff Padovan, president of Polar, which is based in Lake Success, N.Y.

He estimates that of the 50 million people in the U.S. with health-club memberships, 20% routinely monitor their heart rates to make sure they're working out hard enough. In addition, the popularity of gadgets like pedometers have made people more open to the idea of using something other than sweat to measure their workout intensity.

The Podfitness.com promotion is similar, he concedes, to the successful Nike +, a partnership between Nike and Apple that combines specialized running shoes and an iPod Nano to help runners record their times, pace, distances, and calories burned. They can also share music and training routines with what Nike claims is the world's largest online community of runners, who have collectively logged more than 22 million miles.

But Polar's partnership works for all sports, not just running, and provides customized coaching, Padovan says. "Podfitness allows you to customize a fitness routine, whether you want to build muscle mass, boost speed, lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks, or get ready for your first half-marathon," he says. "It also walks people through the initial set-up of the monitor, so they don't even have to read the manual."

The promotion starts this month, and marketing plans include Web site advertising as well as counter cards at a variety of sporting goods stores, including Dick's, Sports Authority, Paragon Sports and Wal-Mart. The value of the Podfitness.com tie-in, he says, varies with the price of the monitors, which ranges from $49 to $99.

"For us, the fourth quarter is key," he says, "since heart-rate monitors are a popular gift item and also tie in to New Year's resolutions."