About Us
Company History
Heart Rate Inc. has played an integral role in transforming the way people exercise with its 40 year history of innovations. Few other companies can claim as many fitness equipment firsts-including inventing the original high intensity total body cardio climber with resistance training – making it one of the most effective cardio workouts possible. Plus, Heart Rate Inc. offers much more than its highly regarded vertical cardio climbers, which include VersaPulley using flywheel technology, VersaRower, ExerVibe, VersaCore, VersaGrip and VRX suspension straps.
Built in USA With Pride
We are one of the few remaining cardio equipment manufacturers that continues to manufacture all of our products in the USA. We take great pride building and manufacturing all of our products: VersaClimbers, Heart Rate Monitors, VersaPulleys, VersaRowers, ExerVibes, VersaCore, VersaGrip and VRX right here in the USA. Made, with great pride, in the USA since 1981.
Heart Rate Monitor Pioneers
Incorporated in October 1978, Heart Rate Inc. had the foresight to know that heart rate could be a valuable tool to gauge the intensity of exercise-for beginning exercisers up to elite athletes. In 1980, the company completed the design and a functional prototype of a heart rate wristwatch and then was awarded an exclusive patent to further develop the capacitive electrode used in the NASA space program. This sensor was designed to acquire high quality ECG signals during space flights. Unfortunately, at that time, many wristwatch, medical and sports equipment companies were not convinced that heart rate monitoring promised to be a viable business, so they declined to provide funding. Faced with a lack of financial backing, Dick Charnitski, the president of Heart Rate Inc. and a mechanical engineer, then turned his attention to developing the first, patented total-body exercise machine. The birth of total-body cardio exercise.
The birth of the original vertical cardio climber
Recognizing that no equipment had brought climbing indoors-as well as understanding the tremendous value of total-body exercise in comparison to workouts such as running and cycling-Charnitski created the first VersaClimber in his own garage, in 1981.
The result was the VersaClimber. Later heart rate monitoring was incorporated into the VersaClimber making it the first commercial exercise machine that used heart rate as a speedometer of exercise.
Nothing like it existed anywhere, and since its debut, VersaClimber remains the original, number #1 total-body vertical cardio trainer. With its long history of quality and performance, VersaClimber has cemented its place as a trusted name in the fitness.