. During your second run you should get a higher maximum reading than with any other method – although you or a helper should use a heart rate monitor to take readings throughout the interval, because your pulse may peak before the finish.

GETTY IMAGESIf you're the proud owner of a new heart rate monitor, you’ll doubtless be wondering just how high you can make it go. And it wouldnt be a bad idea. Coaches and athletes often like to establish a maximal heart rate (or MHR) in order

Q I know three ways of calculating maximum heart rate (MHR): 220 – age; 214 – (0.8 x age); and 205 – 1/2 age. For a 30-year-old, they all come out at 190, but for a 60-year-old, the results are 160, 166 and 174 – a large range. Which is the most

Q I’m in my mid-40s, push myself quite hard in training, and feel great and in good shape. However, after buying a heart rate monitor, I was shocked to find that my resting heart rate was 46, and that I could reach a maximum of 202bpm during hard

. The instructions were clear and the functions (stopwatch, two interval timers, heart-rate zone) were easy to use. During your run, you can change to view beats per minute, the percentage of your maximum heart-rate, or calories burned. Although the time display

information to be useful for runners who simply fancy giving heart-rate monitoring a go. It has a simple stopwatch – start, stop and no lap function – but you can keep a check on your current heart rate, your maximum and your average

Whatever type of runner you are, you should give serious consideration to investing in a heart rate monitor. From as little as £40 you can add a whole new dimension to your training. Strap on a heart rate monitor and you’ll never run too quickly

How To Find Your Maximum Heart RateA heart rate monitor can help to ensure that you don’t work too hard – or take it too easy! – in training sessions. Depending on the session, your target heart rate will be anywhere between 60 and 95% of your

, but your new training paces might come as a surprise too. Before you get started, work out the right benchmarks to work towards by finding your maximum heart rate. If you're a complete beginner, start off with this very approximate formula: 214 - (0.8 x

Q Following your advice, I did a treadmill test using a heart rate monitor to work out my maximum heart rate. The result was 177bpm. However, during 40-minute steady runs my pulse easily reaches 165bpm, about 94 per cent of max! Am I training too