Getty ImagesThe conundrum: push yourself too hard and run yourself into the ground. Don’t push yourself hard enough and never improve. The answer: start listening to your heart, not your head, by using a heart rate monitor (HRM). What does a HRM do

When Runner's World readers were asked to list their essential kit last year, heart-rate monitors came out on top. Unfortunately for the female runner, using a heart-rate monitor is usually an uncomfortable experience, requiring 10 minutes before

Gone are the days when runners would rate our efforts based on the colour of their cheeks after a run. Heart-rate monitors are now so easy to use, affordable and accurate that there's no excuse for skipping the science bit in your training. Most

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

Heart-rate monitors vary hugely in price and functionality. For less than £20 you can pick up an HRM that simply measures your pulse, while parting with £150+ will give you a monitor that will set training zones for you, tell you how many calories

Training with a heart-rate monitor may no longer be the preserve of the elite, but choosing a model perfectly suited to your needs and budget can still be a minefield of technical jargon and seductive (read expensive) features if you’re uncertain

’s still packed with all the features that made the 305 great: it monitors your time spent running, distance, pace, calories and heart rate, and your runs can be stored in the memory, so you can review and analyse the data and the routes you’ve taken later

We're delighted to announce the winners of our Garmin Forerunner competition!We offered three all-new Garmin Forerunner 205s and 305s to the RW members who posted the most helpful reviews of their existing heart rate monitor or speed & distance

watches on test is its heart rate monitoring functions. There's just the one hear-rate zone compared with the Polar's five, and there are no features like Polar's OwnIndex V02 test.Contact www.nike.com; 0870 700 0988Suunto T6 - £310 (£250 without the foot

with Polar heart-rate monitors then put aside some time with the instruction manual. There’s a lot to learn to do justice to its range of features, from a full range of heart-rate-monitoring functions to various fitness tests and calorie calculations. Its