at least a minute for your heart rate to stabilise. The important thing to remember is that your HRM is there mainly as a passive observer. Its best function in interval training is to collect data for comparison over time, and throwing caution to the wind

supply, which leads to an accumulation of lactate and rapid fatigue: go too easy and you may not be training hard enough to gain the maximum benefit to your aerobic capacity. In short, there must be an element of control, which is where your heart rate

GETTY IMAGESCross-training can be quite an education for an HRM user. You've probably spent time fine-tuning ideal heart rate bands for your various running sessions, to the point where keeping to them is almost second nature. But when you climb

When you go on holiday, you'll no doubt want to take your training with you. After all, you are off to enjoy yourself. However, this will often mean running in conditions that can affect your heart rate quite dramatically, both at rest

to calculate training heart rates – usually as a percentage of this value.The traditional strategy is to use the formula of 220 minus age to ‘guestimate your max. This is often used in health clubs. Here, charts show age-related MHR and training heart rates

will pick up heart rates from all the transmitters which are in range. So if you run in company, keep your distance!Outside interferenceGroup training isn’t the only potential hazard. Overhead power cables will disrupt your heart rate readings, as will any

your progress very safely as part of your routine. It’s easiest on a training course you use regularly, and though you could assess yourself each time you’re there, it’s best to do it every three or four weeks.Choose a heart rate that will keep you

on your first few runs back, to give them a chance to strengthen up. Your resting heart rate may have risen, and your pace for each of your training heart rate zones will almost certainly have dropped. You should pay attention to what your HRM tells you

is actually necessary to improve your performance. And unfortunately, elite and amateur competitors alike often believe that to get better, they have to train more and harder.The answer? The correct use of a heart rate monitor (or HRM for short) in your

detailed training diary. By downloading all of your sessions and logging other information such as conditions, how you feel, resting heart rates, bodyweight, sleep patterns and so on, you can establish an extremely useful data bank. This not only helps you