and advances your pulse rate to the 120-150 beats per minute range. The latter two effects get your heart ready to handle the opening moments of the race without undue stress. Jog for about 8-10 minutes, and then don’t stand around for more than about two

amount of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, I’m 5ft 4ins, weigh 8st 12lb and have a resting heart rate of 49 – so why do I feel so lethargic?A The symptoms that you report are very difficult to diagnose, but are not uncommon in people your age. You appear

, increase the speed settings to make sure you're always sprinting at 8/10 effort. If you've only got time for a short workout, this short sharp session (10-15 minutes) does the trick. Warm up with an easy jog on an 0.25-1

from injury you can maintain your resistance workouts with aqua jogging. "It removes the high impact associated with running but recruits and trains similar muscles," says Lane.2. Calculate your maximum heart rate accuratelyWomen's hearts

or runners using heart rate training to lose weight. It's also ideal for people who are simply curious about training using heart rate.Contact 02392 257388; www.cardiosport.comSplash out on the…Polar S610IPrice £180What is it? One of the best top

the gym, where no one would see me collapse after single-digit press ups and pull ups. The running went better, though I found the 15 minutes at 10K pace rather monotonous. My heart rate climbed to 159, about 88 per cent of my maximum.The Progressive

-mounted GPS unit, giving accurate altitude measurements and ascent and descent rates. Data can be reviewed on the watch, though you’ll need to purchase a separate Data Recorder 2 (£60) to download it on to your computer. On the downside, it took about 10

but to continue to the top. And that you’d know for sure when you reached it.Not being the best hill runner in the world, I thought I’d use some strategy. I opted for a combination of heart-rate monitoring and run/walk intervals. My thinking (and I use the term

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comfortable under your belt as your first goal – easily reached goals are the way to go. Start off with 10 mins now, do that for a couple of weeks, than add 1 or 2 mins (or whatever you reckon) a week. You'll improve in leaps and bounds, way faster than you