weight and sex into the calculation. Some monitors also estimate a percentage of fat calories burnt. Five First Steps Roughly estimate your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220 (or a little more accurately, 214-(0.8 x age) for men

The smartest HRM on test in both senses (for an extra £15 you can have a metal strap), the USP of the T3 is the 'real-time‚' Training Effect, which shows how hard you are working during a run. In addition to the heart-rate zone, there are three zones for post

to sit too low (the straps aren’t adjustable) so the signal can take a while to settle down. Contact www.polar-uk.com; 01926 816 177; www.triumph-international.co.uk, 01793 720 232 Timex Ironman Ladies 30 Lap HRM – £80This is not really a women’s heart-rate

from total time, lap time, HR or time of day.Contact: 0800 056 1640; www.nike.comReebok Precision Trainer £129.99Displays both HR in beats per minute and as a percentage of maximum HR.Press a single button while running and watch scans through maximum

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

though, it does the basics well enough.Contact www.timex.comTimex BodyLink Trail Runner £180 Tested by Big KevFeatures Simultaneous display of heart rate and speed distance, 2 linked interval timers, latitude, longitude and altitude, navigation

signals travel (the speed of light – it does 10K in 1/30000th of a second) the GPS receiver can work out how far it is from each satellite. The receiver then plugs those numbers into some very complicated calculations to work out its position on the Earth

’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

hill workouts. Don't go overboard though: climbing a steep incline of 11 to 15 per cent is more of a strength-training workout than a running one.Target Heart Rate Heart-rate zone programs are ideal for recovery runs because they force you to maintain a

heart-rate strap, though it was difficult to get a signal with this. It has a fan, although this was not very effective.Tunturi T60F, £1,500 Running area 51cm x 138cmMotor 2.5HP Top speed 12.5mphContact www.tunturi.co.ukThis was easy to get going