Suunto M5 heart rate monitor

Back in the spring I decided to take on a few enduro races this year, but knew I needed to get fitter and thought a new gadget might help. Being a newbie to fitness training, I plumped for the Suunto M5 heart rate monitor as it had all the basic functions I was after – and no more. There are many heart rate monitoring options out there, with varying levels of fandangled gadgetry, but I know being overwhelmed with too much, too soon, would only lead to me not using it. The M5 is a lightweight, neat piece of kit, and one of the few heart rate monitors which sits comfortably on a slimmer wrist. So comfy in fact, I wear mine as a watch.

To set up, the monitor takes you through a series of questions to assess your fitness level. A training program is built in and more are downloadable from Suunto’s Movescount website, with suggested targets which pop up every couple of days. I ended up ignoring my program as it didn’t fit in with my schedule, but the programs are adaptive; so if you’re keen to use them but miss some sessions, the M5 gets you back on track. The heart rate chest belt is nice and comfy too.

While exercising, the M5 continually measures heart rate and calories consumed (always less than you might think – sigh…). With a big, bold display on your wrist, it’s easy to keep training within your specified limits. Post exercise, you get a summary of your workout plus an indication of recovery time, and all this is downloadable onto the Movescount site to keep a record of your amazing fitness achievements (ahem).

The next purchase for me will be the GPS track pod, which records speed and trail distance.

Overall: A super-simple, entry-level heart rate monitor, for those investigating their first forays into fitness training.