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Last updated: Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Electronics has figured into physical activity since at least the 1780s, when Luigi Galvani used static electricity to make a dead frog twitch. This might seem like too much Frankenstein and not enough frankincense, given the time of year. I’ll de-myrrh on that point. But Galvani’s breakthrough in biology leads to an important point: What happens inside your body when you exercise is governed by a set of measurable reactions, and one good way to help yourself get in shape is to keep track of what’s going on. It can motivate you as the progress accumulates and keep you honest when it doesn’t. (Was my last workout really three weeks ago?) The technology to monitor and analyze workouts has become progressively more sophisticated and priced across a broad range. For well under $100 you can get a brand-name heart rate monitor; an investment of $300 to $400 will buy a training watch with software that lets you analyze and customize workouts; set pace, distance, interval or calorie goals; and track your whereabouts with a GPS function. With the gift-giving season under way, it seemed a good time to walk through some of the choices. Three of the principal manufacturers — Polar, Garmin and Suunto — provided test units that included general fitness models and higher-end trainers. And that’s just a taste of the range of products available, down to $10 pedometers. That’s the good news: Competition seems to be forcing all of these companies to innovate, pack more features into their equipment, improving the analytics included in accompanying software and offering products across a spectrum of prices. Even some of the more basic models have evolved into training devices that let you send data to your computer, plan workouts and track your progress. Now, the not so good: There are almost too many choices. The…

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Digital Workout Monitors Track Your Moves

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