Abstract: A fitness device (22, 37, 41) is provided with a display type readout which can be viewed by a user, and a user's heart rate is determined to lie within a range so that the user could be required to work the equipment within that range. That range may vary with age of the user, and the "mode" of training which is itself determined by the user's general fitness. The device (22, 37, 41) comprises a movement resistance device (25), a digital encoder (28) attached to the device which provides digital pulses, and a microprocessor (30) which is programmed to readout (14) an output as a "distance" which is proportional to the number of pulses over the time taken to travel a "distance" which is preset into the machine.