Being outside is one of the best benefits of summer, and there are tech tools out there that can make the workout go smoother, push you to achieve more and help measure your rate of success.

“Any kind of technology, whether it’s a heart rate monitor or an iPod or a pedometer, can be very, very helpful,” said Michael R. Bracko, a sports physiologist and director at Calgary’s Institute for Hockey Research.

“Anything that can make and keep a person motivated to exercise is bang on. It also takes their mind off the actual exercise, so they focus on the music or how fast they’re going — it’s exercise intensity incognito.”

Heart monitors are good indicators of how hard you’re working out — and can help gauge improvement in fitness as you progress. Bracko said monitors help beginning exercisers from working out too hard, and keep more experienced folks going as hard as they can to get the maximum benefit.

As exercise intensity increases, oxygen consumption and heart rate increase. Seeing that information via a monitor allows you to exercise at the ideal rate, getting the most out of your workout. The more fit you get, the less hard your heart has to pump. A lower resting heart rate means something good is happening.

“Generally, when people have some kind of tracking device, it helps keep them motivated and gives them a way to set goals on what they need to be doing,” said Dr. Scott Crouter, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts’s Department of Exercise and Health Sciences.

While heart rate monitors have been around since the 1980s, there have been many improvements since then, he said.

“These (devices) can range from simple pedometers to (those costing) several hundred dollars,” Crouter said. “You can get into things like heart rate monitors, which are geared more toward recreational and higher-end athletes, to make sure they’re working at the right intensity, to GPS units used by hikers and runners to track mileage, to sensor armbands that give you an estimate of energy expenditure.”

Downloading the data
There are some wireless heart rate monitors, from those that relay information from a transmitter worn underneath clothing, to watches that have less interference with other heart rate monitors. Stored data can now be downloaded and analyzed using software that didn’t exist in years past.

The Polar heart monitors consistently rank well in the field, so they’re a good place to start. The Polar F11 ($169) has a “Keeps U Fit™ — Workout Program” that acts like a personal trainer. It determines your fitness level, tracks improvements and counts calories and fat burned.

A more economical choice with hardly any bells and whistles — but one that does the job — is the Omron HR-100C ($40).

Pedometers, which measure the number of steps you take, are also helpful. A typical range per day is under 5,000 steps for someone with a sedentary lifestyle; about 8,000 steps for a person who’s somewhat active, and 12,500 steps for a highly active individual. About 10,000 steps per day are considered reasonable for healthy adults.

Accuracy is the key component in finding the right pedometer for you.

The Accusplit Eagle AE120XL ($15) is a bare-bones pedometer, but does the trick. ConsumerSearch.com calls the Yamax Digi-Walker SW-200 ($20) the “gold standard” of pedometers. If you want a little extra something, the Yamax Digi-Walker SW-701 ($25) also measures distance, as well as steps taken.

GPS help for golfing
For golfers, distance is key in quests for Tiger Woods-like perfection.

Garmin’s GolfLogix ($300) is a handheld GPS system specific to golfers. It displays the distance in yards to the holes and to the hazards, helping you select the right club to close the gap and sink the shot.

You just have to download the course you’ll be playing on, and you can using the unit’s software, which has more than 15,000 courses available. Each unit holds information on up to 20 courses, if you’re thinking of making a summer’s worth of play a reality.

For more ideas on how fitness and technology can converge, check out the Fitness Gadgets blog, which has some innovative products, like the Xip3 Hybrid Revolution Gear ($250), which converts an outdoors jacket into a functional, small day pack and pillow; or the Jeep Compass folding bike ($270), which solves the problem of fitting something usually awkward-shaped and sized into your car without having to remove a wheel or install a roof rack.

“Some devices come with software or cards that have programmed workouts; some can even be plugged into a treadmill or other exercise machine to guide you as you exercise, providing prompts and variety,” said Christina A. Geithner, a professor in the department of Exercise Science at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., and chairwoman of the American College of Sports Medicine’s consumer information committee.

“Some can also record your workout distance, time, etc. electronically, and then you can download that information to your laptop or to a designated program or Web site for tracking and other analyses.”

If nothing else, take your iPod on your workout.

“Music is a great motivator for exercise, and you have a choice in what you listen to for the type and pace of activity you are engaging in when you use these devices,” said Geithner.

“Consider your safety and how important it may be to have auditory information in the environment in which you are active. Make sure you follow the rules of the road — pedestrians and runners move against facing vehicular traffic as far off the road as possible; cyclists move with/in the same direction as vehicular traffic.”

We all know people who lie. Sure, there are people who omit the truth, people who keep secrets. But how about those who don’t even blink when asked direct questions?

Employers and law enforcement use polygraphs as a screening tool, but now, if you have about three hours to spare and several hundred dollars, you can engage this service, too.

Anyone who’s ever watched a police/crime procedural TV show — such as “CSI” or “Law & Order” — is familiar with the idea. This is not new technology. It’s been around for more than a century.

Last week, MSNBC.com reported that the Pentagon will issue handheld lie detectors to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan to screen local police officers, interpreters and allied forces for access to U.S. Military bases. The device may also be used in Iraq.

The debate about polygraphs' reliability is longstanding, and they're not allowed as evidence in most U.S. courts.

Stoelting is one of the major manufacturers of modern polygraphs. In 1935, it came out with the version of lie detectors that we know from earlier movies and TV. Among the other major players in the industry are Axciton, Lafayette and Limestone.

These analog versions were used up until the 1980s, when computerized versions theoretically made it nearly impossible to fool these instruments (do not call them machines; examiners hate that!).

The American Polygraph Association is one place to start if you're a private citizen looking for a polygraph for peace of mind.

Patrick Coffey, a California-based security consultant and computer polygraph examiner, and who specializes in pre-employment and internal affairs investigations experience in the private sector and law enforcement communities, has several tips for first-time consumers:

• Use only the services of a professional polygraph examiner who is a graduate of an American Polygraph Association-accredited school. Graduates of such schools have "usually completed an internship in a law enforcement agency or intelligence service, or a well-respected private sector company which services law enforcement agencies or the armored car service industry," he said.

• Make sure you are employing "a professional polygraph examiner who utilizes current state-of-the-art computer equipment with objective scoring algorithms," he said. The examiner  "must know how to hand-score a chart the old-fashioned way, and the subsequent computer scores are always considered only afterward. This provides for both subjective and objective findings."

• "Never use someone who merely owns the equipment, but does not have the actual accredited education and internship experience, or who is not accepted among their professional peer group."

Powered from USB port
Stoelting’s 8 Channel CPS II Computerized Polygraph System is a compact, but powerful device, that allows a trained examiner to do voice and audio recordings, to read a subject’s pulse, to gauge voice responses and the usual markers — all powered from a USB port connector to a computer.

Like Ben Stiller’s interrogation by future father-in-law Robert De Niro in “Meet the Parents,” the subject is hooked up to the device to measure reactions in different ways, including relative changes in blood pressure and pulse rate, perspiration and respiration.

The squiggly lines we’ve seen on TV and movies are still there, but now they’re hooked up to a laptop and software that analyzes microscopic physiological reactions.

The red line still represents cardio readings, green is perspiration and the blue lines measure respiration. Typically, a 10-question script includes four questions about the problem or event and those pivotal queries are compared to six other “control” questions.

More than 'yes' or 'no'
In their reports, Coffey said, examiners give a narrative of the interview, how the person qualified as a test subject, the information they're claiming, which type of test was done, the equipment used (calibrated to the manufacturers' specifications), relevant questions and the examiners' "hand score" (subjective score).

That allows the examiner to see the strength of the "purity" of the lines. Only after that are the scoring algorithms engaged, depending on the information the examiner provides (excluding a random sneeze or cough). The algorithms will compare that data with information it knows to be truthful and deceptive —validated material.

But just because De Niro's character did the test at home on a nervous Ben Stiller, don't think you can do it yourself authoritatively.

APA-accredited schools are located in 10 states, including Arizona, California, Georgia and Maryland.

There are thousands of private investigators in California, for example, but because the state doesn't require licensing for its polygraph examiners, finding one is best done through one of the associations, which can vouch for the training of the examiners.

Only half of the nation's states require licensing for polygraph examiners. If you're unsure, check with the American Polygraph Association's headquarters. They represent more than 3,000 examiners.

When I say dirty devices, what comes to mind?