The ithlete blog
Welcome to the ithlete blog, the central place to get the latest company news, read real user stories, get our take on heart rate variability news and research, get top tips on using ithlete and share your thoughts.
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The Most Advanced Yoga Practice Is Breathing
Last summer I spent 2 weeks at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in France on their Sadhana Intensive. The sanskrit word 'sadhana' refers to spiritual practice and the word 'intensive' refers to practising yoga for over 9 hours every day for 14 days. It was challenging on...
Tuesday Tip: What Deep Breathing does for Your Body
This week’s Tuesday Tip takes a closer look at what deep breathing can do for you and provides some helpful tips to help you practice
Training Blog: Brian Schwind – October
With my last race of the season completed I headed into September and October with the main goal of recovery and rejuvenation. My focus is spending more time with my wife, getting outside and doing some different activities, and just enjoying some free time. I have...
Adrenal Fatigue and Overtraining
Following on from our recent research summary, we take a closer look at adrenal fatigue and how it affects your training and performance
Tuesday Tip: Diaphragmatic Breathing
In this installment of our Tuesday Tip series we will focus on diaphragmatic breathing. A great habit for athletes to get into since it will help you take in lots of oxygen during exercise.
Infographic: Levels of Training
Our latest Infographic focuses on the three different levels of endurance training and how your HRV responds to each training level
Training Blog: Andy Dolphin – October
Andy Dolphin’s training blog provides an insight into an athlete who’s training time is minimal. With around 5 to 8 hours a week to train, Andy uses ithlete to maximise his training.
Can your HRV Number be too High? Here’s the Research
Our latest research summary focuses on two studies from Yann Le Meur who sheds some light on how and when parasympathetic overreaching occurs.
Heat Stress and Sport
As the temperature increases, how well you deal with the heat will play a significant role in determining your sporting performance. This month’s hot topic looks at why it’s crucial that athletes of all abilities adapt to the heat and more importantly how best to do it.
Can your Morning HRV Predict your Cycling Performance?
Who, what, why? In two previous posts, we summarised studies that showed an almost unbelievable ability for night-time / morning heart rate variability (HRV) to predict the changes in performance of both swimmers and club runners. HRV and Swimming Time Trial Results...
Infographic: All Stress Matters
This month we’ve been looking at all things stress, and in particular how all forms stress has a similar effect on the body. This infographic provides a great visual overview.
Tuesday Tip: Reducing Stress in the Workplace
Our recent research summary focused on the investigation of how work affected individuals in both psychological & physiological respects. In addition, the full research paper from the University of Queensland, Australia shared some useful tips to reduce workplace stress which we have summarised for this weeks Tuesday Tip
Heart Rate Variability and Health Part 3 – Workplace Stress
Summarising a very interesting piece of research looking at how work affects individuals in both psychological and physiological respects.
Training Blog: Andrew Tamplin – August
After a tough July, Andrew Tamplin looks forward to a return to training with ithlete Pro guiding him through it. Read his August Training Blog here:
Training Blog: Andy Dolphin – August
In his August Training Blog, Andy Dolphin talks us through his training schedule and ithlete Pro data.
Want to know more about ithlete?
Follow these four easy steps to get started with ithlete today!
Choose a heart rate sensor
To measure heart rate variability (HRV) with ithlete you’ll need a heart rate sensor. You have the option to use an ithlete finger sensor or chest strap monitor. If you have a recent iPhone, iPad or Android device you may like to use our Bluetooth Smart chest strap monitor, or alternatively grab a Polar type analogue strap (we also offer one of these) and an ithlete ECG receiver to pick up the signal. Visit the ithlete store to find your preferred sensor.
Download the ithlete app
ithlete is available on both iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. If you do want to check your model of smartphone or tablet is compatible check our FAQ page.
One minute daily measurement
After waking each morning relax and sit comfortably, slip on a chest strap or finger sensor and follow the on screen instructions to get an accurate reading of your heart rate variability. Taking the measurement couldn’t be simpler and in 60 seconds you will have a personalised training recommendation for the day.
Reap the benefits of training with ithlete
The idea is quite simple. Training is all about stress and recovery. A hard session, lack of sleep, mental stress etc. will lower your number. If your reading drops significantly, take this as an early warning that you are overloading the system. On the other hand a high score lets you know you should make the most out of the day. Benefits of this include avoiding overtraining, workout optimisation, guilt free rest days, improved performance and much more!