The benefits of training with ithlete
Improve performance
Many users report achieving new personal bests (PBs) after using ithlete to direct their training.
Daily ithlete readings indicate how well recovered and ready for physical strain your body is. Once you are giving the body training loads it can cope with, your training effectiveness will improve. You will stop losing time to non-functional overreaching (NFOR), related illness (such as coughs and colds) or unproductive sessions. Additionally, by following ithlete’s recommendations you can perfect your taper before a major race or competition.
Enjoy guilt-free rest days
- Do you feel burdened by daily workouts?
- Are you pressured to keep up with friends and training partners?
- Would you like to take guilt free rest days when your body needs them?
Whilst you are resting, on either a rest day or during active recovery, your body is busy rebuilding your muscles and energy stores. This is an essential element in any training programme as the correct balance between training and recovery allows the body to adjust to increasing levels of exertion.
So when ithlete recommends you rest listen and enjoy a guilt-free rest day…you will be better for it tomorrow!
Track progress over time
Get motivated by seeing your progress over time on your phone or mobile device.
Progression and development are a result of training and recovery, building your body up to exceed your current capabilities. Using ithlete to record your heart rate variability daily enables you to view your progress over time, and takes the guess work out of tapering and peaking. HRV and subjective data recorded in ithlete can also be exported via email or Dropbox for further analysis.
Prevent overtraining
Measurement and monitoring of recovery will enable athletes to train smarter, thereby preventing overtraining.
Most injuries happen when the body is stressed or tired, so by using ithlete’s recommendations to avoid hard sessions when your body is already fatigued, you minimise that risk. HRV is much more sensitive than resting heart rate, so you get feedback at an earlier stage, which helps avoid the development of overtraining and its lasting effects. Overtraining takes anything from days to months to recover from; can you afford not to prevent overtraining?
Avoid injury
Using ithlete daily to monitor training stress is the best thing you can do to make your training safe and effective.
It’s hard for anyone (even some experienced competitors) to judge whether they are under or over doing their training. Whilst the first leads to disappointing performance, the second can result in increased sick days through colds, persistent fatigue or even substantial periods of layoff from exercise. Training is all about stress and recovery and a hard session will lower your ithlete score. If it stays low even with rest you could be on the edge of trouble.
Measure response to workouts
Use ithlete to optimise the effectiveness of your workout sequence.
Most training programmes consist of a combination of workouts. Very few athletes know which element is most beneficial to them. Keep your training more flexible, allowing yourself to be guided by your body’s needs and reduce the common problem of training monotony. With the latest version of ithlete you can add your training load and comments, letting you monitor your body’s response to individual workouts. Whether you vary the speed, distance, duration or intensity of your training ithlete will quickly identify the effect this has on your body, ensuring you can use your time effectively.
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 your sensor and follow the on screen instructions to get an accurate reading of your heart rate variability (HRV). 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. 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 include avoiding overtraining, workout optimisation, guilt-free rest days, improved performance and much more!