TrainingPeaks is the pre-eminent online training software for cyclists, triathletes and other endurance athletes who are serious about their training & competition performance. TrainingPeaks allows athletes to record and analyse workouts using heart rate, power and speed as well as setting targets and measuring progress towards their goals.
TrainingPeaks contains sophisticated scientific tools that analyse athletes performance from the heart rate, speed and power they monitor during workouts and calculate training load figures (such as TSS). But you can only train as hard as you can recover, and recovery and readiness for the next session or competition depend on multiple lifestyle factors, many of which are individually determined. It therefore makes sense to bring in heart rate variability (HRV) which now provides the missing element of recovery measurement objectively, allowing the athlete to choose the right session for what their body is capable of that day.
Users of ithlete Pro can now synchronise their accounts to TrainingPeaks to gain further insight in to how training effects their HRV.
Once synced, via the new TrainingPeaks widget, each ithlete reading from then on gets automatically uploaded to the users corresponding TraingingPeaks account, and displayed as a metric for that day. The user can then plan their workout according to their recovery.
As an aside, it was partly due to a conversation with Training Peaks founder Hunter Allen in 2009 that ithlete creator Simon was inspired to turn HRV from a difficult to use lab measure into an app that anyone can use to measure their recovery and readiness to train every morning. So we’ve always seen the potential for this relationship to develop!
How to connect ithlete with TrainingPeaks
To automatically upload your ithlete data to your TrainingPeaks account you must have ithlete Pro. Log in to your Pro account either on mobile or desktop and scroll down to the new TrainingPeaks widget. From there it is as simple as clicking the TrainingPeaks logo and following on screen instructions.
Once this is done your daily ithlete HRV score will be automatically uploaded to your TrainingPeaks account after each reading.
Do you think that ithlete may one day do something similar with Fitbit
Hi Steve,
Interesting thought! As you probably know, ithlete Pro can already import Sleep & Activity kCal data from Fitbit, but I’m not sure that the Fitbit weightloss audience is sufficiently aware of HRV to be requesting it…. yet.
on a similar vein I’m sure sporttracks would be an interesting partner, especially the desktop users who, for sure, do know about HRV. Similarly, too, Golden Cheetah users would be highly knowledgeable.
You could perhaps talk to Garmin about linking to Garmin Connect – although they would probably end up implementing something themselves.
Wrist bands are not accurate enough to provide good EHV readings. You need a chest strap.
Simon I have used ithlete for several years now and recently when through a period when I could not get a reading for several days/weeks despite all equipment working perfectly. Other apps were giving readings with exceedingly raised Hrv and Rmmsd to my normal levels. Ithlete was telling me error count exceeded on a consistent basis. Blood tests showed inflammation. I had a 12 hours period when I was hot and cold then a persistent cough for weeks. I am guessing that this was a virus that was causing a heart irregularity hence the error readings? I use can alive core ECG that gave me as normal readings which confused me more. My heart rate coherence as measured by emwave plummeted to less than a third of normal. This seemed to coincide with the unexpected rise in Hrv on other apps. My Hrv even registered 90 on one day which is way above my usual 68:78 range. I am now getting normal ithlete readings and coherence appears to be rising . I would value anythoughts orobservations.
Hi Nigel,
Sorry to hear you have been going through a rough patch. As you correctly point out, ithlete does have quite strict artefact cutoff limits, and if this were not the case you could easily get misleadingly high readings when arrhythmia occurs. I think it’s likely the virus was causing this and I’m not very familiar with the AliveCor app, but I think it’s only validated to detect AF in older people? You can use a Bluetooth strap & our Precision Pulse app to record & chart heartbeat intervals over an extended time, and ventricular ectopic beats (followed by compensatory pauses) show up quite nicely.
Whats important is that you are now getting back to normal – I’ve experienced what can happen when you continue to train during a virus and it can embed itself for months.
Thanks Simon I purchased precision pulse a long time ago and changed phones so I forgot about it. I wished I had contacted you earlier. I continue to value your knowledge and experience. I seem to be getting back to normal but Hrv is lower than my normal as coherence seems to be rising. I have yet to find any information on relationships between coherence and Hrv.
Hi Nigel,
I would only rely on a validated tool in the hands of a trained cardiac clinician for detecting arrhythmia (which can indeed be occasional or ‘paroxysmal’ as they call it), and although the AliveCor device is probably the most studied device available to consumers it still comes with cautions regarding diagnosis “The AliveCor Mobile ECG has a high negative-predictive value and is sufficiently sensitive in the hands of experienced clinicians to be useful in detecting AF a general practice population, but does not replace the need for a diagnostic 12-lead ECG in suspected cases of AF.”
Which implies that if you see something suspicious using AliveCor then you need to get an appointment for screening & possible follow up using a portable (Holter) monitor.
Regarding the relationship between coherence and HRV: HRV is a measure of all types of beat to beat variation occurring with periods of 2s to 30s or more. These variations can be related to respiration, baroreflex and longer term sympathetic & hormonal influences. Coherence describes the deliberate excitation of the baroreflex by breathing at the resonant frequency (~0.1 Hz). Measuring coherence is often performed by measuring the peak to peak heart rate signal and expressing it as a difference in bpm, seconds or as an amount of (LF) power. Hope this helps!
This looks to be just the job for Apple Watch owners – just touch the side of your wrist for an instant ECG
http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/16/alivecor-unveils-kardia-band-a-medical-grade-ekg-band-for-apple-watch/
Thanks Simon, yes very helpful. Still confused as to why coherence can suddenly plummet drastically despite very strict breathing rates in a daily routine replicated over several years. Especially when Hrv appears to be higher than normal. As a therapist I use coherence and Hrv as helpful indications of stress both physical and psychological but could find no reason for the huge changes other than I mentioned in my post .
Is Ithlete analysis rely on the SDNN ou LF HF ratio ?
Hi Stephane,
In fact we use Ln RMSSD, which is the most robust & insightful time domain parameter for parasympathetic HRV measurement outside of the laboratory. There is a full explanation at this page of our site http://www.myithlete.com/scientific-foundation
Cordialement,
Do you have any plans to sync any other metrics with Training Peaks? A competitor’s HRV app syncs several of the other subjective metrics logged each morning with the app.
Hi Carmen,
Yes indeed. We are implementing upload of the subjectives to TP, and are just waiting on them to tell us how to pull TSS back the other way. We will release once its all done together.
Is there any chance you could include the pulse rate along with the HRV in your TrainingPeaks upload?
Hi Mark,
Yes, we have an update planned before the end of the year which will include resting HR, some of the subjective scores and bringing TSS back into ithlete Pro.
Awesome. Thanks for the update.
Hi Simon,
That sounds awesome! But i have tried on my trial account and it doesn’t work. All i see in TrainingPeaks is only HRV. It would be really great to transfer the RHR and the scores.
Or maybe it works on the paid account and not on the trial one?
Any update?
Thanks,
Mihai
Hi Mihai,
The first version of the TP interface only supported import of HRV scores, but we have been working with them on an extension to do what you are asking (and more) which will be available very soon!
best,
Simon.