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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Tuesday’s Tips: Circadian rhythms
How important is routine and time of measurement when tracking heart rate variability? Very! And here is why…
The importance of sleep in sport
Poor sleep leads to an 11% reduction in time to exhaustion. Average of less than 8 hours sleep per night causes 1.7x greater injury risk. Just 2 days of sleep restriction can lead to a 3x increase in lapses of attention and reactivity. Max bench press drops 20lbs...
Tuesday’s Tip – the importance of the first 4 hrs of sleep
Most people like to think of total sleep time as the main metric associated with sleep quality, but in fact the first four hours are the period for key restorative functions, especially in athletes & sports people.
Research Summary: Sleep quality is related to HRV before bed
Researchers at the University of Salzburg, Austria and the University of California wanted to test the idea that if daytime heart rate variability (HRV) is strongly linked to physical and mental health, would HRV also be a predictor of healthy sleep?
Can HRV be used as a more accurate, individualized measure of training load?
This is an interesting study that suggest that HRV has the potential to deliver a sport independent comparable training load number, a goal long sought after by sports scientists and coaches.
HRV predicts game performance of football players
A very interesting post looking at predicting team sports performance using heart rate variability
Tuesdays Tip: Using multiple devices to interact with your ithlete Pro data
Our Tuesday Tip this week looks at getting the most out of your ithlete Pro data using multiple devices.
Tuesdays Tip: Data management, and third party integration
This weeks Tuesday Tips continues on the ithlete Pro theme but focusing on data management across multiple devices, and integrating third party data into your ithlete Pro timeline.
Tuesday Tip: Safe, synched & insightful data with ithlete Pro
Today’s Tuesday Tip focuses on looking at the advantages of cloud-based data storage with ithlete Pro
High altitude and Heart Rate Variability
Commander Adrian Mellor talks us through some of the latest research in high altitudes and HRV
Tuesday Tip: The ithlete Pro™ Training Guide
The ithlete Pro™ Training Guide is a unique new chart showing your current physical state in two dimensions, recovery and activation, and is the next focus of our Tuesday Tips series.
Tuesday Tip: Using the ithlete Pro Timeline
Over the next four weeks we’re going to take a more in depth look at the main features of ithlete Pro in the form of Tuesday Tips. This week we’re starting with the interactive timeline.
Marginal Gains for a Big Improvement
Following on from a feature in the Guardian newspaper discussing marginal gains resulting in serious performance improvements we have posted a blog post taking a look at how ithlete contributes.
ithlete Pro – a first look!
Check out this great overview of ithlete Pro, the all new cloud based HRV tool.
A look back at 2014
A round up of whats been a busy year here at ithlete HQ!
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!