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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Training Blog: Andy Dolphin – October
Following the post-holiday blip, HRV has been fairly stable even considering my cold in mid-September. Mood and stress though have been an issue, particularly mood, most notably post holiday (expected) but also through the most part of September.
Why does it remain so difficult to recover? The Discomfort of Doing Nothing.
In my examination of the challenges of recovery, this is, for me, the strongest and trickiest feeling to deal with: the insecurity of doing what is perceived as ‘nothing’. Training feels like taking control, being active, pursuing your goals and making use of your life; sitting still does not.
Why does it remain so difficult to recover? Introduction
Full time Sprint Swimmer Georgina Gardner Stockley introduces her upcoming blog series ‘Why does it remain so difficult to recover?’
Athletes: Fit but unhealthy?
Prof Paul Laursen & Dr Phil Maffetone have consistently preached the message that elite level performance needn’t be at the cost of your long term health. Their recent opinion piece highlighting why is summarised here.
Training Blog: Andy Dolphin – September
Post Ride-London has been a bit low-key; the two weeks immediately after was a case of easing off as training had been ongoing for 6 months as this was my main event. And then the latter end August into September was a family holiday, although I managed to get a few...
Garmin and ithlete Pro; Bringing Together Training and Recovery
Garmin and ithlete Pro Garmin are regarded by many endurance athletes as the ‘go-to’ devices for monitoring and logging their workouts and everyday activities. As well as providing stats during the workout your training data is synced to Garmin Connect to view more...
The ithlete one minute measure
When we launched ithlete in 2009, early users struggled to believe that a metric as insightful as heart rate variability (HRV) could be measured in less than 60 seconds. Here we explain why it can!
Success as an athlete depends on managing injury and illness
The Australian Institute of Sport monitored 33 international track and field athletes across 5 seasons. They found injury and illness were major factors for success.
A Daily Training Cycle
Andrew Tamplin has created and shared a great infographic giving us an insight in to his daily training cycle and decision making process.
‘The morning recovery test effects all other aspects of the daily cycle, the simple fact is that if you are not recovered sufficiently from your previous workout, work or other life stress then you are not going to be training effectively.’
The ithlete Finger Sensor – convenient for sure, but is it accurate?
Who, what & why? In an earlier blog post Measurement of HRV we described how heart rate variability (HRV) measurements were originally performed using the Electro Cardiograph (ECG or EKG) and then later by Polar chest straps once those had been validated for beat...
Training Blog: Andy Dolphin – July
End of June is a scheduled recovery week, so not much during the week other than a 75 minute tempo ride on the 30th. Then on the weekend 2nd July was a group ride 2 hrs 30 mins, 56% in heart rate zone 2 and 38% in zone 3. On the 3rd it was Hill repeats at...
Training Blog: Andy Dolphin – June
Having spent 6 months building up to the 300 mile ride, it was time for backing off a little…
Science and Cycling 2016 – Summary of presentations
Science & Cycling is an annual gathering of researchers, expert practitioners and team performance managers arranged a couple of days before, and close to the start of the Tour de France. It was our first time attending and exhibiting and turned out to be one of...
Research Summary: Cumulative fatigue in Elite cyclists during the Tour of Spain
Who, what & why? The three week long cycling Grand Tours (Italy, France, Spain) are well known to be amongst the hardest multi day endurance events in the World. But for most of us that will never experience one, how fatigued do the riders actually become, and...
Training Blog: Andy Dolphin – May
This month see’s Andy and his team take on the much anticipated 300 mile Charity Ride!
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!