October sees the release of the eagerly awaited ithlete Android Version 2. 

We’ve listened carefully to the comments and feedback you have given us and used this to guide the development of ithlete Version 2. You wanted to record your training load directly in ithlete. You wanted a place to note down comments. You wanted a more interactive chart view. Here it is and with much more besides!

The release will provide a range of new and improved features and will be available from Google Play from Tuesday 23^rd October.

Getting Started

When you open the ithlete app it immediately starts to register your heart beat. If your heart rate does not display check your equipment is connected correctly. Now ithlete waits for your heart rate to stabilise before taking your reading. Once the bar goes green (right) hit start to begin your measurement. Follow the one minute paced breathing measurement as before.

Heart rate variability and breathing are intimately connected, and that is the reason we included the paced breathing of the lungs animation to provide consistency in the measurement. The chosen breathing rate is based on highly respected research into the effects of breathing rate on HRV; however some people feel it is too fast for them, especially if they are practised deep breathers. You can choose your own breathing rate if you prefer, but HRV is a sensitive measurement, so keep it consistent from one day to the next, and never take HRV readings when breathing irregularly.

Save with Comments

Over the years many ithlete users have reported that they would like to be able to add notes to their ithlete data. Now you can!

After following the 1 minute paced breathing measurement, just like you always have, you will now have two options; to save the ithlete HRV measurement only, or to save with comments. Saving with comments allows you to enter a sleep score of 1 – 5 and/or comments in the free text field.

Record your training load in ithlete

Many users have told us how useful it is to look back over past HRV data but what has been requested time and time again is the ability to record your training load too. So now you can! 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.

• TRIMP
• TSS
• RPE (1-0 scale of excursion
• Distance, Duration or Repetitions

Remember it’s really important to be consistent – don’t compare apples and oranges!

New landscape chart view

A brand new feature! From the original chart screen tip the phone to landscape to view the new and more in-depth chart. This new chart still displays your morning HRV scores and average but now also includes your training load, showing you the visual relationship between training load and recovery.

This view enables you to look at different periods of time (1 week/1 month/3 months/all time) by tapping the screen. This is really helpful to look at patterns of HRV before a race or event when you did well, and one where you were disappointed in order to see if there were some patterns that you could find useful to identify in future. Look back at training load and responses to identify patterns to help guide you in future too!

Data Export

All of your ithlete readings can now be exported via dropbox or to the email address of your choice. That could be a friend, coach, or yourself in order to include in your training log or just to keep a safe copy.

All ithlete data is exported in CSV (comma separated variable) format and can be imported into many spreadsheet programs such as Excel, Numbers and OpenOffice. These programs will do some basic formatting for you when you open the file, and will put the Date, Time, HRV and resting HR into separate columns. The final column is made up of the Indicator letters that ithlete uses to make recommendations on your training for that day.

These are interpreted as follows:

W = White = Workout as normal

A = Amber = Light (aerobic) exercise

R = Red = Rest

G = Green = Good recovery

N = Not the first reading of the day = Not used in the ithlete chart

Many athletes like to create a chart, like a bigger version of the one in the app, with HRV on the Y (vertical) axis and Date on the X (horizontal) axis. You can then compare notes from your training diary to see how your body reacted to the different types & levels of training.

This is also a great feature for coaches who need to monitor players remotely (for example during off season and when athletes are travelling)!

Thanks for reading

If you have any comments or questions about version 2 for Android, or would like to suggest even more features for the next release just leave a comment below.