Speaker: Training for Triathlon can be pretty challenging, so the more advice we can get
our hands on and the more options there are for recording our data the better. That said,
we are now really spoilt when it comes to choice of apps for triathlon, with more information
out there than we could ever read in a lifetime, but that does mean it can be a little bit
daunting when you're trying to choose which apps will work for you. Today we've done a
little bit of the hard work for you and narrowed down to a selection of our favorites here
at GTN. We'll start things off with possibly the most
popular apps for triathletes Strava. I suspect most of you have heard of the activity sharing
app that allows you to show off to your friends just how fast you were on that bike or run
commute or even compare yourself to top pros on really popular segments. Strava is available
on iOS and Android and they always seem to be adding new features.
One of the recent one to come to the list is fitness and it allows you to actually add
up all your workouts overtime what it does that for you, so it ends up giving you an
overall fitness score so you can measure how you're progressing. Another one which can
help you do that is perceived exertion which seems to be aimed more at runners but it's
basically asking you to say how hard the session was after each run and then you can see over
time if you're improving your fitness if you do the same session and hit the same times
but it feels easier. A famous tech CEO once said that the goal
is to turn data into information and information into insight. With that in mind, TrainingPeaks
is very much designed to give insight into your training. It's a well-established coaching
out that's actually used widely around the world. It's basically a form of a training
diary that's used for coaches and athletes are like to help plan ahead and also to work
towards longterm goals. When it comes a wide range of analysis tools,
for example, you can pull your swim, bike and run data from pretty much any device that
you might be using in every day and then look at it on the training Peaks platform and analyze
the data there. There's lots of tools such as performance management chart which allow
you to actually look ahead and help plan your training going forwards looking the days when
you want to work harder and when it might be more important to put your feet up and
have a bit of rest. Newer features include, subject to feedback
like we touched on area when do you basically rate how you found that session so it helps
to give you the overall bigger picture and there's even a feature which I haven't used
yet where you can build your own session plan and then upload that to Swift or to your watch
or your head unit so you can follow that with your training plan.
[music] Whilst we're on the topic of planning and
recording training for those of us who actually do some gym work on top of swimming, cycling
and running there are some great options out there including Train Heroic. This app allows
you to record your gym workouts and then it displays your progress as a result and as
a step up there is a paid-for option which allows you to connect to coaches and also
get paid for programs that you can follow along.
Swift is an increasingly popular virtual reality training platform which allows you to ride
along with your friends or even race complete strangers all from the comfort of your own
home. While the Swift companion app allows you to get even more out of your Swift experience.
Once you have completed your workout you can view it in a nicer animation thatshows you
the route you've done, it also tells you who you've ridden with and importantly what kudos
you've got and on top of that does what you'd expect with normal tracking features. It will
give you your cadence, your heart rate, your power for example and maybe you took some
screenshots during it if you want to show where you're riding on Swift. Well, you can
then have that on the app and you can share it whenever you like.
One of the unique features of the Swift companion app is its live in workout feature which allows
you to interact with other people that are on the platform, something which you probably
couldn't do if you were riding outside on your own. Also it allows you to actually change
the intensity all from just the palm of your hand rather than having to reach for a remote
or something. Whilst there are quite a number now of cycling
and running apps. There are a limited number when it comes to swimmers but still a few
good ones out there. MySwimPro, for example allows you to plan and then track your training
and it's also quite accurate when it comes to recording your detail of your session,
something that's lacking on the more generic apps. A nice little addition to this app is
a goal-setting feature, which allows you to sign up to several challenges each month search
helps give you that bit of motivation and then there's actually a paid option when it
comes to coaching, so if you are looking at taking your swimming to the next step and
you want that extra help it could something worth considering.
Are you looking to take your training and your performance monitoring to the next level?
Well, if so then heart rate variability is a great tool for tracking your recovery and
your overall health. It's measuring that difference between each heartbeat and it allows you to
build a bigger picture looking at how ready you are to train for your next session. Something
that needs to be monitored for a certain period of time so you have a baseline which then
can be compared to each day so you can see if there's anything changing and it really
helps you to optimize that training. To do this accurately you are going to need
to be able to record your heart rates and Elite HRV actually works with most Bluetooth
4.0 heart rate monitors to track and give you an HRV score which you can then use when
you're building that bigger picture and really helping you to fine-tune that training.
Komoot is a really handy route planning app with lots of features for cycling and running.
It's great for planning routes in unfamiliar areas but also really useful for discovering
paths or lanes that are local to you that you maybe didn't know existed. It's also got
a feature where it tells you the type of terrain on that planned route and even the level of
difficulty so you can choose something that's tailored to you. Alternatively, if you're
really confident with the app you can even build your own routes, once you're happy with
that then you can upload it to whatever device you're doing and simply follow it on your
phone, watch, or your bike computer. There's maps available as well but you do sometimes
have to pay for a selection of these. Whilst on the subject of route planning apps,
there are plenty more out there, especially ones that are great if you are a triathlete.
Let's go a little bit off the beaten track. For UK-based viewers then there's OS subscription
app which does as it says on the tin and then through those who are worldwide View Ranger
is a great resource as well but you do need to bear in mind that you might need to pay
for a more detailed view on some of those maps. I think we've covered a fairly good
selection of apps there. If there's any that you use and you think are brilliant make sure
you share those with us and in my mind any app that makes a triathlon training a little
bit more fun or the numbers easier to decipher then it's a winner. Share those favorites
in the comment section below and give us a like and a follow.
[00:06:33] [END OF AUDIO]