Top Apps and Tools for Triathletes
Schedule, track and analyze your training and racing
December 14, 2011
It’s the time of year where we’re all thinking about how to make 2012 our best year yet. Thankfully, for those who can’t afford the latest in coaching expertise or top-shelf gear, there are a wide variety of apps and online tools to help us schedule, track and analyze every part of our training and race performance.
I’ve consulted with coaches, athletes, and tri-geeks alike to compile the below list of tools worth the money, or at least a trial. Other options to consider include Gymga “social network for fitness,” DailyMile to track workouts, Nike+ GPS for running, the iMapMy family (run, ride, walk, hike, fitness), RunKeeper, and others. Visit the app store for your phone/operating system, consider your needs, functions, costs, and ratings, and choose the tools that work for you. Have fun with these, they’re designed to make life as a triathlete easier and more fun.
Summary: Peaksware LLC offers tools for athletes and coaches, desktop analysis software, and a family of iPhone apps with GPS for runners, walkers and cyclists.
Services: Athletes can create or buy training and meal plans, find a coach, log training, meals and metrics, upload and analyze heart rate, power and pace data from more than 90 different devices, as well as search and map routes. Coaches can create plans for individuals and groups, monitor training, meals and more, analyze trends, and share training plans.
Cost: Free Basic Athletes Edition. Premium runs from $9.92/month for a prepaid year to $19.95 for a single month. Coach Edition offers a free trial, while a subscription requires a $99 one-time software license fee and $49/month (first month free).
Mobile platform: free iPhone and Android apps available
Summary: This recently redesigned site is part of the The Active Network Inc., and features a variety of tools for athletes of all levels engaging in triathlon, walking, fitness, and weight loss.
Services: Free membership gives access to a training log, a route mapping tool and public routes logged by other users, a reporting tool, and several other tools that calculate pace, track mileage on specific pairs of shoes, and more. Plus membership provides access to selected training plans for free, the ability to upload and analyze data from Polar devices, log distance from routes to workouts, calculate heart rate zone ranges with diagnostic field tests and more.
Cost: Free training log. ActiveTrainer Plus is $9.95/month and offers a two-week free trial.
Mobile platform: Free Active.com app for iPhone and Android are not integrated with ActiveTrainer
Summary: UberSense offers mobile video analysis apps that allow athletes and coaches to check movement and alignment when swimming, cycling and running and correct technique flaws to improve performance.
Services: Excelade is designed to aid with any physical activity where technique analysis can enhance performance. It provides slow motion mode, drawing tools, motion tracking, and allows comparison between two videos side by side or laid over one another.SportsCam provides similar capabilities, including playback speeds from 30 to 1 fps, unique recording options, the ability to compare videos side-by-side or overlaid with adjustable transparency, and touch screen drawing tools and shortcuts.
Cost: Excelade is $9.99 after a 30-day trial; SportsCam is free for a limited time.
Mobile platform: Excelade: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch 3rd and 4th gen; SportsCam: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch 4th gen.
Summary: An impressive video analysis app that allows the user to record or import video, review in slow motion or frame by frame using a virtual flywheel, draw on the video and add audio commentary. Share completed videos in a variety of ways (email, YouTube, text message, etc.). Learn from various tutorials on the app website.
Cost: $4.99
Mobile platform: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch
Summary: Endomondo is described as a sports community based on free real-time GPS tracking. Join for free and get a training log. Download the Sports Tracker app to track duration, distance, speed, calories. It also offers audio feedback, and can track your heart rate with the right devices. Pro version allows graphic of workout data, competing against previous workout performance, a workout time goal or calorie goal.
Cost: Free. Pro level is $3.99
Mobile platform: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, Nokia SymbianOS, Windows CE, Java
Summary: Wahoo Fitness products wirelessly connect iPhones to various fitness sensors such as heart rate straps, stride sensors and bicycle speed/cadence sensors through a dongle that plugs into the phone’s power/data port. The company also offers a variety of accessories, including sensors and bike mounts for phones. Developers can access Wahoo technology to use in their apps, as well. They promise Blue HR capability soon, using Bluetooth Smart technology with iPhone 4S to provide the first heart rate monitor of its kind. See a list of apps now available or in development that use with Wahoo technology at https://www.wahoofitness.com/Apps/Apps.asp.
Cost: varies
Mobile platform: iPhone, iPad, Android,
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Brad Shannon is a long-time cyclist and runner who for many years managed not to drown without really knowing how to swim. He spent 2010 in the pool, has completed several sprint triathlons, and plans to tackle an Olympic distance in the near future.
