Training at your fingertips: Apps for Triathletes

 

 

Triathletes are busy people who love finding easy-to-use, time-saving ways to maximize their training. Thankfully, there are many apps for that. Triathletes have been using MapMyRide to find pre-mapped rides just about anywhere with a database of millions of routes. Strava is among the most popular, enabling cyclists to record their hill sprints and TTs to see how they stack up against other users and earn bragging rights. But there are some less well-known ones that will save you from drawn out Google searches, giving you more time and energy to train. Here are a few of our favourites.

 

 

Swim Radar

$3

It’s often hard to fit in swims when travelling, but Swim Radar will help you find the closest spot. With over 17,000 swim locations around the world, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for. The app can even filter by length (25 yards, 50 metres or even open water), indoors versus outdoors. After you find a nearby pool, Swim Radar will list all the contact and pool info as well as direct you on your way with easy to follow routing. The app requires iOS 6.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Bike Doctor

$5

It’s like carrying your bike mechanic in your pocket. The Bike Doctor helps you maintain your bike with easy straightforward instructions. Even a complete beginner can follow them. Simply browse through different repairs or tap the relevant bike part and an in- depth discussion emerges. You can navigate through the bike view or a cluster of repair categories. Clear pictures of each step capture important details. The app works on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices.

Make sure you are using iOS 6 or above.

TriEssential

Free

Need a mental boost? The TriEssential iPhone app gives you daily motivation with inspiring quotes, images and training tips that will help make your next race or training session a success. High-quality action shots will get you revved to top-sourced news items that will keep you in the know. It’s great for keeping your mind off pre-race jitters. You will need to download over WiFi or through iTunes to accommodate the high-res images. Requires iOS 3.1 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Polar Beat App

Free

Turn your iPhone into your smart training companion.  The well-designed interface is easy to use and intuitive. This exercise app doesn’t just record workout but interprets workout data, so you’ll know what your body has achieved and what to do to meet your goals more effectively. Train indoors or out. Polar Beat helps you train at the right intensity with the help of real-time graphical and voice guidance. Not exclusive to Polar products, this app can help you reach your training goals no matter your training equipment. Requires iOS 7.0 or later but optimized for iPhone 5.

–SZ