Since we launched the One80 site, I have been asked frequently what ‘iTrainedToday’ is all about. So I decided to interview, Bryan – the brains behind the concept.

Firstly, give us a bit of background on yourself. What are your passions, hobbies and what drives you?

I Started post-school life out by studying sports sciences but eventually ended up with programming and maths; which is where I love to stay busy and earn a living. I’ve competed provincially in triathlon so I gravitate towards multi-disciplined sports and also coach the Milnerton Surf lifeguards. Most of all, I love the water: so surfing, swimming, surf-ski and then board racing is where I like to play.

What is iTrainedToday’ all about?

iTrainedToday is a space which combines technology with training. The underlying philosophy is to evaluate the smart use of technology and not just give in to every gadget under the sun. We believe that technology should add value to your training, but stay out of the way and let you focus on getting results- by sweating it out the good ol’ fashioned way! The flagship online log book embodies that philosophy: technology to help you stay on top of your training but simple enough to stay out of your way.

What inspired you to create iTrainedToday?

There are a lot of online training tools out there, and I’ve used a lot of them: from Polar, to Garmin and Suunto and then other non-product related. What bogged me down with each of them was the level of detail they were asking me for with every training session that I wanted to record. There were so many questions and options to fill out each time I eventually stopped using them- they got in my way. I just knew there had to be a better way than writing them down manually or capturing endless yarns of data that i’m never going to have to need. For me, being able to spot trends over time is the most important aspect of a log book. How many meters you ascended during one run is not going to help you evaluate your season’s effort. But knowing that 25km’s of swimming every week for 4 weeks caused you to overtrain is far more valuable. Or knowing that 2 days of bad sleep in a row, coupled with two hard (but normal) training sets resulted in a head cold is key. Cause and effect.

Very interesting, I see the interface is very user friendly – is there future plans to enhance the product? Perhaps add stuff like calorie burnt during activity or average heart rate (if you could upload Polar Heart Rate information)

There are some exciting features in the planning and production phases right now; and a whole bunch have also been scrapped because we believed them to be too “complicated” or they just plain get in the way. That said, as it stands, you -could- add in calorie and average heart rate per session since the session detail field is completely free-form. For example, on my gym workouts i measure and record the training effect based on a summary from my Suunto t6 lab.

Who should use iTrainedToday and why?

Keeping a record of your training is super important. It’s such an underrated discipline and so many people don’t track what they’re actually training and when they’re training. If you don’t have any real idea how can you:

• a) measure your results and link those results back directly to your training?
• b) know what training sessions worked and what you brought you down?
• c) spot trends in injuries and illnesses
• d) explain performance (or lack thereof)
• e) stay motivated when the going gets tough

Yes, you can probably recall the last 3-4 days of training, but you need a broader vision than that. Our bodies work in macro and micro cycles so if you want repeat performances that demonstrate results, you need to look back. The computer is great at storing information, so why not use it for just that?

Could you show us what Bryan allott did last week (your log from iTrainedToday)?

Absolutely. You can also see my training trends. Ski for example, I only train every other week. Swimming is fairly consistent and on track. The one-off dip is part of a longer trend in taking every other week easy (to facilitate recovery) so i’m happy. My running went through a phase and is dipping a little- so now i know i need to pick that up a little this week. And then my gym sessions could be on the up, but overall I’m still happy with them. Need to stay focused though and make sure i stay on top of that and not let that slack for another week.

I see you also have apps for bodycircuit & bodyfit – please explain a little more about these applications

BodyFit is really a tool for personal trainers (but also for yourself if you really are committed) for measuring and tracking the progress of your clients (or yourself) as you go through your training season. You periodically record your weight along with some key caliper measurements and get a summary of body fat percentages. You can review these over time to see if you’re getting the results you are aiming for. Obviously, use the same equipment and the same professional touch to record the measurements for best results.

BodyCircuit was put together because I tend to train when i see a gap in my day and want to push out a 40 minute all body workout *now*. So i put together a set of workouts based on time and let the computer (or my phone) do the counting for me. The great part is that my phone won’t wait for me to take an extra 5 second break. I need to keep up and work hard but don’t have to keep looking at the clock or keeping count of what’s next. I just wait for the “buzz” and look up to see what’s next. Again, a great way to use technology- simply.

Thanks Bryan! That was certainly educational! To start logging your workouts click here