TrainingPeaks app review: the ultimate triathlete companion app

Introduction

This app is designed to act as a comprehensive resource for runners, swimmers, and cyclists who want to track the progress of their fitness levels. You can also create plans and see extensive analysis of your performance with the option to boast about your accomplishments via social networking sites.

The thing that bugged me from the offset was not being able to register for TrainingPeaks from within the app – I had to visit the desktop site to register before I could log in to the app. I think that this gets things off to a worse point than would be achieved with in-app registration or automatic registration using Facebook.

On Yer Bike!

Despite my initial frustration with the registration process, I’ve been pretty impressed with the way TrainingPeaks is laid out and I think it’s a fantastic way for slightly more experienced athletes to monitor their hard work.

Once you’re logged in you’ll be presented with a calendar view of the coming days, weeks, and months, and into each day you can insert a workout involving running, cycling, swimming, cross training, cross-country skiing, walking, and more. From here, you can select the duration of your workout, the number of calories burned, any additional notes, and much more.

 

More User Info

You can also add an entry in each day for various metrics including your bodyweight, how many hours you slept, how many steps you took, and various other factors such as your hydration level and general feeling of wellbeing.

I think this is a very nice layout for those who don’t want or need to be spoon-fed but instead require something a little more basic wherein you can add all of your specific information; more experienced athletes and fitness enthusiasts will definitely have a field day with TrainingPeaks!

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Ideally suited for more advanced athletes
• Track all manner of activities from running and swimming to strength training and cross-country skiing
• Record various metrics including your bodyweight, hydration level, and quality of sleep
• Clean and clear layout to enable a high degree of personalization

Cons

• Not well suited for beginners
• No in-app registration
• No Facebook registration

 

Final Words

I’ve listed as a con the fact that this app isn’t well suited for beginners but I should probably add that I think it’s good to see a fitness tracker app that is tailored more towards athletes in the intermediate to advance area of the spectrum.

Many fitness apps seem to appeal to as wide a market as possible by offering lots of extra fluffy features to pad out the content and attract people who are just getting into the world of fitness, but I really like the way TrainingPeaks, while being more than approachable for newbies, also offers a way for the more experienced individuals to really take things a little further and up their game even more.

I’m very impressed with this app and would definitely recommend it to any athlete who is looking to step up and take their sport a little more seriously.