Training Ecosystem
 

I’m just beginning to start taking my training seriously and put together the following app/tracking ecosystem.
My fitness pal – track calories
Map my ride – track workouts everything from rides to weight training and other workouts
Fitbit – I got for free from work, so why not
Wahoo TRKR X – HRM paired with the Wahoo APP shares with MapMyride and my fitness pal
Wahoo Rflkt to view while on bike

I don’t have a power meter may look at one for next year, I want to try tracking power during the winter on a trainer.

I’m following Chapple’s Base building as my training plan for this year.

What am I missing?

I would recommend something other than MapMyRide for serious training. You want something that understands training load, form/freshness, etc. Training Peaks is the big daddy, but also one of the most expensive and you need a power meter to get the most from it. Strava premium is worth checking out as a relatively inexpensive option, and I believe it now has ability to calculate training load and form/freshness with just HR data. Cycling Analytics also works decently without a power meter by using TRIMP (hr-based training load).

Golden Cheetah for Windows/Mac/Linux is free, $60 a year less than Strava premium.

It'll do training load based on heart rate via TRIMP.

Thanks, looking into Golden Cheetah may take a while, looks like it does a ton.

If it is spring, summer or autumn where you are ... cycle lots.

Do hill repeats.
Ride intervals.
Cycle brisk mid-length distances.
Cycle long distances.

You could include stair climbing ... I climb 30-40 flights a day, during the day at work, and it does seem to have helped my climbing ability.

You could also do some upper body weights, core work, and stretching to make sitting in the saddle for a long period of time more tolerable.

How do you like?

I really like it, I use with the rflkt and Wahoo's App (I use a Android so the only app that works with the rflkt) while riding gives me HR and RPM. During my kettlebell workouts and hiking I use it with MapMyRide. If you are only looking for HRM you can use some of there other TRKR devices.

I use RideWithGPS for mapping and also record my rides there. I then use TrainingPeaks Premium for training purposes. Their Performance Manager chart is invaluable. I train with HR and it works fine with that. One has to correctly test and manage one's zones to get best results, just like one would do with a PM. Any HRM which samples HR and uploads will work as long as it gives accurate, consistent results. I use both Garmin and Polar units with TP.

Thanks for the recommendation! My girlfriend needs an HRM for hiking and elliptical. Not sure what ecosystem she'll prefer but I think the Tickr supports ANT+ (if she gets a Garmin watch) and Bluetooth (if she doesn't) so it's probably her best bet. Really glad to hear it works for you for hiking. :)