Share

Road Cycling

How Olympic silver medallist Becky James used wearable tech to prepare for Rio 2016

Using the Fitbit Blaze fitness watch to track heart rate, sleep and daily activity

Becky James stormed to silver in both the keirin and individual sprint earlier this month at Rio 2016 – and the 24-year-old has revealed how she used wearable tech to aid her preparation for the Olympic Games.

James used the FitBit Blaze fitness watch to track her heart rate in order to spot if she was fatigued from training or coming down with an illness, so she could arrive in Rio in peak physical condition.

“If my heart rate changes overnight by a couple of beats, I usually know it’s to do with fatigue or I might be getting a little bit ill,” she says. “It’s quite good to monitor that for my training.”

James also uses the Blaze to track her sleep – as a professional cyclist, the Team GB star aims for at least eight to 12 hours or quality sleep a night in order to recover properly from training.

Becky James won double silver in the sprint and keirin at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Pic: Sirotti)

On top of that, the fitness watch automatically counts steps. While most users might use that feature to ensure they are staying active through the day, James goes the opposite way when tapering for an event and she needs to stay as rested as possible. In fact, the British track cycling squad have become masters of the taper, also arriving at the Olympic Games in the best form possible to blow away the opposition.

“Whenever we’re going into an event or a taper, you like to do as little steps as possible, so I know I’ve stayed off my feet,” says James.

Check out the video above to see how James used the Fitbit Blaze to prepare for Rio.

Sponsored by
Newsletter Terms & Conditions

Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy.

Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions.

production