One Year of the Firstbeat Sports Sensor and Live App

It has been one year since we launched the Firstbeat Sports Sensor and Live app* – introducing our most flexible, efficient, and in-depth internal load monitoring solution yet with the aim to bring true mobility to coaching.

Since then, teams competing – and winning trophies – at the very top of their sports have embraced the next-generation solution that combines a cutting-edge Sensor, in-built memory, and an embedded processor for viewing metrics like TRIMP and Training Effect alongside a Live app that simplifies the real-time monitoring and data download process.

“We‘ve had great feedback from teams using the Firstbeat Sports Sensor and Live app over the past 12 months,” explains Veli-Pekka Kurunmäki, Director of Professional Sports at Firstbeat.

“Introducing this solution has made it easier for coaches to manage data collection and to make required changes to training. Teams can now record data in multiple locations and see how individual players are responding in real-time as they move around training without having to worry about monitors or losing data when players are out of range. This has allowed them to make confident training decisions in the moment and during post-analysis, based on accurate and more complete internal load data.

“Lockdown was a difficult time for everyone but, from their use of the Sensor and Live app, we were happy to see how players at the highest level were taking the responsibility in collecting, sharing and monitoring their training and recovery information by themselves.”

Always Learning

At Firstbeat, we believe in the philosophy of ‘always learning’. We’re always looking to innovate, adapt, and update our solutions to meet the needs of our users and increase our ability to support those seeking to optimize performance and recovery.

That’s why we’ve continued to update both the Sensor and Live app over the past 12 months – and have exciting plans for the future, too. Here’s a reminder of what’s new and what is to come.

Good quality data is the foundation for effective analysis. The new heart rate strap introduced in November 2019 allows us to provide that by increasing durability and the quality of data collection.

And we know you are all pressed for time and can’t spend hours fine-tuning the parameters and importing data from various sources. The Lap Management feature introduced in October 2019 made it easier to isolate and analyze specific moments in training or games with minimal fuss.

Then, in January 2020, the arrival of the Garmin Health API increased the ability to record and access key data beyond team training scenarios by importing data collected from Garmin wearable devices into Firstbeat Sports. Our API ecosystem is something that helps us stand out from the crowd and these partnerships with the likes of Garmin, Kinexon, Kitman Labs and Kinduct, among others, are an important way we can help you streamline your workflow and access the data you need when you need it.

Responding to 2020

2020 has brought unprecedented challenges in the form of the Coronavirus pandemic. Our agile approach allowed us to introduce the Firstbeat Sports Live app for athletes at a critical time for many teams who were forced into remote training situations.

Athletes can now sync and download their own recorded data and perform the Quick Recovery Test themselves via the app. Once again reducing the workload for coaches and sports scientists.

Future Plans

And we don’t plan to stop there. The Android version of the Live app will be arriving soon, and we have just introduced the ability to monitor external load using the Sensor using new Movement Load and Movement Intensity metrics.

Update November 2020: The Firstbeat Sports Live app for athletes is now available for Android devices.

Movement Load lets you quantify the overall external work athletes produce in a session by collecting all movement data detected through three-dimensional acceleration sensors. The Movement Intensity metric will show the average Movement Load/min, allowing users to compare workload density across different drills and sessions.

If you are a current Firstbeat Sports Monitor user or looking to upgrade your load and recovery monitoring capabilities in general, contact us using the form below to learn more about the Firstbeat Sports Sensor and Live app, and which offering works best for you.

And learn more about Movement Load and Movement Intensity now available to Firstbeat Sports Premium users.

Get to know

*Please note the Firstbeat Sports Live app is now known as the Firstbeat Sports: Coach and Firstbeat Sports: Athlete app.