Is tech the key to smarter sports training? In the past, athletes have relied on tried-and-tested methods and traditional practice to maximize their results. However, modern technology offers opportunities to train and perform with the support of research-backed technology. From wearables and apps to smarter apparel, athletes are seeing greater results with the high-quality products we have access to today.
Tracking How Your Body Works
Some of the latest cutting-edge technology works to not only enhance performance, but to reduce the risk of injury among athletes. Kitman Labs recently introduced research-supported technology designed to scan athletic performance, track deviations in movement that would be otherwise impossible to notice, and direct trainers and trainees towards ways to fix and improve performance.
The ability to track and measure athletic performance has given researchers new methods for understanding sports and the behavior a body undergoes during sports. For most athletes, whether you're stretching out in a yoga pose, or improving your soccer success, it's hard to see what you're doing wrong. That's where this new technology comes in.
From video software that analyzes athletic movement, to wearable microchips and sensors designed to monitor athletes at varying degrees, the ability to track movement has grown substantially. Professional teams, such as the MBA Mavericks, are now using microchips to follow everything from play workloads, to acceleration data, and rehabilitation progress. In other words, both trainers and athletes can now use computerized data to enhance their performance, and discover how much stress is placed on certain muscles to reduce recovery times.
Monitoring Yourself, and Your Equipment
Technology for tracking performance doesn't just extend to professional athletes and sports teams, however. Today, new innovations in sports watches, pedometers, body fat calculators and heart rate monitors have made tracking your own performance during workouts easier than ever – particularly if you have a smartwatch or smartphone handy. Tracking everything from heart rate, to body fat percentage, and more allows even amateur athletes to accurately track their progress, calculate calories burned, and enhance their performance in sport.
Whether kicking a soccer ball, shooting a basketball, or swinging a golf club, athletes can now evaluate their technique and adjust it for success. The sensors hidden in these pieces of equipment are similar to those found in smart clothing. They collect information on each shot, swing, or kick, and deliver it directly to the athlete's smartphone for a comprehensive picture of their performance.
Countless Ways to Upgrade Training
The latest in training technology has also allowed athletes to expand their information catalog, and obtain training tips and guides from experts around the world. The innovation of social media, apps, and smartphone technology has made training from anywhere, at any time, more efficient, and famous personal trainers have come together to help fitness fans achieve high-quality workouts from their living room.
Today, even your apparel can help you to perform better. It's not only the expensive tracking vests and shoes that are ideal for enhancing your training results, but the much more affordable sports socks with compression technology, and other apparel designed with performance research in mind.
