Get ahead of the pack with this next generation running kit

From smart socks to personal training bots, surge ahead of the pack with this next-gen running kit, says Lucy Tobin
Sprint finish: Inova’s in-ear Bodytrak
19 January 2017

Knocking on a GP’s door to report that your trainers have warned you about a sports injury might once have seen you diagnosed with hallucinations, but no longer. The latest in sports-tech wearables can flag up strains and muscle fatigue as well as recording recovery times.

That whisper in your ear from your trainers that your fitness isn’t right started in an office above the meat halls of Smithfield Market, where smart minds are focused on the latest trend in wearables — “hearables”.

Inova’s Bodytrak device, shown at the huge Las Vegas tech show CES earlier this month, is an in-ear personal trainer that tracks core temperatures, heart rate, speed, distance and cadence continuously, via a smartphone, while feeding back a tailored workout plan and music.

“The ear,” says founder Leon Marsh, “is the only body site from which all vital signs can be measured, and Bodytrak detects changes in body physiology rapidly and accurately due to its close proximity to the brain. It’s more effective than measuring at the periphery of the body.” He has raised £2.6 million in seed funding so far.

The price of the device, currently being trialled with elite cyclists, Premiership football teams and military personnel, hasn’t been revealed yet but it will be “comparable to top-end devices available on the market today”, Marsh says.

The wearable tech industry is already worth $14 billion a year according to CCS Insight analysis, but that’s set to accelerate to 411 million smart wearable devices worth a total of $34 billion, being sold annually by 2020. Wrist-based smartwatches and bracelet fitness trackers currently make up half of all wearable tech sales but, as with the in-ear personal trainer, tech firms are getting more imaginative about implanting chips in new places.

Tracking bra

Sometimes they’re invisible. Take the latest trainers from Under Armour, the US sportswear brand worn by Andy Murray and Tottenham Hotspur, the not-so-memorably-named SpeedForm Gemini 3 RE.

These shoes, which go on sale this spring at around £130, sync with app MapMyRun on the wearer’s phone to record pace, mileage and muscular fatigue. By measuring the average “air time” of the runner’s sequence of jumps, the trainers then decide if their wearer is fit to run, or advises them to alter the intensity of a workout.

Under Armour’s SpeedForm Gemini 3 RE trainers

Mike Lee, chief digital officer of Under Armour, says: “We know that one of the biggest problems runners face is pushing through pain and fatigue, leading to injury. The jump test will help avoid the ‘training hangover’ many athletes face by giving them awareness into their ability to perform.”

Then there’s Polar’s Team Pro vest, perfect for FitBit and Up band wearers who moan that waving their arm is counted towards their daily step count or complain that heart rates aren’t accurate.

The Finnish firm is best-known for its wireless heart-rate sensors and gym equipment, but its new “smart workout shirt” has stitched its technology into the fabric, so the heart-rate tracker lies right next to the heart, while a GPS-tracking sensor on the collar measures speed, distance and acceleration. Bad news for Mamils and weekend racers, though: when the shirt goes on sale in March it will be aimed solely at professional teams — it even lets coaches access all their athletes’ training data on an iPad in real time.

The Sensoria sock that monitors gait

Still, trendspotter James Bidwell, chief executive of innovation site Springwise, predicts: “2017 is the year when wearable tech will move from niche to mainstream. The direction of travel is inexorably towards wearables becoming more a part of everyday life, as technology costs come down and consumer demand for an ‘all-connected’ lifestyle increases.”

Armchair analysts can nerd-out on their own running data with German firm Moticon’s inner-soles — each shoe insert has 13 pressure-sensing pads and a 3D accelerometer for measuring how you use your feet, and comes with software that turns the data into graphs that analyse gait, pressure points and injury susceptibility.

If that’s not enough data-gorging, there are new “smart socks” to go into those smart trainers: Sensoria smart socks detects bad running habits. The US company’s bravely titled Sock 2.0 (which cost $199 and are made from antibacterial, anti-blister material) record the usual speed, distance and time data as well as tracking routes, but they also analyse how each foot lands and absorbs impact and incorporate an AI-powered virtual coach called Mara who provides training tips. Surely that should help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions.

Follow Lucy on Twitter @lucytobin

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in