The Future of Fitness
BY ALEXANDRA KAHYAOGLU
(Published in The Produktkulturmagazin issue 2 2015)
Heart rate tracker, training schedule & co. were yesterday. Thanks to the smart fitness apparel by Athos, all you need now is a single fitness tracker. Where previously your trainer would crack the whip, all that’s required these days is an app. It measures your biosignals and suggests your own individual training schedule to attain your personal fitness targets.
This new feature of fitness wearables is thanks to Dhananja Jayalath and Christopher Wiebe. They were both frustrated over the fact that without a trainer they never really knew whether or not their training was effective and if they were doing their exercises properly. The target therefore was to help themselves – and others – to keep fit and improve results. They came up with the idea of Athos, a product constituting three components: fitness apparel with integrated sensors, the “core” and an app.
The clothing, a shirt and shorts, is fitted with sensors. EMG sensors measure muscle activity and monitor breathing and heart rate. The shirt has a total of 18 sensors and the shorts, 12. They adjust automatically to your body, which means they always take measurements at the right place and do not need to be attached individually. Shirt and shorts do not wear out; the fabric is breathable and has UV protection. 4-way stretch ensures that it feels like your second skin and does not restrict movement.
The related app runs in the background. It evaluates the collated data in real-time and visualises the data clearly. You can also enter your training targets. Depending on whether you want to build up muscle mass, streamline your body or simply lose weight, the respective training unit tells you the right number of exercises you need and how effective they are. You can also request information on which muscles are used and the current degree of exertion. Heart rate and training intensity indicate the impact the training session is having on your body.
The “core”, i.e. the heart of the product collects and interprets the measured biosignals and transmits this data via Bluetooth to your mobile phone. It can run for 10 hours before needing to be recharged. It’s smaller than your index finger and weighs under 20 grammes. It’s resistant to vibration. Basically a technical miracle.
The direct feedback from the app increases your motivation to keep training and personal targets can be attained more quickly. The icing on the cake? Athos is simple, elegant, functional, smart and available for roughly 400 dollars.
Picture credits © Athos
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