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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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There are a growing number of wearable devices that will analyze your biomechanics, mostly from small startup companies, though the bigger players are also contributing to the space. Many of these devices a making use of the cheap and accurate accelerometers that are now readily available, though there are some other approaches being used. My top picks Here aremy sound bite summaries:* Garmin's [[Running Dynamics]] is well worth having if you own a Garmin watch that support it, though I wouldn't buy a Garmin just for its support of Running Dynamics. * [[RunScribe]] provides lots of detailed and useful information, but I consider it a 'running lab' rather than an everyday training tool.
* [[MilestonePod]] is amazingly cheap and provides a wealth of data. It's worth the cost just for its ability to track the miles you put on your shoe, but it adds in more data than most other systems that cost many times as much.
* Garmin's [[Running DynamicsWahoo TICKR Run]] is worth having if give some useful metrics, but you have one of the watches that support it, though I wouldn't buy one just for its support of Running Dynamics. * [[RunScribe]] is probably the most detailed information, but I consider it a 'running lab' rather than an everyday training toolto use their Smartphone App to get them.{| class=Their "wikitable" ! Device! Cost! Status! Location<sup>1</sup>! Analysis<sup>2</sup>! Realtime<sup>3</sup>! Carry Phone<sup>4</sup>! Export<sup>13</sup>! Symmetry! [[Cadence]]! GCT! VO! Impact<sup>7</sup>! Braking! Pronation! [[Foot Strike]]! Other|-| [[MilestonePod]]| $25| Recommended| Footpod| App| | | Summary| Kinda<sup>6</sup>| Yes| Yes| | Foot ROI<sup>8</sup>| | | Yes| Leg Swing|-| [[Running Dynamics]] v2| $100| Recommended| Chest| Web/App/Export| Watch| | Detailed| Yes| Yes| Yes| Yes| | | | | |-| [[Running Dynamics]] v1| $100| Recommended| Chest| Web/App/Export| Watch| | Detailed| | Yes| Yes| Yes| | | | | |-| [[RunScribe]]| $200| Recommended| Footpod| Web/App| | | No| Yes| Yes| Yes| | Foot| Foot| Yes| Yes| Pronation |-| [[Sensoria]]| $200| Avoid| Sock/Ankle| Web/App| Phone| Yes| No| Yes<sup>9</sup>| Yes| Yes<sup>10</sup>| | Foot<sup>10</sup>| | | Yes<sup>10</sup>| |-| [[TgForce]] | $145| Testing (problems seen)| Ankle| App/Export| Phone| Yes| Detailed| | Yes| | | Tibia<sup>11</sup>| | | | |-| [[Lumo Run]]| $80| Testing (problems seen)| Waist| App| | Yes| No| Yes| Yes| | Yes| | Body| | | |-| Stryd| $200| Untested| Chest| ?| Watch/Phone| ?| | No?| Yes| Yes| Yes| | Body| | | |-| [[Moov Now]]| $60| Testing (problems seen)| Ankle| App| Phone| Yes| No| No| Yes| | | Tibia<sup>11</sup>| | | | Leg Swing|-| RUNTEQ Zoi| 150 EUR| Untested| Foot & Chest| ?| Phone| ?| | No| Yes| Yes| Yes| Foot| Body| Yes| Yes| |-| RPM<sup>2</sup>| $500| Untested| Insole| ?| Phone/Watch| ?| | Yes| Yes| Yes| | ?| | Yes| Yes| |-| [[Wahoo TICKR Run]]| $80| Testing (problems seen)| Chest| App/Export| Phone<sup>5</sup>| Yes| Detailed| | Yes| Yes| Yes| | | | | 3D Smoothness<sup>12</sup>" would be awesome if it worked. |-| * [[Moxy]]| $770| Testing| Calf| Export| Watch| | Detailed| | | | | | | | | SmO<sub>2</sub>|-| [[BSX]]| $300| Avoid| Calf| Web/App/Export| Phone/Watch| Yes| Detailed| | | | | | | | | SmO<sub>2</sub>|}# Where does can provide a new way of evaluating exercise intensity by looking at the sensor go? # What are your options for analyzing oxygen saturation of the results. # Can you see blood within the data in real time? This makes a huge difference if you're trying to improve your biomechanicsworking muscles. Ideally you want the information on a watchHowever, which is easy to carry. Having to not only carry a phone but look at the display is something I dislike. # Do you have to carry your phone with you? I hate carrying a cell phone when running, so this is a factor for me.# Phone needed to get anything beyond HRM.# You can use two pods and compare the datait expensive, but the system won't compare the results for you.# Impact can be measured in various places, such as the foot impact, the lower leg (tibia), or the chest. The impact can be measured as peak acceleration (g's) or as rate of change of acceleration (AKA "Jerk").# This is Rate of Impact, which is slightly different to simple impact g's (see review for a few more details). # The $200 kit only comes with one sensor, so you'd ll also need to by a seconddedicate significant time and effort into getting the best out of it. # The * [[SensoriaTgForce]] measures is a number of metrics"one trick pony", but it does so remarkably badly's a great trick. # This is a measure of It measures the impact on the lower legrather than the foot, which excludes providing great real time metrics. Sadly there are production issues at the impact moment that are causing the foot as absorbedsensors to fail. # * [[Moov Now]] This is a cheap and interesting sensor. Like the rate of change of acceleration (AKA "Jerk") in three separate axis: up/downTgForce it can measure lower leg impact, side-to-side, and left/rightbut it's got software problems that have not been fixed. # A sensor that doesn* [[Lumo Run]] Needs more development before it't allow s ready for data export locks you into the vendor's toolsprime time. {{:Running Sensors-table}}
=Garmin's Running Dynamics=
''Main Article: [[Running Dynamics]]''
|[[File:MilestonePod 6.png|none|thumb|200px|A sample of the graphs in the app.]]
|}
=Moxy=
[[Moxy]] uses the same approach as BSX, using infrared light to detect the oxygen saturation of the muscles of blood. Moxy is not as easy to use as the BSX, but it's the data seems to be rather more reliable, though it requires rather more effort to interpret. I'll post a full review soon.
[[File:Moxy Test 20150823 0825.jpg|none|thumb|800px|Here data from a Moxy test, showing a clear decline in SmO<sub>2</sub>.]]
=TgForce=
The TgForce measures just one thing; the peak impact on your lower leg. While this is a far cry from the broad array of data gathered by devices like [[RunScribe]], TgForce may add some particularly valuable insight. Measuring the impact that the foot can be a little misleading as the movement of your ankle can absorb a significant portion of that shock, so knowing how much of the force is transmitted to your lower leg may give a much better insight into injuries. The impact that your lower leg (tibia) receives will be transmitted into your knee, so reducing that stress might be quite helpful. The companion app only runs on iOS devices, not android, which will limit the appeal for some, and unless you buy two devices, it will only measure one leg at a time. Even if you get two devices, it doesn't appear that the app readily supports this approach, unlike [[RunScribe]] that does a lot to provide side to side comparisons. That said, I really like to have real-time feedback, something that TgForce provides, either visually for use on a treadmill, or audibly outside. I've ordered a TgForce and my initial testing shows that the data from TgForce might be quite valuable, but there is a quality control problem and I'll post the results ve had several sensors fail. They have a fix and I should have a fully working sensor soon.=Lumo Body Tech Run=''Main Article: [[Lumo Run]]'' Like many other devices, [[Lumo Run]] uses accelerometers to measure body movement, but uniquely (so far) Lumo places the accelerometers at the small of your backFile:TgForce1. png|none|thumb|250px|This allows Lumo to not only detect [[Cadence]] and Vertical Oscillation, but also breaking and pelvic movement. The measurement of braking force is rather different from [[RunScribe]], as Lumo measures how much your overall body slows up with each stridethe real time display, rather than measuring showing the deceleration impact of your foot in touch down. I believe that both approaches are important, and give valuable insight into possible biomechanical problems. In addition, Lumo will measure how much your hips each step (pelvis) will drop from side to side, and how much it rotates (twistsone leg). Lumo is not yet shipping, but in the preliminary price is $80bar graph, which is fairly reasonable for this type of device. I really wish that Lumo would measure impact, as it would be great to know how much of plus the foot strike current and average impact reaches the hips. =Stryd=Power meters have helped cyclists for a number of years, providing a valuable metric around how hard the cyclist is exercising. Stryd is attempting to provide a power meter for runners, which superficially sounds like a good idea. Certainly, there There are many problems with using Heart Rate to determine training intensity, and measuring VO2 is only practical in a laboratory, so and a power meter could be a better option. However Stryd actually measures movement and then calculates power. The details are a little unclear, also metrics such as their website does not explain their approach or a well, nor do they seem to be any validation studies that I could find. It seems that Stryd measures Vertical Oscillation, braking and side-to-side (lateral) movement to calculate power, though it also measures Heart Rate total steps and Ground Contact Time. It's a chest strap system, an it seems a lot Garmin's [[Running Dynamics{Cadence]]. It seems likely that you could perform similar calculations using the Garmin system, but I find myself unconvinced by the approach.]]
=Moov Now=
''Main Article: [[Moov Now]]''
Moov Now is the second generation of Moov activity monitors, and is a small ankle mounted pod. It supports various sports, including cycling, swimming, boxing, and general workout routines like crunches, plank, etc. The Moov Now will also act as a general purpose activity tracker, including sleep tracking. However, it's the running functionality that I'll focus on. The Moov Now uses ankle mounted accelerometers to give a number of metrics, including [[Cadence]], Impact (at the tibia), and "range of motion" which is how far your leg swings from the furthest forward to the furthest back. I don't see the range of motion as a particularly useful metric, as it gives no indication if you are Over striding or not. However, I like the idea of getting impact metrics on the tibia (lower leg), as I suspect this is more relevant than the impact measured at your foot. It seems to me that your foot could undergo massive deceleration as your forefoot touches down without necessarily generating a huge amount of stress on your ankle, and even less stress on your knee. Unlike most activity monitors, it uses a replaceable battery that should last months, which is really nice, especially if you're traveling. It's a shame the Moov Now needs to be linked to a smart phone to work, as it means taking your phone on the run. The Moov Now seems to be an interesting device given its price, especially if you are interested in the other sports that it supports. <jfs id="B01CX26IP8" noreferb="true"/>.
{| class=RUNTEQ Zoi"wikitable" |- valign=Zoi is unique in that it places sensors on both the foot and the torso. This allows it to gain a little more insight than other sensors as it knows about the movement of the foot and the torso independently. Eventually I expect to see a company produce a group of sensors placed on each foot, each knee, and the pelvis, which would give insight into the movement and impact forces across most of the body. In the meantime, Zoi is the only "multizonetop" sensor. It only has one Footpod, so it doesn't give you detailed foot strike information in the way that |[[RunScribe]] can, though you could see them adding that functionality in the futureFile:MoovNow_1. jpg|none|thumb|250px|The Zoi gives Moov Now sensor in Red is quite a few metrics, including [[Cadence]], Ground Contact Time, Vertical Oscillation, breaking small (at the torso, not foot breaking), of [[Foot Strike]] type (fore, mid, heel), Foot impact, and some [[Pronation]] information. Zoi has a smartphone app that provides real time feedback and post-run analytics, but I've not seen any support for displaying metrics on a watch. Currently Zoi is on pre-order squares in Europe for 150 EUR. I'd like to test this system if I can get hold of one. =RPM<sup>2<the background are 1"/sup>=RPM<sup>2</sup> (Remote Performance Measurement/Monitoring) is a pair of insoles that fit into your normal running shoes. These insoles measure pressure and use accelerometers to measure movement (a little like Sensoria5cm). The details are not entirely clear from the web site, but they claim to measure [[Cadence]], Ground Contact Time, |[[Foot Strike]], and "acceleration power"File:MoovNow_RealTimeImpact. png|none|thumb|250px|The system also claims to measure running power, though I'm not sure display of the methodology. The RPM<sup>2</sup> system measure pressure impact in four areas (Sensoria has three), giving a [[Pronation]] measurement. There are notes that RPM<sup>2</sup> insoles are not waterproof, which real time is rather disconcertingpoor at the moment; there's no chart or average, and if you run in different shaped shoes the fitment is likely impact has no decimal to be problematic. The sizing of the insoles needs to take into account the position of the ball of the foot to ensure the sensor is in the right place. The system supports both Ant+ and Bluetooth so there is both a phone app and some information that can be displayed on a watch (it's not clear if this is more than just power). The system can also be used as a power meter for cyclinggive precision. ]]|}
=Wahoo TICKR Run=
''Main Article: [[Wahoo TICKR Run]]'' The [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLAGSW8 Wahoo TICKR Run] is a chest strap based system that's similar to Garmin's [[Running Dynamics]]. It supports both Bluetooth and Ant+, which is nice, but most of the functionality beyond heart rate requires you to have your phone with you on your run. If you do, then you get Cadence, Ground Contact Time, Vertical osculation, and 3D smoothness. This 3D smoothness shows the jerk (rate of change of acceleration) in three planes; forward-backward, up-down, and side to side. =Moxy=[[Moxy]] uses the same approach as BSXThis has great potential, using infrared light to detect but the oxygen saturation of smoothness depends far too much on the muscles tightness of blood. Moxy is not as easy to use as the BSXstrap, but it's the data seems to be rather more reliable, though it requires rather more effort to interpreteven varying with your breathing.[[File:Moxy Test 20150823 0825WahooSmoothness.jpgpng|none|thumb|800px250px|Here data from a Moxy test, showing a clear decline in SmO<sub>2</sub>The smoothness that Wahoo displays seems like it could be really valuable if only it was usable.]]=BSXLumo Body Tech Run=''Main Article: [[BSXLumo Run]]''
=Sensoria=
''Main Article: [[Sensoria]]''
The [https://www.amazon.com/Sensoria-Fitness-Socks-and-Anklet/dp/B019RWCWCA Sensoria smart socks] are made of materials that can detect pressure changes under your foot and transmit them back to anklet that communicates with a smart phone via Bluetooth. The [[Sensoria]] anklet also includes accelerometers to enhance the data gathered from the pressure sensors. While these socks are interesting, unlike a true pressure plate that has a matrix of pressure sensors, the socks have just three sensors, one in the heel and two in the forefoot. (<jfs id="B019RWCWCA" noreferb="true"/> for a pair of left & right socks, plus one anklet.) Note that the socks last for 60 washes and cost $45, which works out to $0.75 per run. That might be cheap to a triathlete, but to most runners that works out pricy. Read [[Sensoria| my full review of Sensoria]] and the list of problems.
<br/>(Sensoria also make a tee that shirt includes an embedded Heart Rate monitor strap, you can plug a standard heart rate transmitter module into. They sell a dual Bluetooth/Ant+ transmitter, as well as working with the Polar H7 and some Garmin modules. )
=BSX=
''Main Article: [[BSX]]''
The [[BSX| BSX Lactate Threshold Monitor]] attempts to estimates your [[Lactate Threshold]] by measuring the oxygen saturation of the blood within your muscles. The results of the first version were extremely disappointing, but I have not had the opportunity to fully test the updated hardware. However, even if the BSX works perfectly, its value is limited by the relative ineffectiveness of [[Tempo Runs| Lactate Threshold Training]]. You can read about my testing at [[BSX]].
[[File:BSX1.jpg|none|thumb|x300px|The dashboard view of the BSX app, showing previous results.]]
=Stryd=
Power meters have helped cyclists for a number of years, providing a valuable metric around how hard the cyclist is exercising. Stryd is attempting to provide a power meter for runners, which superficially sounds like a good idea. Certainly, there are many problems with using Heart Rate to determine training intensity, and measuring VO2 is only practical in a laboratory, so and a power meter could be a better option. However Stryd actually measures movement and then calculates power. The details are a little unclear, as their website does not explain their approach or a well, nor do they seem to be any validation studies that I could find. It seems that Stryd measures Vertical Oscillation, braking and side-to-side (lateral) movement to calculate power, though it also measures Heart Rate and Ground Contact Time. It's a chest strap system, and it seems a lot of the metrics are also gathered by Garmin's [[Running Dynamics]]. It seems likely that you could perform similar calculations using the Garmin system, but I find myself unconvinced by the approach.
=RUNTEQ Zoi=
Zoi places sensors on both the foot and the torso. This allows it to gain a little more insight than other sensors as it knows about the movement of the foot and the torso independently. Eventually I expect to see a company produce a group of sensors placed on each foot, each knee, and the pelvis, which would give insight into the movement and impact forces across most of the body. The Zoi only has one Footpod, so it doesn't give you detailed foot strike information in the way that [[RunScribe]] can, though you could see them adding that functionality in the future. The Zoi gives quite a few metrics, including [[Cadence]], Ground Contact Time, Vertical Oscillation, breaking (at the torso, not foot breaking), of [[Foot Strike]] type (fore, mid, heel), Foot impact, and some [[Pronation]] information. Zoi has a smartphone app that provides real time feedback and post-run analytics, but I've not seen any support for displaying metrics on a watch. Currently Zoi is on pre-order in Europe for 150 EUR. I'd like to test this system if I can get hold of one. The approach is similar to the SHFT system, though the SHFT uses a 9-axis sensor and it's not clear what the Zoi uses.
=RPM<sup>2</sup>=
RPM<sup>2</sup> (Remote Performance Measurement/Monitoring) is a pair of insoles that fit into your normal running shoes. These insoles measure pressure and use accelerometers to measure movement (a little like Sensoria). The details are not entirely clear from the web site, but they claim to measure [[Cadence]], Ground Contact Time, [[Foot Strike]], and "acceleration power". The system also claims to measure running power, though I'm not sure of the methodology. The RPM<sup>2</sup> system measure pressure in four areas (Sensoria has three), giving a [[Pronation]] measurement. There are notes that RPM<sup>2</sup> insoles are not waterproof, which is rather disconcerting, and if you run in different shaped shoes the fitment is likely to be problematic. The sizing of the insoles needs to take into account the position of the ball of the foot to ensure the sensor is in the right place. The system supports both Ant+ and Bluetooth so there is both a phone app and some information that can be displayed on a watch (it's not clear if this is more than just power). The system can also be used as a power meter for cycling.
=SHFT=
The SHFT system uses two pods, one on the chest and one on the foot, rather like the Zoi. The SHFT system includes some unusual metrics such as toe off angle and body angle, as well as Cadence, GCT, Vertical Osculation, Impact, Braking, and Foot Strike. They also claim to measure power for running, something I'd need to see demonstrated in a lab to believe it's accurate and even then I'm not sure it's useful due to the impact of [[Running Economy]]. The system requires you to carry your phone, and it appears that your only feedback is via audio through the headphones which I generally find rather ineffective. It looks like there are some good post run analytics available via the app, but no sign of data export. The price of the two SHFT sensors is $300 which is a little high compared with other systems.
