Changes

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 as the primary metric, along with braking and side-to-side (lateral) movement to calculate power, though it also measures Heart Rate and Ground Contact Time, from . It's a chest strapsystem, so an it's seems a lot like 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.=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"/>.

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 "multizone" 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 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.=RPM²=RPM² (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 RPM² system measure pressure in four areas (Sensoria has three), giving a [[Pronation]] measurement. There are notes that RPM² 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. =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.[[File:Moxy Test 20150823 0825.jpg|none|thumb|800px|Here data from a Moxy test, showing a clear decline in SmO₂.]]=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.]]